Women's coronary heart disease, menopause, and depression: Lessons from the Study of Women's Health across the Nation

Karen A. Matthews, Ph.D. is the Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Epidemiology and Psychology, and Program Director of the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Research Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research has focused on behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular and their determinants at key developmental transitions. She currently is conducting research on the influence of menopause on women¿s health; development of behavioral risk factors in adolescence and young adulthood; sleep disturbance as a possible risk factor for cardiovascular disease; and the pathways connecting sociodemographic factors and ethnicity with poor cardiovascular health. Dr. Matthews is a member of the Institute of Medicine. She has previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Health Psychology, as President of both the American Psychosomatic Society and the Health Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association (APA), and as member of NHLBI Advisory Council. Dr. Matthews has won numerous awards, including the APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology. In addition, her research has been recognized by awards from the American Heart Association, APA Health Psychology and Pediatric Psychology Divisions, Society of Behavioral Medicine, North American Menopause Society, and the American Psychosomatic Society. She was awarded the Philosophiae Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Helsinki in 2007.