Shari R. Waldstein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Affiliated Research Scientist
Geriatric Research Education & Clinical Center
Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Shari R. Waldstein received her A.B. in Psychology from Duke University, and received both her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh with specialty training in cardiovascular behavioral medicine and neuropsychology. She completed her clinical psychology internship at Brown University.

Dr. Waldstein is recipient of an Early Career Award from the American Psychosomatic Society (APS), an Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology (Early Career) Award from Division 38 of the American Psychological Association (APA), and a Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). She is a Fellow of the APA (Division 38), the SBM, and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr. Waldstein has served as an Associate Editor for the journal Health Psychology, as a member of the APS’s Executive Council, as Member-at-Large for Division 38 (Health Psychology) of the APA, and as Chair of the Education and Training Council for the SBM's Board of Directors. She has edited one book and has authored or co-authored 54 articles and book chapters.

Dr. Waldstein's grant-funded (NIH, Bristol Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Inc.) research program in cardiovascular behavioral medicine combines conceptual and methodological approaches from behavioral medicine, biomedicine, neuropsychology, and psychophysiology. Her first area of collaborative investigation examines the impact of cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., hypertension, the metabolic syndrome), cardiovascular reactivity, and cardiovascular disease (e.g., peripheral arterial disease, stroke) on cognitive function and quality of life among older adults. This research also examines potential brain mechanisms linking cardiovascular risk factors to cognitive dysfunction using magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance angiography, and single-photon emission computed tomography.

Dr. Waldstein's second area of investigation involves the study of individual differences in the magnitude and patterning of acute cardiovascular responses to mental stress. Her research team examines a variety of demographic, psychosocial and biomedical predictors of cardiovascular response patterning in young and older adults such as gender, race, dispositional hostility, emotions, cognitive appraisal, and components of the metabolic syndrome. Two collaborative studies have also examined concomitant cerebral and cardiovascular activation during mental stress. Dr. Waldstein also examines the relation of cardiovascular reactivity to clinical endpoints such as silent cerebrovascular disease, and silent myocardial ischemia.