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Susan M. Czajkowski, Ph.D.
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Susan M. Czajkowski, Ph.D.
Biography
Susan M. Czajkowski, Ph.D. joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 1987. She is an expert on psychosocial aspects of disease, including the role of social support and depression on disease risk and recovery and the assessment of health-related quality of life and psychosocial functioning in patients with heart, lung, and blood diseases. In her work as a research psychologist at NHLBI, Dr. Czajkowski develops and manages several programs of research within the Behavioral Medicine Scientific Research Group, Division of Prevention and Population Sciences. She is Project Officer for the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease (ENRICHD) Patients Study, a multicenter clinical trial which evaluated the effects of treating depression and low social support in recent heart attack patients.
Dr. Czajkowski also is Project Officer of a study which assessed the post-surgical adjustment of men and women coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients. In addition, she manages several research initiatives involving improvement of adherence to lifestyle and medical therapies in patient populations, including minority patients and the medically underserved. In her role as NHLBI Coordinator of Health-Related Quality of Life Studies, she provides guidance to Institute staff and clinical investigators in the design, implementation, and analysis of the health-related quality of life outcomes of patients enrolled in Institute-sponsored clinical research studies.
Dr. Czajkowski received her Ph.D.in psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) in 1985. She received her MA in psychology from UMCP in 1981 and graduated summa cum laude in 1978 with a BA from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Dr. Czajkowski has authored or coauthored over 40 articles on psychosocial aspects of disease. She is a fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and a member of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.
Areas of Expertise: Psychosocial aspects of disease, including the role of social support and depression on disease risk and recovery; and assessment of health-related quality of life and psychosocial functioning in patients with heart, lung, and blood diseases
Dr. Czajkowski In the News
July 1, 2013
: NIH Research Matters
Vietnam vets with PTSD more likely to have heart disease
Among male twin Vietnam veterans, those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more than twice as likely to have heart disease 13 years after being diagnosed as twin vets without PTSD. The finding suggests that PTSD may be a risk factor for heart disease.
June 25, 2013
Vietnam vets with PTSD more than twice as likely to have heart disease
Male twin Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more than twice as likely as those without PTSD to develop heart disease during a 13-year period, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
View all Dr. Czajkowski in the news articles
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