Celebrating Dr. Nancy Sin: 2026 SBSM Fellow!
Mar 19, 2026
Dr. Nancy Sin has been named a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBSM) for 2026! This honour recognizes her outstanding contributions to research, leadership, and service in the field of behavioral medicine. We’re so proud and thrilled to celebrate this well-deserved recognition! Congratulations, Dr. Sin!
Incoming Graduate Students!
We’re excited to share that Alice Luan and Carmen Migic have accepted their offers and will be entering graduate school this fall in the Health Psychology program at the University of British Columbia, continuing their work with the UPLIFT Health Lab. We’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone and look forward to all that lies ahead in their academic journeys!
March 2026: SBSM
At this year’s Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine annual meeting, our lab was proud to have five poster presentations showcasing a wide range of exciting research. Undergraduate student Alice Luan presented her work on positive experiences and subjective cognitive functioning, with her poster featured in the Citation Poster Session, a distinction reserved for research of the highest merit. Undergraduate students Nathan Chai and Carmen Migic also presented their work on sense of purpose and affective well-being, and physical activity and affect reactivity, respectively. In addition, both our PhD students, Nikki Stuart and Lydia Ong, shared their research on stress exposure and subjective memory, and subjective aging and stress responses. What a memorable year at SBSM and congratulations to our lab!
Nov 2025: GSA Conference
Nov 12, 2025
Lydia Ong and Nikki Stuart will be presenting their research at the Gerontological Society of America conference in Boston! Lydia will be giving a symposium talk on views of aging, savouring, and positive affect. Nikki will be presenting a poster on the links between daily stressors and subjective memory across days and years.
July 2025: Dr. Nancy Sin honoured with Distinguished Alumni Award
Jul 15, 2025
We’re excited to share that Dr. Nancy Sin has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside! This honour recognizes UCR Psychology alumni who have achieved national or international distinction in their field and have made meaningful contributions to society. Big congratulations, Dr. Sin!
Read more here.
July 2025: Dr. Nancy Sin named 2025 Gerontological Society of America Fellow
We are thrilled to share that our incredible lab director, Dr. Nancy Sin, has been named a 2025 Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). This prestigious distinction is awarded at various stages of a professional career in recognition of exceptional contributions across areas such as research, teaching, administration, public service, clinical practice, and meaningful participation in society.
Congratulations, Nancy—we’re so proud of you!
To read more about it, click here.
July 2025: Nicole Stuart receives the UBC Excellence in Health Psychology PhD Research Award
Our wonderful grad student, Nicole Stuart has received the UBC Excellence in Health Psychology PhD Research Award, which recognizes graduate students who have made excellent contributions to the field of health psychology through their research and involvement in the professional community. Congratulations Nikki!
June 2025: Dr. Nancy Sin awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of California, Riverside!
Jun 25, 2025
We are delighted to announce that our Lab Director, Dr. Nancy Sin, has been honoured with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). This prestigious award recognizes alumni who have achieved national or international distinction in their field and have made significant contributions to society.
As part of this recognition, Dr. Sin has been invited to present an award lecture at the upcoming UCR Psychology Departmental Conference this fall, where she will share insights from her research.
This honour underscores Dr. Sin’s exceptional contributions to the field of psychology and her continued commitment to advancing research in adult development and aging.
Congratulations, Nancy!
June 2025: Kyra receives the 2025 Morris Belkin Prize!
We’re thrilled to share that our lab manager and Directed Studies student, Kyra Gert, has been awarded the 2025 Morris Belkin Prize! This award recognizes outstanding undergraduate writing in psychology at UBC, and Kyra received it for her Directed Studies paper on the role of loneliness in working memory function across the adult lifespan. Congrats, Kyra!
May 2025: Faith Trottier shares her academic journey on UBC News!
We are so proud of lab alumni, Faith Trottier! UBC wrote about her academic journey here.
Faith will be attending graduate school in social work at the University of Manitoba this fall. Congrats, Faith!
May 2025: Dabeen Hyun shares her UBC experience and advice in an interview with UBC Psychology.
Our lovely research assistant, Dabeen Hyun, recently shared her UBC experience and advice in an interview with UBC Psychology. You can read the interview here.
Congratulations to lab alum, Mina!
Lab alum, Mina Han, will be starting medical in the UBC Medical Program this fall. Congrats, Mina!
May 2025: Interdisciplinary Conference in Psychology (ICP)
May 28, 2025
Kyra attended the Interdisciplinary Conference in Psychology (ICP) at the University of Ottawa. She presented a poster on her research examining the role of loneliness in working memory across the lifespan. Well done, Kyra!
May 2025: Congratulations to our graduates!
May 06, 2025
Some of our lovely RAs and lab manager recently graduated from UBC! We are so proud and cannot wait to see all the amazing things you accomplish.
Alice Luan, Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Psychology
Christina Felber, Bachelor of Science in Behavioural Neuroscience
Kailey Farrell, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Education
Dabeen Hyun, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Kyra Gert, Bachelor of Science in Behavioural Neuroscience
April 2025: Congratulations Zoe!
Apr 30, 2025
Congrats to lab alumni Zoe Dong! Zoe has accepted an admissions offer from the Yale School of Public Health to study Chronic Disease Epidemiology.
April 2025: Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference
Undergraduate students Taima and Kyra showcased their research at this year’s Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference. Taima presented a poster on the relationship between age-based unfair treatment and depressive symptoms, and Kyra shared a poster examining the role of loneliness in working memory function. Congratulations to Taima, who received the top poster award!
March 2025: Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine Annual Meeting
At this year’s Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine conference, PhD student Nikki Stuart presented two posters—one on stressors and working memory performance, and another on subjective age and working memory—while PhD student Lydia Ong presented her work on self-perceptions of aging and daily events. Both were featured in the Citation Poster Session, a session reserved for research of the highest merit. In addition, our undergraduate student, Alice, showcased her research on positive experiences and cognition in everyday life.
February 2025: Healthy Aging Research Day
Undergraduate students Alice Luan and Taima Gheriani presented their research at the UBC Healthy Aging Research Day, hosted by the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging!
November 2024: BC Brain Wellness Program
Nov 13, 2024
Dr. Sin and PhD student Nikki Stuart will be giving a presentation for the BC Brain Wellness Program’s Research Seminar Series. Their presentation will focus on the cycle of sleep, stress, and cognitive functioning in everyday life.
November 2024: Gerontological Society of America Conference
Members of the UPLIFT Health Lab will be attending the GSA conference in Seattle! We will cheer on PhD student Lydia Ong for her symposium presentation about self-perceptions of aging and daily social interactions.
October 2024: Nikki Stuart publishes paper in Psychosomatic Medicine
PhD student Nikki Stuart has published new research in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine (https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0000000000001338). Her paper examines the associations between stressors and subjective cognitive function in everyday life, and whether physical activity buffers against stressor-related cognitive effects.
September 2024: Lydia Ong awarded internship funding for anti-racism in healthcare
Congrats to Lydia Ong on receiving MITACS internship funding! The funding will support her work with Vancouver Coastal Health on the project, “Evaluating an anti-racism training for healthcare workers.”
Aug 2024: Jin Wen graduates PhD program
Jin Wen successfully defended his dissertation entitled, “Reciprocal Associations Between Nightly Sleep and Daily Stress: Individual Differences and Mechanisms.” He has now graduated the PhD program and is starting his new job as a biostatistician! Congrats to Dr. Wen!
June 2024: Congrats to Jin Wen!
Jun 11, 2024
Jin Wen has received the UBC Excellence in Health Psychology PhD Research Award, which recognizes graduate students who have made excellent contributions to the field of health psychology through their research and through their involvement in the professional community.
May 2024: Congrats new graduates!
Congrats to our 2024 graduates: Cecilia Liu, Amy Morales-Arellano, Scott Weber, Navindi De Silva, Daria Hammond, Elisabeth Herrington, Karen Johal, and Eshana Mishra! We are so proud of you!
April – May, 2024: Undergraduate conference presentations
Jun 10, 2024
Congrats to our undergraduate students for presenting their projects at various conferences this year! Conferences included the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (Amy and Cecilia), the Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Conference (Scott), Western Psychological Association (Amy), and the Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (Alice, Zoe, Scott, and Cecilia).
May 7, 2024: Nikki Stuart receives graduate fellowship
Jun 03, 2024
Congrats to PhD student Nikki Stuart, who received the SSHRC CGSD fellowship to support her research on the role of felt age in day-to-day experiences of stress and well-being.
April 5, 2024: Dr. Sin receives SSHRC Insight Grant
Dr. Sin was awarded a SSHRC Insight Grant to support a new research project, entitled “Positive emotions and stress responses: An adult developmental perspective”
March 20, 2024: American Psychosomatic Society Conference in Brighton, UK
PhD student Nikki Stuart presented a talk at the APS conference on the links among sleep, stress, and cognitive function in daily life. Dr. Sin led a preconference workshop on equity, diversity, and inclusion in mentorship practices.
Gerontological Society of America Conference 2023
Nov 21, 2023
Our lab had a strong presence at GSA 2023 in Tampa, FL! Lydia Ong’s presentation was titled, “Age Differences in Everyday Discrimination and Cortisol Dynamic Range.” Jin Wen presented on the topic of “Does affective reactivity to interpersonal stressors during the day influence subsequent sleep that night?” Finally, Nikki Stuart gave a talk titled, “Daily stress and subjective cognition: A test of physical activity and age moderation.”
Dr. Sin interviewed on CBC about coping with daily stress, Sept 6, 2023
Sep 12, 2023
Dr. Sin spoke with host Michelle Eliot on BC Today about the impacts of daily stress on health and tips for coping with stress in daily life. You can watch a short video clip here: http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2261512771987
The full episode is available through CBC Radio and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/OoZt-m434Qk?feature=shared&t=2347
Q&A: American Psychosomatic Society Antiracism Task Force, Jul 19, 2023
Jul 20, 2023
Dr. Nancy Sin was recently featured in a Q & A in the UBC Psychology News. In this Q & A, she describes the work that the American Psychosomatic Society’s Antiracism Task Force has done to implement antiracist policies in the organization. The task force published a paper to guide other organizations on practices to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Chasing Life on CNN, July 18, 2023
Jul 18, 2023
Dr. Nancy Sin was recently interviewed by Dr. Sanjay Gupta for his CNN podcast, Chasing Life. They chatted about the myth of the midlife crisis, stress and well-being during middle adulthood, and the unique challenges that Millennials face as we enter midlife. https://link.chtbl.com/g1OkKWZG
CPA 2023 Convention
Jun 29, 2023
Our lab made a presence at the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) 2023 Convention in Toronto! Our graduate students, Lydia Ong and Nikki Stuart, as well as our undergraduate lab members, Daria Hammond, Faith Vaughan, and Olive Huang, presented their posters during the convention and had an amazing time learning about research that is taking place across the country. Specifically, this was the first professional conference for our undergraduate lab members – congratulations!
Society for Ambulatory Assessment Conference
Jun 28, 2023
Earlier this June, Patrick Klaiber, who just completed his Ph.D. in our lab, gave a talk at the Society for Ambulatory Assessment 2023 Conference in Amsterdam! His talk was about the changes in daily event-related affective experiences due to COVID-19. Yay to Patrick!
Congratulations to Patrick!
Mar 29, 2023
Patrick Klaiber has successfully completed his dissertation entitled “Engaging in and responding to daily positive events: Roles of personality and age.” He passed the dissertation defence with flying colours and has completed all Ph.D. program requirements. Congrats, Dr. Klaiber!
American Psychosomatic Society Conference
Mar 13, 2023
The UPLIFT Health Lab had a strong presence at the APS conference in Puerto Rico! Nikki Stuart gave a talk on stress and attention in daily life, Jin Wen presented his work on aspects of daily stress and coping that influence sleep, and Lydia Ong shared new findings on anticipation of discrimination and its impacts on emotional well-being. Dr. Sin facilitated roundtable discussions as a member of the APS Antiracism Task Force.
Master’s Thesis Defence
Feb 17, 2023
Nicole Stuart successfully defended her Master’s thesis on physical activity and cognitive health across 9 years in an age-diverse sample of adults. For her Ph.D. work, she will be focusing on physical activity as a buffer against daily stress-related changes in memory and attention.
Patrick begins faculty position
Congrats to Patrick! Ph.D. candidate Patrick Klaiber is now an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. In addition to training the next generation of psychology students, Patrick will conduct research on positive aspects of daily life during major life transitions in older adulthood (e.g., becoming a grandparent, retirement).
PURC and MURC Presentations
Apr 05, 2022
Olive Huang received the Oral Presentation Award at the UBC Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference! YAY! Congrats to Olive, Angela Lee, and Brian Qi on presenting their Directed Studies projects at the UBC Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference.
Jin receives APS travel award for sleep medicine
Mar 17, 2022
Congrats to Jin Wen! He received the American Psychosomatic Society (APS) Travel Award for Hall Scholars, an award named for Dr. Martica Hall to recognize outstanding sleep medicine research abstracts presented at the APS Annual Meeting.
American Psychosomatic Society Conference
Our lab members will be giving presentations at the upcoming APS conference! Nikki Stuart will present her work on physical activity and cognitive aging, Lydia Ong and Patrick Klaiber will be showcasing their meta-analysis on daily positive events and health, and Jin Wen will give a talk about the effects of sleep on stress anticipation.
Richmond News, February 27, 2022
Feb 28, 2022
Microaggressions lead to health issues, says UBC expert. https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/mental-wellness-microaggressions-lead-to-health-issues-says-ubc-expert-5106253
UBC Toolkit for Sleep & Academic Success
Oct 06, 2021
Jin Wen was interviewed by Chapman Learning Commons on how sleep impacts wellness and academic success. Check out the full toolkit here: https://learningcommons.ubc.ca/student-toolkits/sleep-and-academic-success/
Patrick receives departmental teaching assistant award
Jun 09, 2021
Congratulations to Patrick Klaiber, who received the Certificate of Teaching Excellence from the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology. This award recognizes his outstanding work as a TA in the UBC Department of Psychology.
Congrats to UBC graduates Fei and Chloe!
Two research assistants from the UPLIFT Health Lab have earned their Bachelor’s degrees! Huge congrats to Fei Ying (BSc in Behavioural Neuroscience) and Chloe Dean (BA in Psychology, Minor in Law and Society)!
Holy is going to medical school!
May 21, 2021
Congratulations to Holy Ghaly on her acceptance to the UBC Medical Program! Holy, we can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’ll accomplish in medical school and beyond!
Patrick Klaiber receives Innovative Research on Aging Award
May 07, 2021
Jin Wen receives 2 awards for Master’s research
May 03, 2021
A big congrats to Jin Wen! He was awarded the Certificate of Academic Excellence for Best Master’s Thesis from the Canadian Psychological Association and the UBC Excellence in Health Psychology MA Research Award.
Fei Ying receives scholarship award
Apr 09, 2021
Fei Ying has been awarded the Robert and Kazuko Barker Award ($1000), based on the recommendations of the Faculties of Arts and Science. Congrats, Fei!
The New York Times, March 12, 2021
Mar 13, 2021
Why older people managed to stay happier through the pandemic
NPR’s On Point
Dec 17, 2020
Sleep and Emotional Reactions to Next-Day Experiences
The Greater Good Magazine covered our research showing that getting more sleep tonight can promote more positive experiences and resilience to stress on the next day.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/your_sleep_tonight_changes_how_you_react_to_stress_tomorrow
APS Conference
Dec 03, 2020
Kudos to lab members Jin Wen, Lydia Ong, Fei Ying, Juliane Henkel, Holy Ghaly, and Patrick Klaiber on their poster presentations at the American Psychosomatic Society virtual conference! Jin Wen received a Poster Award for his presentation on sleep and well-being in daily life during COVID-19.
Greater Good Magazine, December 1, 2020
Dec 01, 2020
Helping others can help you feel better during the pandemic.
Congrats, Jin!
Oct 21, 2020
Jin Wen has received the Student Research Award from the Gerontological Society of America’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Section. This award was given based on his Master’s thesis research on the role of perceived control in stress responses.
Verywell, September 29, 2020
Sep 30, 2020
Better sleep can improve stress and increase positivity, study shows.
Vancouver Sun Article on Sleep and Emotions
Sep 24, 2020
Unhappy? Sleep it off, says new UBC study
https://vancouversun.com/health/local-health/unhappy-sleep-it-off-says-new-ubc-study
The Washington Post, Sept 19, 2020
Sep 21, 2020
Often, the elderly handle the pandemic very well. Here’s why.
The Washington Post, Sept 11, 2020
Sep 11, 2020
Who is handling the pandemic best emotionally? Boomers and other retirees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/09/11/pandemic-stress-boomer-millennial-parenting/
MSFHR Scholar Award
Sep 10, 2020
Two UBC health psychologists, Dr. Nancy Sin and Dr. Eric Kim, have received the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award. This award supports health researchers as they launch world-class research programs in B.C. For the award announcement, see:
https://www.msfhr.org/news/features/announcing-2020-msfhr-scholars-and-research-trainees
Study Reveals Older Adults Coping with Pandemic Best
The latest newsletter for the Gerontological Society of America featured our research on age differences in daily life experiences during the pandemic, led by PhD student Patrick Klaiber.
Forbes, July 28, 2020
Crises Like the Pandemic Don’t Make People Less Optimistic
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisonescalante/2020/07/28/crises-like-the-pandemic-dont-make-people-less-optimistic/#382a2c133bb4
CTV news
Jul 24, 2020
‘A surprise to no one’: Some coping better than others with COVID-19, research suggests.
Vancouver Sun
COVID-19: Research shows older adults less worried during pandemic.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-research-shows-older-adults-less-worried-during-pandemic
Breakfast TV Vancouver
Patrick Klaiber talks about his new research on age differences in coping with the pandemic.
https://www.btvancouver.ca/videos/coping-with-covid-19/
Aging and COVID-19
Jul 23, 2020
Patrick Klaiber (PhD student) has published a new paper showing that older adults were more psychologically resilient during the pandemic than younger and middle-aged adults. UBC press release: https://news.ubc.ca/2020/07/22/new-ubc-study-reveals-older-adults-coped-with-pandemic-best
Congrats to Holy Ghaly!
Jun 30, 2020
We’d like to extend our warmest congratulations to Holy Ghaly on her graduation! Holy has earned a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology and Minor in Psychology. She has been a vital member of the UPLIFT Health Lab for the past two years and has shown great leadership as a research study coordinator and as a teaching assistant in health psychology. Holy – best wishes, and we look forward to hearing about your wonderful accomplishments in the future!
Congrats to Fei Ying!
Jun 10, 2020
Fei Ying (3rd year undergraduate in Behavioural Neuroscience) was awarded the UBC Morris Belkin Prize for her research on variability in sleep timing and daily emotions.
Positive Psychological Science
May 24, 2020
Jin Wen has published a book chapter entitled “Positive Activity Interventions Targeted to Improve Depressive Symptoms” in the 2nd edition of Positive Psychological Science. For more information about the book, visit
Congrats to Patrick Klaiber!
May 20, 2020
Patrick Klaiber has been awarded a doctoral scholarship from the German National Scholarship Foundation (Promotionsstipendium der Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes)!
Congrats to Kevin Chi!
Former undergraduate Kevin Chi has accepted an offer for admission to the Psychology graduate program at Stanford University!
BC Brain Wellness
Mar 03, 2020
Dr. Sin will be giving a talk for Wellness Wednesday on March 4th as part of the BC Brain Wellness Program. For more information, please visit: https://www.bcbrainwellness.ca/events/wellness-wednesday-social-connections-and-your-community
Sticking with New Year’s Resolutions
Jan 15, 2020
Dr. Sin talks to VICE Canada about ways to maintain and recommit to our New Year’s resolutions.
New study + cute dogs
Check out the Vancouver Sun’s article about the new study that we are launching (and see photos of Dr. Sin’s happy pups!)
CBC Radio
Dec 15, 2019
The Early Edition with Stephen Quinn aired 5 days of segments with Dr. Sin talking about finding simple pleasures in the midst of holiday stress
NY Times Sleep Article
Nov 19, 2019
The UPLIFT Health Lab’s research on sleep and well-being in middle-aged employees was cited in a New York Times article entitled “Sleep Can Be Good for Your Salary” (Nov. 4, 2019).
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/upshot/sleep-can-be-good-for-your-salary.html
GSA
The UPLIFT Health Lab attended the Gerontological Society of America conference in Austin, TX. Jin Wen (Master’s student) presented his research on perceived control and cortisol stress reactivity.
Positive experiences and stress
UBC Faculty of Arts published a Q & A with Dr. Sin on positive experiences as buffers against the health impacts of stress.
https://www.arts.ubc.ca/can-positive-experiences-reduce-the-damaging-impacts-of-stress/
Personality and positive events
Oct 21, 2019
Dr. Sin presented research on personality traits as predictors of daily positive events at the Society for the Study of Human Development conference in Portland, Oregon (Oct 2019).
Community Health
Sep 27, 2019
October 1st is National Seniors Day in Canada! Dr. Sin will be giving a talk on well-being and healthy aging for the “Importance of Community on Health” event at the South Arm Community Centre in Richmond on Sept 28. The event will support Chimo Community Services.
APA Award
Aug 12, 2019
Dr. Sin was awarded the 2019 Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging from Division 20 of the American Psychological Association! Read about it here.
Dr. Sin at APA 2019
2019 APA Division 20 early career award
SSHRC Grants
Jun 14, 2019
We were recently awarded a 4-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight grant to fund our research on the role of daily positive events in stress and coping. We also received a 2-year SSHRC Insight Development grant to support our work on positive well-being and aging!
MIDUS
May 09, 2019
Dr. Sin will present research findings about the role of daily positive events in stress appraisals at the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS) Meeting in Madison, WI (May 2019).
Psi Chi Award
Apr 08, 2019
Superstar Kevin Chi has won the UBC Psi Chi Distinguished Undergraduate Research Award! Congrats, Kevin!
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Apr 06, 2019
The UPLIFT Health Lab has been awarded infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Read about it here: Funding to advance research on psychosocial well-being and healthy aging
PURC
Mar 31, 2019
Congrats to Honours student Jamile De Medeiros e Silva, who gave a fantastic presentation on sleep variability and affect at the UBC Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference!
APS
Mar 24, 2019
Jin Wen presented his research on self-control and cortisol stress reactivity at the American Psychosomatic Society conference (March 2019). Dr. Sin gave a talk on emotional vulnerability to short sleep and long-term functional limitations, and she was a roundtable facilitator on the topic of “Data for the Masses” (thank you to the Emerging Leaders SIG!).
Jin’s poster in the Citation Poster Session at APS (pictured with Dr. Nancy Sin and Dr. Julia Boehm)
Symposium on Emotion regulation and variability in relation to daily stressors and health
From left: Lewina Lee, Nancy Sin, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald (Symposium Chair), and Rebecca Reed
(not pictured: our awesome discussant, Dr. Aric Prather)
SPSP
Feb 10, 2019
Kevin Chi was awarded the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Diversity Undergraduate Travel Award and the Robert and Kazuko Barker Award. He attended the SPSP conference in Portland to present his poster, “Daily prosocial behaviour and well-being among adults: Examination of day-to-day variations.” Congrats, Kevin!
Gerontological Society of America
Dec 09, 2018
Dr. Sin presented 2 talks at the GSA conference in Boston, entitled “Characterizing the co-occurrence of positive events and stressors in daily life” and “Daily positive events are associated with more favourable perceptions of same-day stressors.”
Canadian Association on Gerontology
Nov 07, 2018
Congrats to Jin Wen and Kevin Chi on their recent presentations at the Canadian Association on Gerontology conference! Jin was winner of the CIHR Institute of Aging Student Poster Competition (Master’s Category)!
- Jin Wen at CAG 2018
- Kevin Chi and Dr. Sin at CAG 2018
Aging Consciously
Aug 09, 2018
Dr. Sin gave a talk on “Coping with Stress in Daily Life” at the South Arm Community Centre as part of the Aging Consciously lecture series (8 Aug 2018). Thank you to everyone who attended and to Shannon at South Arm for inviting us!
APA Division 20
Jul 06, 2018
Dr. Sin has been elected as Member-at-Large for the Executive Committee of the American Psychological Association’s Division on Adult Development and Aging. She will serve a 3-year term from 2018-2021.
Kevin Chi awarded Quinn Research Assistantship
Mar 12, 2018
Kevin Chi (4th Year Psychology student) has received the Quinn Research Assistantship Award, which will provide 4 months of summer funding to support Kevin’s research project on daily volunteering and health in midlife and older adults. Congratulations, Kevin!
American Psychosomatic Society conference
Mar 05, 2018
Dr. Sin will be giving a talk entitled “Short Sleep Exacerbates Negative Emotional Responses to Daily Stressors: Evaluation of Bidirectional, Within-Person Associations” at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Louisville, KY (8 March 2018).
Washington Post
Our study on daily stress and heart rate variability was featured in the Washington Post (5 March 2018).
Aging Consciously
Jan 21, 2018
Dr. Sin gave a talk on “Small Actions to Promote Happiness and Healthy Aging” as part of the Aging Consciously lecture series at South Arm Community Centre in Richmond (17 Jan 2018). A big thanks to everyone who attended!
Inflammation and Health
Nov 07, 2017
The latest newsletter for the Midlife in the United States Study describes findings from Dr. Sin’s studies on daily stress, positive events, and inflammation. Read the newsletter here to learn more about how inflammation interacts with psychosocial and behavioural factors to influence health.
Accepting grad students and RAs!
Sep 03, 2017
The UPLIFT Health Lab is accepting applications for research assistants and graduate students. Please contact Dr. Sin for more details.
Spotlight: Dr. Nancy Sin explores links between everyday life and healthy aging
Aug 02, 2017
In a Q&A, Dr. Nancy Sin shares her research and what sparked her interest in studying psychosocial well-being, aging, and health.
First of all, can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a health psychologist focused on understanding psychosocial well-being and biobehavioural mechanisms underlying healthy aging. I received my PhD in Social/Personality Psychology with an emphasis on Health Psychology from the University of California, Riverside. I subsequently completed postdoctoral research fellowships in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and in the Center for Healthy Aging at The Pennsylvania State University. I was born and raised on the west coast (northern California), so Vancouver—the vibrant city, cultural diversity, outdoorsy lifestyle, and beautiful landscapes—already feels like home.
What kinds of questions do you try to answer through your research?
Nancy Sin
My primary research question is, “How do the ups and downs of day-to-day life influence long-term health and aging?” To answer this question, I examine physiological and behavioural pathways (such as inflammation, sleep, and physical activity) that may link daily experiences to chronic diseases and mortality. I am particularly interested in studying positive events in everyday life and whether they might buffer against the effects of stress.
Can you give us an example of this in our daily lives?
Minor stressors and positive events are common occurrences in daily life, especially in midlife when adults are juggling the demands of family and work responsibilities. In my research, participants have reported positive events such as spending time in nature, having a good conversation, receiving a compliment, and accomplishing a task at work or at home. Examples of stressful events in daily life are work deadlines, being stuck in traffic, having a disagreement or interpersonal tension, and experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment. I (and others) have found that positive events occur far more frequently than stressors among community-based, non-clinical samples of midlife and older adults.
How did you become interested in this line of research?
As one of my work-study jobs when I was an undergraduate at UCLA, I transcribed recordings of marriage therapy sessions. These couples had deeply entrenched problems in their relationships, yet I was most struck by the seeming lack of positive experiences. That job, along with my coursework and other research activities, sparked my interest in whether positive experiences could help alleviate depressive symptoms and counteract stress. I pursued this line of work in graduate school at UC Riverside, where the health psychology graduate courses opened up a whole new world for me that further developed my interests in psychosocial well-being, aging, and health.
Can you tell us about any new research that you are particularly excited about?
I am excited about tracking intraindividual fluctuations in functional and subjective health. In other words, why do we feel healthier and are better able to carry out daily activities on some days than on others? I am also excited about characterizing the processes surrounding daily positive events—that is, individual differences and contextual factors that predict exposure to positive events, as well as appraisals, physiological and emotional responses, and the lingering effects of positive events. My overarching goal is to identify aspects of day-to-day life that can be modified to promote health and well-being.
Do you have a motto?
I do not have a motto, but I believe that every endeavour worth pursuing requires a great deal of practice, persistence, and risk-taking. And, defeat and setbacks should not be interpreted as failure; rather, they are signs of progress towards success.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love spending time with friends, family, and my two dogs, Muffet and Luke. Because research projects can take years, I like to balance them out by doing creative activities in which I can produce something tangible right before my eyes, including knitting, crocheting, drawing, and cooking.
This Q&A was originally featured on the Department of Psychology’s website.