Angela Starkweather, Ph.D. 
Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Professor, Department of Nursing | University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT, UNITED STATES
Angela Starkweather, PhD, is an expert in symptom science, clinical trials, pain and pain mechanisms.
Biography
Angela Starkweather, Ph.D. is a Professor in the School of Nursing as well as the Director for the P20 Center for Accelerating Precision Pain Self-Management at University of Connecticut.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Omic Measures
Symptom Science
Biobehavioral Research
Cancer
Addiction
Pain Management
Pain
Aging
Stress
Genomics
Education (3)
Loyola University, Chicago: Ph.D. 2005
Loyola University, Chicago: M.S.N. 2000
Seattle Pacific University: B.S.N. 1996
Affiliations (3)
- Chair, National Institutes of Health Scientific Review Panel, Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress, and Health
- Affiliate Professor, Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut
- Affiliate Professor, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Accomplishments (9)
2019 Audrey Nelson Award (professional)
Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals
2017 Virginia Henderson Award for Excellence in Research (professional)
Connecticut Nursing Association
UConn School of Nursing Difference Maker (professional)
2017
2016 Distinguished Faculty Research Award (professional)
School of Nursing
2015 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (professional)
Research Scholars Program
Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (professional)
Research Scholars Program
Fellow (professional)
American Academy of Nursing
Future of Nursing Leadership Award (professional)
Virginia Nurses Association
Fellow (professional)
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
Links (1)
Media
Publications:
Documents:
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Research Grants (4)
Self-regulation of yoga for low back pain
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health $3,000,000
2020 - 2025 The goal of this study is to examine whether emotion regulation is the mechanism of action underlying the health benefits of yoga for improving low back pain and to define the epigenetic signature of pain resolution.
Emotion regulation intervention for preventing collegiate escalations in drinking: a randomized controlled trials to establish acceptability, feasibility and preliminary efficacy
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism $750,000
2019 - 2022 The goal of this study is to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a combined distress tolerance and yoga intervention on alcohol use among college students.
Neurophysiological and transcriptomic predictors of chronic low back pain: Towards precision pain management
NEAT Study $3,000,000
2019 - 2024 The goal of this study is to identify the neurophysiologic and transcriptomic phenotype of the transition from acute to chronic low back pain.
Physiological, psychological, and genomic factors that predict the transition from acute to chronic pain in patients with traumatic lower extremity fracture
Funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research $3,000,000
2018 - 2023 The goals of this study are to elucidate the predictors of chronic pain following traumatic lower extremity fractures.
Articles (5)
2019 The purpose of this article was to discuss barriers and potential solutions for strengthening inter- and intraprofessional collaborations that will advance biobehavioral symptom science.
2019 Many people with HIV (PWH) experience chronic pain that limits daily function and quality of life. PWH with chronic pain have commonly been prescribed opioids, sometimes for many years, and it is unclear if and how the management of these legacy patients should change in light of the current US opioid epidemic.
2019 The biological basis underlying cognitive dysfunction in women with early-stage breast cancer (BC) remains unclear, but could reflect gene expression changes that arise from the acquisition and long-term retention of soma-wide alterations in DNA methylation in response to chemotherapy. In this longitudinal study, we identified differences in peripheral methylation patterns present in women prior to treatment (T1) and 1 year after receiving chemotherapy (T4) and evaluated relationships among the differential methylation (DM) ratios with changes in cognitive function.
2019 A nontargeted plasma metabolomic analysis was conducted to compare differentially expressed metabolites in women with and without fibromyalgia (FM ) using data and samples collected from two parent studies in women with FM (n = 20) and comparative data collected from newly recruited age‐matched women (n = 20). Blood plasma samples were analyzed for metabolite content using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.
2019 Fatigue and cognitive dysfunction are major concerns for women with early-stage breast cancer during treatment and into survivorship. However, interrelationships of these phenomena and their temporal patterns over time are not well documented, thus limiting the strategies for symptom management interventions. In this study, changes in fatigue across treatment phases and the relationship among fatigue severity and its functional impact with objective cognitive performance were examined. METHODS:Participants (N = 75) were assessed at five time points beginning prior to chemotherapy to 24 months after initial chemotherapy.
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