The Department of Psychological Sciences welcomed Eric Cerino, Ph.D., to the Mountain Campus during the first faculty meeting of the semester. Dr. Cerino joined the faculty in August 2021, and taught Adult Development and Aging (PSY 344) and Abnormal Psychology (PSY 215) online during the fall semester. In addition to teaching several sections of Adult Development and Aging during the spring semester, Dr. Cerino will be creating the NAU Healthy Aging Lab, which will provide opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to participate in research to identify ways to maximize health and well-being for all individuals across the adult lifespan.
Dr. Cerino is a lifespan developmental psychologist and recently completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthy Aging at Pennsylvania State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University, with a concentration in Adult Development and Aging and minor in Aging Sciences. He has expertise in working with experience sampling studies among diverse groups of community-dwelling and clinical adult lifespan samples (e.g., individuals with mild cognitive impairment and those who are cognitively unimpaired). Dr. Cerino’s long-term research goal is to use intensive repeated measurement techniques to advance dementia screening efforts and inform development of tailored interventions for optimizing cognitive health in older adults.
Says Dr. Cerino, “I am thrilled to be joining a department with passionate students and wonderful colleagues committed to applying the psychological sciences for the advancement of health and wellbeing. I am eager to mentor the next generation of emerging scholars at NAU and excited to contribute to our university both in the classroom and in our community.”