Robert B. Noll, PhD Psychology Faculty - Training Director

Since receiving my PhD in 1983, my research has focused on gaining a better understanding of the impact of medical challenges for children, their parents, and siblings. The fundamental premise for this body of work has been two-fold. First, to identify specific domains of functional vulnerability so that clinical trials could be initiated with a specific target; and second, to utilize medical trauma/challenges in children as a metaphor to better understand the psychosocial impact of random stressful life events on the functioning of children. While my work has included studies examining the functioning of children with sickle cell, arthritis, hemophilia, migraines, fibromyalgia, and neurofibromatosis, children with cancer and their families have been the center point of my research and teaching career. I have published 117 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals. While much of my work has been descriptive, I have been involved in 5 different multi-site randomized clinical trials involving pediatric cancers as a site Principal Investigator. The body of research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society. Along with this academic focus, I have been extremely involved in the mentoring of junior faculty and fellows. I have been the primary or co-primary mentor for 6 career development awards, and 4 of my previous fellows currently have NIH funding. At the present time, I am the Chair of the Behavioral Science Committee within the Children’s Oncology Group and I am responsible for the mentoring/development of a number of scholars in the US. I currently serve on the editorial boards of the journals Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and Journal of Pediatric Psychology.