Faculty Profile for Dr. Krista J Howard

profile photo for Dr. Krista J Howard
Dr. Krista J Howard
Professor — Psychology
THH 253D
phone: (512) 245-5547
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Dr. Howard earned her PhD in Health Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010.

Teaching Interests

 Introduction to Statistics
Applied Biostatistics (graduate level)
Foundations of Health Psychology (graduate level)
Industrial Psychology
Health Psychology

Dr. Howard oversees the undergraduate and graduate internships with the Seaton Foundation's Learning Community for Cognitive Disabilities.

Dr. Howard is a faculty member with the Psychology Greece Study Abroad program.

Research Interests

 Dr. Howard is a biostatistician who uses the biopsychosocial approach to study predictive factors that influence specific behaviors and health outcomes. Her research has been published in high-impact journals including JAMA, JAMA Neurology, and JAMA Open.

Her main areas of research include:
Occupational Health
Chronic Health Conditions, Health Disparities, Treatment Adherence
Maternal Health and Substance Use
Mental Health and Health Behaviors related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Social Media and Mental Health
Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain; Central Sensitization; Opioid Misuse

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Westerberg, C. E., Price, M. A., Niziurski, J., & Howard, K. J. (2024). Prolonged changes to dreaming behaviors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dreaming, 32, 107–121.
  • Stern, M. J., Finch, A., Haskard-Zolnierek, K. B., Howard, K., & Deason, R. G. (2023). Cognitive Decline in Mid-Life: Changes in Memory and Cognition Related to Hypothyroidism. Journal of Health Psychology, 28(4), 388–401.
  • Schmiedehaus, E., Cordaro, M., Perrotte, J., Stern, M., Dailey, S., & Howard, K. J. (2023). The Great Resignation in higher education: An occupational health approach to understanding intentions-to-quit for faculty in higher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 123, e103992. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103992
  • Howard, J., Perrotte, J. K., Grigsby, T., Leong, C., & Howard, K. J. (2023). All-cause and cause-specific mortality by race and ethnicity among pregnant and recently pregnant women in the United States, 2019-2020. JAMA Network Open, 6(1), e2253280. https://doi.org/DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.53280.
  • Howard, J., Stewart, I., Amuan, M., Janak, J., Howard, K. J., & Pugh, M. J. (2023). Trends in suicide rates among post-9/11 US military veterans with and without traumatic brain injury from 2006-2020. JAMA - Neurology. https://doi.org/doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2893

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Liberal Arts Award for Excellence in Mentoring, Liberal Arts - Texas State University. 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Liberal Arts Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarly Activities, Liberal Arts - Texas State University. 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Liberal Arts College Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching. 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Favorite Professor, Alpha Chi National Honor Society. November 2018
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Health Scholar Showcase, Texas State University. February 2018

Selected Grants

  • Howard, Krista J (Principal), Ceballos, Natalie A (Supporting), Grimes, Thomas (Supporting), Dailey, Stephanie Layne (Supporting), Lu, Yongmei (Supporting), Lee, Hsun Ming (Supporting), Sharma, Shobhit (Supporting), Lawrence, Grayson B (Other). Does Social Media Make Us Sick? A Pilot Study on the Effects of Social Media on Physiological Reactivity and Mental Health, MIRG, Texas State University, $23784. (Funded: July 2018 - February 2020). Grant.
  • Burke, Patricia Jean (Principal), Haskard Zolnierek, Kelly B (Co-Principal), Howard, Krista J (Co-Principal), Lawrence, Grayson B (Co-Principal), Tamir, Dan (Co-Principal). Increasing Treatment Adherence in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: Development of a Support Network Application, MIRG, Texas State University, $25000. (Funded: June 2016 - June 2017). Grant.
  • Haskard Zolnierek, Kelly (Principal), Howard, Krista J (Co-Principal). Interactive Medication Adherence Monitor (IMAM) Smartphone Program for Chronic Medical Conditions - Phase II, Texas State University Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, $6670. (Submitted: January 1, 2013, Funded: January 2013 - December 2013). Grant.
  • Howard, Krista J (Principal). Evaluating Disparity in Outcomes of Total Joint Replacement in Underserved Population, Texas State University Research Enhancement Program, Institutional (Higher Ed), $8000. (Submitted: January 1, 2011, Funded: January 2011 - December 2011). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
Editorial Board, Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research
January 1, 2011-2020
Chair
Policy Review Committee
January 2019-May 2019
Member
Campus Climate Survey Committee
January 2017-December 2018
Participant
Bobcat Day
October 2018-October 2018
Participant
March For Science
2017