Email: JLes@med.unc.edu

Phone: (919) 966-4755

Education:

B.A., Sociology, University of Illinois, Chicago Circle
M.A., Sociology, University of Illinois, Chicago Circle
Ph.D., Sociology, Duke University

Research Interests:

Jane Leserman, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine. She is a medical sociologist with extensive research background in the areas of: behavioral and psychosomatic medicine, psychoneuroimmunology, issues related to women's health, and quantitative research methods. Dr. Leserman has published extensively in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, particularly on how stress, depression and social support affect immune change and disease progression in HIV infection. She has served as the principal investigator of the University of North Carolina portion of the Coping in Health and Illness Project, a 14-year NIMH funded study to examine the effects of psychiatric, psychosocial, and neuroendocrine correlates of immune change and disease progression in HIV-infected men. More recently, she is studying the effects of a trauma treatment intervention on the psychological and physical health of HIV infected men and women.  Dr. Leserman's research has also examined the long-term physical and mental health effects of sexual and physical abuse history among women with gastrointestinal disorders, pelvic pain and other chronic medical conditions.

Representative Publications:

1. J. Leserman, J. Barroso, B.W. Pence, N. Salahuddin, J.L. Harmon. Trauma, stressful life events, and depression predict HIV-related fatigue, AIDS Care, 2008 Nov 20(10): 1258-65.

2. J. Leserman, G. Ironson, C. O’Cleirigh, J. Fordiani. Stressful Life Events and Adherence in HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 2008;22(5):403-11.

3. J. Leserman. Role of depression, stress, and trauma in HIV disease progression. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2008, 70(5): 539-45.

4. J. Leserman, B.W. Pence, K. Whetten, M.J. Mugavero, N.M. Thielman D, M.S. Swartz, D. Stangl, Lifetime Trauma and Depressive Symptoms Predict Mortality in HIV, Am J Psychiatry, 2007, 164 (11):1707-1713.

5. J. Leserman, D. Zolnoun, S. Meltzer-Brody, G. Lamvu, J. S. Steege. “Identifying Diagnostic Subtypes of Chronic Pelvic Pain and How Subtypes Differ in Health Status and Trauma History,” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2006, 195(2):554-561.