Paul Duberstein, PhD (he/him/his)
Biography
Paul Duberstein, Ph.D., is a public health psychologist, professor, and chair of the Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health. Prior to joining Rutgers, he was a professor at the University of Rochester, where he held appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry (primary), Family Medicine, and Medicine. Dr. Duberstein received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, completed doctoral training in clinical and community psychology at SUNY Buffalo, advanced training in clinical psychology at Harvard Medical School, and postdoctoral research fellowship training in geriatric mental health at the University of Rochester.
Research Interests
As a public health psychologist, Dr. Duberstein leverages advances in the psychological, behavioral, and social sciences to improve health care delivery, inform health care policy, and enhance patient health outcomes, in two broad domains:
- Suicide prevention, and
- The care of older adults with serious illness.
Dr. Duberstein leverages the advances in the psychological, behavioral, and social sciences to improve health care delivery, inform health care policy, and enhance patient health outcomes in suicide prevention and the care of older adults with serious illness. Dr. Duberstein has identified risk factors for suicide and depression in older adults and explored the implications of personality and socioeconomic status for healthy aging. He has served as an investigator in multiple clinical trials to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, reduce suicide risk, and improve outcomes among patients and families with advanced, life-limiting disease, including cancer and renal disease.
Dr. Duberstein currently has leadership roles in three research initiatives:
Rutgers Suicide Prevention and Research Center (SPARC)
In collaboration with Drs. Shireen Rizvi (Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology) and Evan Kleiman (Department of Psychology), Dr. Duberstein developed the Rutgers SPARC, which brings together faculty from seven schools across Rutgers University, forming a diverse, transdisciplinary community of researchers interested in suicide prevention. SPARC is a resource for faculty and trainees submitting grant applications related to suicide research, and fosters collaborations through its monthly meetings, providing an intellectual forum for faculty, students, scholars, medical professionals, and community members within and beyond Rutgers University.
NJ Health Study
Dr. Duberstein serves as a senior investigator in this study which is led by Dr. Joel Cantor. The NJ Health Study was launched in 2022 to improve understanding of how life events and stress affect health. The study is currently enrolling up to 10,000 participants from across New Jersey, with an emphasis on historically disadvantaged groups, multi-generational families, and immigrant groups, including: Asian Indian, Chinese, Dominican, Filipino, Haitian, Jamaican, Korean, Mexican, Nigerian, and/or refugees/asylees More information about the NJHealth Study can be found here.
Laboratory of Aging, Policy and Health (LAPH)
In collaboration with Drs. Elissa Kozlov (School of Public Health) and Login George (School of Nursing), Dr. Duberstein co-leads the Laboratory of Aging, Policy and Health (LAPH). The overarching mission of LAPH is to improve health care, inform health care policy, prevent excess morbidity/mortality, and optimize patient- and family-centered health outcomes for older adults with serious, life-limiting illness and dementia. The LAPH includes students, staff, faculty members from Rutgers [Drs. Ayse Akincigil (Social Work), Biren Saraiya (Cancer Institute of New Jersey), M. Hamza Habib (Cancer Institute of New Jersey), and Elizabeth Luth (Family Medicine and Community Health)] and faculty from the University of Rochester (Drs. Fahad Saeed, Sule Yilmaz, Sally Norton) the University of Connecticut (Dr. Ellis Dillon), and Oregon State University (Dr. Dawn (Hyosin) Kim). Lab members utilize theories and methods from the psychological, behavioral, and social sciences to conduct research across the public health spectrum, including descriptive phenomenological studies, observational research, analyses of administrative datasets (e.g., Medicare) using causal inference methods, intervention development research, randomized controlled trials, and cluster-randomized controlled trials using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.
Dr. Duberstein currently advises two doctoral students, Jessica Anderson and Molly Nowels, and he mentors a third (Naomi Cruz). He is not currently accepting incoming doctoral students but is available to serve as a co-mentor. Prospective doctoral students in Health Systems and Policy or Social and Behavioral Health Sciences should indicate whether they are interested in joining Rutgers SPARC, the NJ Health Study, and/or LAPH.
Rutgers Suicide Prevention and Research Center (SPARC)
In collaboration with Shireen Rizvi, PhD (Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology) and Evan Kleiman, PhD (Department of Psychology), Dr. Duberstein developed the Rutgers SPARC, which brings together faculty from seven schools across Rutgers University, forming a diverse, transdisciplinary community of researchers interested in suicide prevention. SPARC is a resource for faculty and trainees submitting grant applications related to suicide research, and fosters collaborations through its monthly meetings, providing an intellectual forum for faculty, students, scholars, medical professionals, and community members within and beyond Rutgers University.
Duberstein Lab
To improve health care delivery, inform health care policy, prevent excess morbidity/mortality, and optimize patient- and family-centered health outcomes in serious, life-limiting illness and dementia, Dr. Duberstein founded the Duberstein Lab. The Lab includes faculty members from Rutgers including Drs. Login George, Irina Grafova, Elissa Kozlov, and Biren Saraiya. Faculty from outside of Rutgers University include Fahad Saeed, Sule Yilmaz, (University of Rochester), Michael Chen (Nazareth College) and Ellis Dillon (University of Connecticut). The research team uses psychological, behavioral, and social sciences to conduct theoretically informed research across the public health research spectrum, including descriptive phenomenological studies, observational research, intervention development research, randomized controlled trials, and cluster-randomized controlled trials using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods.
Housed in the Rutgers School of Public Health, the Duberstein Lab collaborates extensively with Rutgers School of Public Health faculty and with researchers affiliated with other Rutgers departments. The Duberstein Lab is an attractive setting for students who wish to learn about transdisciplinary approaches to the conceptualization of public health problems and the development of interventions to solve or mitigate those problems.
The mission of the Lab is to improve health care delivery, inform health care policy, prevent excess morbidity/mortality, and optimize patient- and family-centered health outcomes in serious, life-limiting illness (e.g., cancer, end-stage renal disease) and dementia. Led by Dr. Paul Duberstein, the lab includes faculty members from Rutgers and beyond. Rutgers faculty include Drs. Login George, Irina Grafova, Elissa Kozlov, and Biren Saraiya. Faculty from outside of Rutgers include Fahad Saeed, Sule Yilmaz, (University of Rochester), Michael Chen (Nazareth College) and Ellis Dillon (University of Connecticut). Drawing on the psychological, behavioral, and social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, economics), we conduct theoretically-informed research across the public health research spectrum, including descriptive phenomenological studies, observational research, intervention development research, randomized controlled trials, and cluster-randomized controlled trials using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.
We are particularly interested in aging, race disparities, and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare access and outcomes. Other topics of interest include medical decision-making, point-of-care patient-clinician communication, financial toxicity, overtreatment, overdiagnosis, medicalization, the measurement of healthcare utilization, and medical assistance in dying. The Lab is an attractive setting for students who wish to learn about transdisciplinary approaches to the conceptualization of public health problems and the development of interventions to solve or mitigate those problems. Housed in the Rutgers School of Public Health (SPH), the Duberstein Lab collaborates extensively with SPH faculty and with researchers affiliated with other Rutgers units, including Mark Gluck, PhD (Department of Neuroscience), Olga Jarrín Montaner, PhD, RN (School of Nursing), and Stephen Crystal, PhD (School of Social Work).