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Kathi L. Heffner-Johnson, Ph.D.

Kathi L. Heffner-Johnson, Ph.D.

About Me

Kathi Heffner is a Professor of Nursing, Medicine, and Psychiatry, and the Associate Chief of Research in the Division of Geriatrics and Aging in the Department of Medicine. Her multidisciplinary and interprofessional collaborations and mentorship are aimed at supporting research initiatives that ca...
Kathi Heffner is a Professor of Nursing, Medicine, and Psychiatry, and the Associate Chief of Research in the Division of Geriatrics and Aging in the Department of Medicine. Her multidisciplinary and interprofessional collaborations and mentorship are aimed at supporting research initiatives that can ultimately foster individuals' health and well-being in later life.

Dr. Heffner's work has been supported by multiple organizational, NIH and other federally funded grants. Her growing leadership in aging research has been recognized locally and nationally, including as a selected scholar for the Tideswell UCSF Emerging Leaders in Aging Program. She is currently the Principal Investigator and Program Director for the Healthy Aging Research Program, supported by the UR Clinical Translational Science Institute, School of Nursing, and Department of Psychiatry.

Faculty Appointments

Professor - Department of Medicine, Geriatrics/Aging (SMD) - Joint

Professor - Department of Psychiatry, Behav/Psychosoc Med (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychoneuroimmunology, The Ohio State University 2001 - 2003

Education

PhD | University of Nevada, Reno. Social Psychology. 2001

BA | University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Psychology. 1994

Awards

UCSF Tideswell Emerging Leaders in Aging, Leadership Scholar in Research. 2017 - 2018

W. G. Stuber Research Fellowship Award. 2015 - 2016

Selected cohort member; Developing from Within. 2014

Excellence in Research Incentive Program Award. 2013

Citation Poster. 2009

Collier Research Award, First Place. 2009

Citation Poster. 2008

Renewal award, National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program, Clinical Research Program. 2008

Invitation and Honorarium for attendance. 2008

Funding recipient, National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program, Clinical Research Program. 2006

University International Council, International Travel Award. 2006

Faculty Development Award. 2005

Social Psychology Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program Competitive Travel Award. 2000

Graduate Student Association Annual Research Competition, Finalist. 2000

Graduate Student Association (GSA) Merit Scholarship. 1998

Research

My research centers on understanding the links between stress and health in older adulthood. I am particularly interested in how stress affects the immune system, and how to promote stress resilience to keep the immune system healthy at older ages. My scientific contributions fall into three areas: ...
My research centers on understanding the links between stress and health in older adulthood. I am particularly interested in how stress affects the immune system, and how to promote stress resilience to keep the immune system healthy at older ages. My scientific contributions fall into three areas: (1) implications of stress, including older family caregivers' stress, for healthy immune aging, (2) the influence of sleep and insomnia on stress physiology and inflammation, and (3) the role of social relationships in older adults' stress and stress resilience.

Across these areas, my goal is to identify behavioral interventions that can affect multiple domains of older adults' well-being, including mood and anxiety, cognitive function, pain, and risk for chronic aging-related diseases.

Publications

Journal Articles

Harmonizing Cognitive and Psychosocial Needs in Cognitive Training: Lessons Learned from Piano Training in Persons Living with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Lin R, Robinson LM, Su JJ, Freer E, Norton S, Kluger BM, Heffner KL

Clinical gerontologist.. 2025 January 9 :1-14. Epub 01/09/2025.

Caring about the family caregiver: A mentored journey building on the legacy of Janice Kiecolt-Glaser's pioneering research on caregivers' immune health.

Heffner KL

Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology.. 2024 November 20 :100259. Epub 08/05/2024.

Telemedicine experience among family caregivers of persons with dementia.

Temkin-Greener H, Conwell Y, Heffner KL, Cai S

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.. 2024 August 7 Epub 08/07/2024.

Subjective memory in adults over 50 years of age: associations with affective and physiological markers of emotion regulation.

Heffner KL, Quiñones MM, Gallegos AM, Crean HF, Lin F, Suhr JA

Aging & mental health.. 2022 May 26 (5):971-979. Epub 03/30/2021.

Pain and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Spectrum in Community-Dwelling Older Americans: A Nationally Representative Study.

Wang J, Cheng Z, Kim Y, Yu F, Heffner KL, Quinones MM, Li Y

Journal of pain and symptom management.. 2022 May 63 (5):654-664. Epub 01/23/2022.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia to Augment Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment in Survivors of Interpersonal Violence.

Pigeon WR, Crean HF, Cerulli C, Gallegos AM, Bishop TM, Heffner KL

Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.. 2022 91 (1):50-62. Epub 07/15/2021.

Autonomic flexibility reflects learning and associated neuroplasticity in old age.

Chen Q, Yang H, Rooks B, Anthony M, Zhang Z, Tadin D, Heffner KL, Lin FV

Human brain mapping.. 2020 September 41 (13):3608-3619. Epub 06/08/2020.

Processing speed and attention training modifies autonomic flexibility: A mechanistic intervention study.

Lin FV, Tao Y, Chen Q, Anthony M, Zhang Z, Tadin D, Heffner KL

NeuroImage.. 2020 June 213 :116730. Epub 03/09/2020.

Social Relationships and Inflammatory Markers in the MIDUS Cohort: The Role of Age and Gender Differences.

Elliot AJ, Heffner KL, Mooney CJ, Moynihan JA, Chapman BP

Journal of aging and health.. 2018 July 30 (6):904-923. Epub 03/20/2017.

Meditation and yoga for posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials.

Gallegos AM, Crean HF, Pigeon WR, Heffner KL

Clinical psychology review.. 2017 December 58 :115-124. Epub 1900 01 01.

Cortical thickness is associated with altered autonomic function in cognitively impaired and non-impaired older adults.

Lin F, Ren P, Wang X, Anthony M, Tadin D, Heffner KL

The Journal of physiology.. 2017 November 15595 (22):6969-6978. Epub 10/25/2017.

Acute Affective Reactivity and Quality of Life in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Functional MRI Study.

Ren P, Heffner KL, Jacobs A, Lin F

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.. 2017 November 25 (11):1225-1233. Epub 06/27/2017.

A Role of the Parasympathetic Nervous System in Cognitive Training.

Lin F, Heffner KL, Ren P, Tadin D

Current Alzheimer research.. 2017 14 (7):784-789. Epub 1900 01 01.

Identifying attentional deployment tactics in older adults' written narratives about emotionally upsetting events.

Devereux PG, Heffner KL, Doane MJ, Gosser B, Nolan M

Journal of health psychology.. 2016 October 21 (10):2247-58. Epub 03/16/2015.

Cognitive and Neural Effects of Vision-Based Speed-of-Processing Training in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study.

Lin F, Heffner KL, Ren P, Tivarus ME, Brasch J, Chen DG, Mapstone M, Porsteinsson AP, Tadin D

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.. 2016 June 64 (6):1293-8. Epub 1900 01 01.

Meditation programs for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Aggregate findings from a multi-site evaluation.

Heffner KL, Crean HF, Kemp JE

Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy.. 2016 May 8 (3):365-74. Epub 01/11/2016.

Mental Fatigability and Heart Rate Variability in Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Lin F, Ren P, Cotton K, Porsteinsson A, Mapstone M, Heffner KL

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.. 2016 May 24 (5):374-8. Epub 01/12/2016.

Responding to the need for sleep among survivors of interpersonal violence: A randomized controlled trial of a cognitive-behavioral insomnia intervention followed by PTSD treatment.

Pigeon WR, Heffner KL, Crean H, Gallegos AM, Walsh P, Seehuus M, Cerulli C

Contemporary clinical trials.. 2015 November 45 (Pt B):252-260. Epub 09/04/2015.

Frequency of mentally stimulating activities modifies the relationship between cardiovascular reactivity and executive function in old age.

Lin F, Heffner K, Mapstone M, Chen DG, Porsteisson A

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.. 2014 November 22 (11):1210-21. Epub 07/23/2013.

Stress and anxiety effects on positive skin test responses in young adults with allergic rhinitis.

Heffner KL, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Glaser R, Malarkey WB, Marshall GD

Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology.. 2014 July 113 (1):13-8. Epub 04/13/2014.

Evaluation of objective and perceived mental fatigability in older adults with vascular risk.

Lin F, Roiland R, Heffner K, Johnson M, Chen DG, Mapstone M

Journal of psychosomatic research.. 2014 June 76 (6):458-64. Epub 04/16/2014.

Associations between depressive symptoms and memory deficits vary as a function of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels in healthy older adults.

Lin F, Suhr J, Diebold S, Heffner KL

Psychoneuroendocrinology.. 2014 April 42 :118-23. Epub 01/22/2014.

Nighttime sleep and daytime stress--tangled bedfellows: a comment on Williams et al.

Heffner KL

Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.. 2013 August 46 (1):7-8. Epub 1900 01 01.

Depressive symptoms, pain, chronic medical morbidity, and interleukin-6 among primary care patients.

Poleshuck EL, Talbot NL, Moynihan JA, Chapman BP, Heffner KL

Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.. 2013 May 14 (5):686-91. Epub 04/22/2013.

Older adults' hemodynamic responses to an acute emotional stressor: short report.

Heffner KL, Devereux PG, Ng HM, Borchardt AR, Quigley KS

Experimental aging research.. 2013 39 (2):162-78. Epub 1900 01 01.

Sleep disturbance and older adults' inflammatory responses to acute stress.

Heffner KL, Ng HM, Suhr JA, France CR, Marshall GD, Pigeon WR, Moynihan JA

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.. 2012 September 20 (9):744-52. Epub 1900 01 01.

Social isolation, C-reactive protein, and coronary heart disease mortality among community-dwelling adults.

Heffner KL, Waring ME, Roberts MB, Eaton CB, Gramling R

Social science & medicine.. 2011 May 72 (9):1482-8. Epub 03/30/2011.

Moderating effects of moderate-intensity physical activity in the relationship between depressive symptoms and interleukin-6 in primary care patients.

Rethorst CD, Moynihan J, Lyness JM, Heffner KL, Chapman BP

Psychosomatic medicine.. 2011 April 73 (3):265-9. Epub 03/01/2011.

Neuroendocrine effects of stress on immunity in the elderly: implications for inflammatory disease.

Heffner KL

Immunology and allergy clinics of North America.. 2011 February 31 (1):95-108. Epub 1900 01 01.

Chronic low back pain, sleep disturbance, and interleukin-6.

Heffner KL, France CR, Trost Z, Ng HM, Pigeon WR

The Clinical journal of pain.. 2011 January 27 (1):35-41. Epub 1900 01 01.

Elevated sleep disturbance among blacks in an urban family medicine practice.

Pigeon WR, Heffner K, Duberstein P, Fiscella K, Moynihan J, Chapman BP

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM.. 2011 24 (2):161-8. Epub 1900 01 01.

The relation of hydration status to declarative memory and working memory in older adults.

Suhr JA, Patterson SM, Austin AW, Heffner KL

The journal of nutrition, health & aging.. 2010 December 14 (10):840-3. Epub 1900 01 01.

Is the association between optimistic cardiovascular risk perceptions and lower rates of cardiovascular disease mortality explained by biomarkers of systemic inflammation or endothelial function? A case-cohort study.

Gramling R, Heffner KL, Klein WM, Zajac LE, Roberts M, Eaton CB

BioPsychoSocial medicine.. 2010 September 214 (1):11. Epub 09/21/2010.

How stress and anxiety can alter immediate and late phase skin test responses in allergic rhinitis.

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Heffner KL, Glaser R, Malarkey WB, Porter K, Atkinson C, Laskowski B, Lemeshow S, Marshall GD

Psychoneuroendocrinology.. 2009 June 34 (5):670-80. Epub 01/15/2009.

Older spouses' cortisol responses to marital conflict: associations with demand/withdraw communication patterns.

Heffner KL, Loving TJ, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Himawan LK, Glaser R, Malarkey WB

Journal of behavioral medicine.. 2006 August 29 (4):317-25. Epub 06/20/2006.

Spousal support satisfaction as a modifier of physiological responses to marital conflict in younger and older couples.

Heffner KL, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Loving TJ, Glaser R, Malarkey WB

Journal of behavioral medicine.. 2004 June 27 (3):233-54. Epub 1900 01 01.

Examining psychosocial factors related to cancer incidence and progression: in search of the silver lining.

Heffner KL, Loving TJ, Robles TF, Kiecolt-Glaser JK

Brain, behavior, and immunity.. 2003 February 17 Suppl 1 :S109-11. Epub 1900 01 01.

Appraisals and impression management opportunities: person and situation influences on cardiovascular reactivity.

Heffner KL, Ginsburg GP, Hartley TR

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.. 2002 May 44 (2):165-75. Epub 1900 01 01.

Psycho-oncology and cancer: psychoneuroimmunology and cancer.

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Robles TF, Heffner KL, Loving TJ, Glaser R

Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology. 2002 13 Suppl 4 :165-9. Epub 1900 01 01.

Books

Handbook of Psychoneuroimmunology (2014)

Chapter: Stress and immune function in humans: A life-course perspective

The Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology (2009)

Chapter: Psychoneuroimmunology

The Encyclopedia of Human Relationships (2009)

Chapter: Isolation: Health effects

Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships (2006)

Chapter: Physiology and interpersonal relationships