Welcome to the HEART Lab
Health, Equity, and Anti-Racist Transformation
Directed by Dr. Amanda L. Almond, Associate Professor of Psychology, New York City College of Technology
The HEART Lab is a community of students and scholars dedicated to understanding how social forces—like discrimination, identity, and access—shape the way people think about and care for their health. We study the psychology of health behavior through the lens of equity and transformation, using science to uncover the barriers and strengths that influence everyday decisions about wellness, self-care, and health behaviors.
Our work explores how people’s experiences with race, gender, and social context impact self-efficacy and behavior change. We’ve been examining microaggressions in healthcare settings, validating measures of self-care among women-identified graduate students, and exploring how race attributes and ambiguous cues about race and disease influence self-efficacy and readiness to change. Our goal is to connect psychological theory with lived experience.
At the HEART Lab, we believe that research should not only describe the world—it should help change it.
For Undergraduate Researchers
Students in the HEART Lab are full collaborators in the research process. Under Dr. Almond’s mentorship, undergraduate researchers learn how to ask meaningful questions, collect and interpret data, and share findings with broader audiences.
As part of the lab, students:
- Learn to design and distribute surveys in Survey Monkey and Qualtrics
- Conduct literature reviews and annotated bibliographies
- Code and manage data using SPSS and Excel
- Participate in team meetings focused on theory building and social justice in science
- Present at local and national conferences (Association for Women in Psychology, Association for Psychological Science and Eastern Psychological Association Conference)
- Build strong foundations for graduate programs in psychology and related health fields
The HEART Lab is also a space for mentorship, growth, and belonging. Students are encouraged to explore how their own experiences and identities inform the way they think about health, society, and research. Together, we work toward creating pathways for underrepresented voices in science and ensuring that the next generation of psychologists approaches research with both rigor and compassion.