Meghan L. Marsac, PhD
About
Dr. Meghan Marsac is a pediatric psychologist and a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Children’s Hospital. She serves as the site PI for the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (Category II). Dr. Marsac’s program of research centers on medical trauma and includes conducting grant-funded studies to identify predictors of emotional and physical outcomes in the context of acute or chronic medical conditions, developing and validating assessment tools, and creating and evaluating programs to promote recovery and/or adjustment to medical conditions in children and families. Dr. Marsac is a leader in the field of pediatric medical trauma, having published over 65 academic articles and 10 chapters on this topic. She has co-authored a book for parents to use to help support their children through medical care as well as to care for themselves: Afraid of the Doctor, Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma (www.afraidofthedoctor.com). Dr. Marsac currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and Journal of Traumatic Stress. Dr. Marsac has also given hundreds of talks on understanding and promoting adjustment to injury and illness in children and their families. She is the CEO of the Cellie Coping Company (www.celliecopingcompany.com), which has distributed thousands of coping kits to families with children with medical conditions. In addition, Dr. Marsac specializes in training medical teams in the implementation of trauma-informed medical care. Clinically, Dr. Marsac implements evidence-based practices to facilitate families' management of medical treatment and emotional adjustment to challenging diagnoses and medical procedures.
Faculty Rank
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics
- Awards
- Selected for APA’s Advanced Training Institute on Structural Equation Modeling for Longitudinal Data, June 2009
- C. Eugene Walker Education Award in Pediatric Psychology, April 2009, American Psychological Association
- Student Research Award at the Fourteenth Annual University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University Symposium on Research in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Behavioral Science, May 2007
- Phi Kappa Phi (excellence in graduate work), May 2006
- Omicron Delta Kappa (National leadership society), May 2002
- Laurels Leadership Society (Local leadership society), May 2002
- Dayton C. Miller Honor Society of Baldwin-Wallace College (academic honorary), May 2002
- Psi Chi National Honorary Society, May 2001
- Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, May 2001
- Chairman’s Research Award, Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky, June 2018
- Best poster presentation: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition, Section of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine, November 2019
- Research Focus
Dr. Meghan Marsac’s program of research centers on medical trauma and includes conducting studies to identify predictors of emotional and physical outcomes in the context of acute or chronic medical conditions. She is also focused on developing and validating assessment tools, and creating and evaluating programs to promote recovery and/or adjustment to medical conditions in children and families.
Marsac is an Associate Fellow of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has served as a Principal Investigator for several projects examining how children and parents cope with stressful medical events (asthma, dental procedures, cancer, sickle cell disease, injury and trauma). The overarching goals of research are to advance the understanding of potential un-malleable screening variables (biological), as well as malleable factors (psychological, environmental) to target in PTSD preventive interventions. Additionally, Marsac and her research team are conducting several studies evaluating preventive programs for psychological symptoms in children with medical conditions (such as Coping Coach and Cellie Coping Kit).
- In the News
- February 4, 2022: To Best Help Our kids, We Have to Normalize Talking about Mental Health, by Scottie B. Day, Mandakini Sadhir, & Meghan Marsac, The Lexington Herald Leader
- January 11, 2022: Psychologist-led startup aims to help kids cope with medical conditions, by Haley Cawthon, Kentucky Innovate
- September 22, 2021: What To Do If Your Child Is Afraid Of The Doctor - KCH Psychologist Publishes New Guide, Interviewed by Dr. Greg Davis
- August 21, 2021: Helping kids deal with medical trauma, by Nedra Rhone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- July 19, 2021: Cellie Coping Kit. UK LaunchBlue Tech Showcase
- June 14, 2021: ‘Behind the Blue’: ‘Afraid of the Doctor’ With Meghan Marsac and Melissa Hogan, Interviewed by Trent Denson
- September, 27, 2021: Childhood and Adolescence, the Dennis Relojo-Howell Show, Interviewed by Dennis Relojo-Howell
- July 30, 2021: Midstate mom combats medical trauma in kids, 6 pm News4Nashville, interviewed by Lauren Lowrey
- August 19, 2020: UK Researcher Looks at COVID-19's Impact on Kids, Spectrum News 1, interviewed by Crystal Sicard
- August 14, 2020: Mental health professional gives tips for helping kids, parents through pandemic whiplash, LEX18 5pm News and Print Media, Interviewed by Claire Kopsky
- July 29, 2020: UK conducting study on how COVID-19 pandemic affects preschool-aged children, LEX18 5pm News and Print Media, Interviewed by Alex Valverde
- May 12, 2020: UK HealthCare Pediatric Psychologist Talks Children's Mental Health Amid Pandemic, 88.9 WEKU, Interviewed by Cheri Lawson
- March 19, 2020: Helping Your Kids Through The Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, NPR Rocks @ 91.3 WUKY, Interviewed by Karyn Czar
- August 6th, 2020, Parents Invited to Join Study About the Impact of COVID-19 on Young Children, UKNOW, interviewed by Hilary Brown
- August 3rd, 2020, Study proposed on emotional impact of COVID-19 on young children, Kentucky Today, by Tom Latek
- July 29th, 2020, COVID-19 Pilot Project Investigates Pandemic's Impact on Children, UK CCTS News, Originally reported by LEX18
- May 2020: Tips for recognizing, managing secondary traumatic stress in yourself. American Academy of Pediatrics News, authored by Meghan Marsac, PhD & Lindsay Ragsdale, MD
- April 2020: In the Face of an Unprecedented Crisis, Kids Can Bounce Back. UKNOW- University of Kentucky News, authored by Meghan Marsac, PhD
- May 2019: Featured Innovator: Meghan Marsac, UKY Commercialization Connect
- April 2019: Nurses Play Key Role in Injury Recovery. Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Blog, authored by Meghan Marsac, PhD.
Training & Education
Degree
Fellowship
Residency
View CV
Insurance Information
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