Jonathan Singer, Ph.D

Current and Previous Funding

Current Funding

Title: Reducing suicide risk among older adult caregivers: Adapting, implementing, and evaluating dialectical behavior therapy skills training interventions
Funding: $453,000
Sponsor: National Institute on Aging (2023-2026; R15AG080446)
Role: Co-PI (Mitchell)

Title:Leveraging technology to meet the needs of rural family caregivers in Texas
Funding: $329,860
Sponsor: Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium-Junior Investigator Research Grant  (2025-2027)
Role: PI

Title:Effects of pecans on brain health in older Americans with mild cognitive impairment: gut-brain axis.
Funding: $299,999
Sponsor: American Pecan Promotion Board (2025-2027)
Role: Co-PI (Shen)

Title: Evaluating the Effects of a Recreational Intervention on Neurocognitive Functioning in Persons with Dementia
Funding: $124,926
Sponsor: Alzheimer's Association (2025-2026)
Role: PI

Title: Training Primary Care Providers in Screening for Dementia in Rural West Texas
Funding: $30,000
Sponsor: GWEP (2025-2026)
Role: Subaward PI (Overall PI: Solis)

Title: Pilot Testing a Grief Intervention for Hispanic Bereaved Youth
Funding: $10,000
Sponsor: UNT (2025-2026)
Role: Co-PI (Cummings)

Title: Improving Dementia Care for West Texas Residents Through a Comprehensive Memory Clinic
Funding: $100,000
Sponsor: Garrison Family Foundation (2025-2026)
Role: PI 

Title: Provide Alzheimer’s Education for Patients in Rural Areas
Funding: $125,000
Sponsor: Texas Department of State Health Services Pilot Grant (2025-2026)
Role: Co-I (PI: Santos)

Title: Curcumin and Retinal Amyloid-beta Pilot Study
Funding: $95,000
Sponsor: Sabinsa Corporation (2024-2026)
Role: Co-I (PI: Shen)

Research Interests

My research projects inform the work of the GRILL (Grief and Responses to Illness into Late Life) lab.

The GRILL Lab investigates psychological health in aging and illness. More specifically, we examine the interconnection of the biopsychosocial processes within individuals with life limiting illnesses (e.g., cancer; dementia) and their caregivers. Using multiple methods (e.g., Ecological Momentary Assessment) with advanced quantitative techniques (e.g., Multilevel Modeling; Growth Mixture Modeling), the ultimate goal of our research program is to translate basic and applied research into scalable, technology-based interventions.

Some current projects are outlined below:

1. Examine coping and pre-death grief with patients with sarcoma and their caregivers
2. Assess pre-death grief in caregivers of individuals who had a transplant
3. Identify Advanced Practice Providers’ opinions toward engaging in death with dignity
4. Explore demographics, medical history, and clinical experience of adult cancer patients who have inquired about and/or requested death with dignity
5. Identify trajectories and momentary changes of post stroke depression, fatigue, and pain
6. Examine health disparities in dementia patients and their caregivers

Selected Research

1. Singer, J., Goveas, J.S., Elliott, L**., Parmar, H., O’Connor, M.F. (2024) Personalized fMRI Tasks for Grief Severity in Bereaved Individuals: Emotional Counting Stroop and Grief Elicitation Protocols.

2. Singer, J., Rerick, P., Elliott, L**., Fadalla, C**., McLean, E**., Jump, E**., Molinar-Lopez, V., Neugebauer. (2024).  Investigating the Relationship Between Marital Status and Ethnicity on Neurocognitive Functioning in a Rural Older Population: A Project Frontier Study. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences Series B. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad126.
   
   
3. Singer, J., Cummings, C., Coccaro, E. (2024). Parental Separation and Death During Childhood as Predictors of Adult Psychopathology: An Examination of Racial Differences. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. 16, 184-192. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001291.
4. Prigerson, H.G., , J., Killikelly, C. (2024). Prolonged Grief Disorder: Addressing Misconceptions with Evidence. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2023.10.020.
5. Schneider, S**., Livingston, T.N., Elliott, L**., Chrzanowski, L**., Abu-Samaha, A**., Singer, J. (2024). Feelings of Power Scale for Family Caregivers: Development, Exploratory, and Confirmative Analysis. Clinical Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2024.2399588
6. Abu-Samaha, A**., McLean, E**., Weller, D**., Kelley, J**., Schmidt, A.T., Singer, J. (2024). Comparing Public Perceptions of Child and Adult Grief Responses to Familial Incarceration. OMEGA Journal of Death and Dying.
7. Singer, J., Daum, C**., Evans, A.E**., Schneider, S**., Vugrin, M., Loggers, E.T. (2023). An Examination and Proposed Theoretical Model of Risk and Protective Factors for Bereavement Outcomes for Family Members of Individuals who Engaged in Medical Aid in Dying: A Systematic Review. Palliative Medicine.37, 947-958. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163231172242
8. Singer, J., Breen L.J., Loggers E.T. (2023). Examining public stigma and expectations of grief following medical aid and dying in the US: A vignette-based experiment. Palliative and Supportive Care 21 ,270276. https:// doi.org/10.1017/S1478951522000852.

4. Singer, J., Carpenter, K. M. (2023). Mapping risk and Protective Factors to Trajectories of Cancer-Specific Stress in Gynecologic and Breast Cancer Patients: A Latent Growth Mixture Model Analysis. Journal of Behavior Medicine. 46, 689-698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-023-00396-023-00396-9.

5. McLean, E**., Livingston, T. N., Mitchell, S. M., & Singer, J. (2023). Perceptions of crime severity and stigma toward family members grieving the loss of a person to incarceration.Psychology, Crime & Law. 47, 1167-1179https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2175391 
   
   
6. McLean, E**., Livingston, T. N., Mitchell, S., , J. (2023). Public Perceptions of Grief Reactions in Family Members of Incarcerated Individuals: A Vignette-Based Experiment. Death Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2175391. Online First.

7. Schneider, S**., Rerick, P.O., Cummings, C., McLean, E**., Breen, L., Singer, J. (2023). Relationship Between Pandemic Grief Risk Factors and Prolonged Grief Disorder in Bereaved Sample During COVID-19. Palliative and Supportive Care. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S1478951523000160. Online First.

8. Zammit, T., Mancini, V.O., Reid, C., Singer, J., Staniland, L., Breen, L.J. (2023) Prolonged grief stigma in the COVID-19 pandemic: A vignette based experiment. Death Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2192010. Online First.
   
   
9. Faysel, M. A., Miller, T., Singer, J., & Cummings, C. (2023). The Effect of Physicians' Acknowledgement of Clinical Decision Support Systems Generated Alerts on Patient Diabetes Management in a Primary Care Setting. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 302, 511-515.https://doi.org/10.3233/shti230195.
   
   
10. Ramaswamy, S., Gilles, N., Gruessner, A.C., Buton, D., Fraser, M.A., Weingast, S., Kunnakkat, S., affable, A., Kaufman, D., Singer, J., Balucani, C., Levine, S. (2023) User-Centered Mobile Applications for Stroke Survivors (MAPPS): A Mixed-Methods Study of Patient Preferences. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2023.05.009. Online First.

11. Singer, J., Daum, C., Shen, M., Zecha, G., Kaplan, L., Plakovic, K., Blazey, M., Arnold, M., Silko, B., Baker, K., Loggers, E.L. (2022). Oncology Advanced Practice Providers’ Willingness to Participate in Medical Aid in Dying. Online First. JAMA Open Network.

12. Singer, J., Cummings, C., Coccaro, E. (2022). Parental Separation and Death During Childhood as Predictors of Adult Psychopathology: An Examination of Racial Differences. Online First. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy. Online First.

13. Livingston, T. N., Vik, T. A., & Singer, J. (2022). Relationships between power, communication about work and sex, and emotion expressions: A Linguist Inquiry and Word Count analysis. Online First. Psychological Reports.

14. Singer, J., Roberts, K., McLean, E**., Wilson, M**., Rogers, M., Coats, T**., Fadalla, C**., Goodwin, K., Lichtenthal. W., Prigerson., H. (2022). An Examination of Grief Prior to Loss in Family Members of Terminally Ill Patients: A Systematic Review. Palliative Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163221074540.

15. Singer, J., Shrout, MR., Papa., A. (2022). Rates and Prospective Psychosocial Correlated of Pre-Loss Grief in Cancer and Dementia Family Members. Journal of Health Psychology. 27, 1547-1555. doi:1177/1359105321995945.
    
    
16. Singer, J., McLean, E**., Kahler, J., Papa, T. (2022). An evaluation of Risk and Protective Factors for Prolonged Grief Disorder using the ICD-11 Criteria. Aging and Mental Health. 26, 2202-2207. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1998359.

17. McLean, E**., Singer, J., Laurita, E**., Kahler, J., Levin, C., & Papa, A. (2022). Perception of grief responses: Are maladaptive grief responses and the stages of grief considered normal? Death Studies, 46, 1414-1423. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2021.1983890.

 **=student mentored