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Emily M Cherenack

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences

Overview


Emily M. Cherenack, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with a primary appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Medicine and Neurosciences, and a secondary appointment as Assistant Research Professor of Global Health in the Duke Global Health Institute. She is also an affiliate of the Duke Center for Global Mental Health. Dr. Cherenack earned her PhD in psychology from Duke University in 2021, which included a clinical internship in behavioral medicine at Brown University. Before joining the Duke faculty, she completed an NIH-funded NRSA (F32) postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Miami focused on psychoneuroimmunology. Her mixed-methods research integrates self-report measures, qualitative approaches, and biomarkers to examine how individuals cope with unchangeable stressors and investigate how adaptive coping can buffer the negative effects of stress on immune functioning, reproductive health, and cardiovascular health. Dr. Cherenack is particularly interested in how acceptance-based coping, self-compassion, and exercise can be used to promote mental and physical health outcomes. 

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Assistant Professor in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences · 2025 - Present Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Research Professor of Global Health · 2025 - Present Duke Global Health Institute, University Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published June 2, 2017
Emily Cherenack Receives GSTEG Grant
Published March 7, 2017
Four PhD Students Selected as Global Health Doctoral Scholars

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Recent Publications


Psychosocial, Behavioral, and HIV-Related Health Among Men Living with HIV Who Have a History of Incarceration.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · October 14, 2025 Incarceration is intricately linked with the HIV epidemic, with incarcerated individuals exhibiting HIV prevalence rates three times higher than the general population. We used baseline data from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS)/Women's Interagency ... Full text Link to item Cite

Attitudes Towards Aging, Depression, Physical Functioning, and Pain Among Women Living with HIV of Reproductive Age.

Journal Article AIDS Behav · October 2025 Positive attitudes towards aging (ATA) are associated with better mental and physical health in the general population and with lower depressive symptoms among men living with HIV. Little is known about ATA among women of reproductive age living with HIV ( ... Full text Link to item Cite

Being in postmenopause may be associated with lower prevalence of COVID-19 symptoms among women over 45 years of age with and without HIV.

Journal Article Menopause · July 22, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Menopause is associated with COVID-19 severity among women without HIV (WWoH). Yet, little is known about menopause and COVID-19 among women with HIV (WWH). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of survey data collected in 2020-2022 f ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2020 Ph.D.