Matthew C. Whited, PhD, FSBM

Associate Professor
The association between behavioral health (especially depression) and cardiovascular disease
252-328-6308
Fax: 252-328-6283
Rawl 228
whitedm@ecu.edu
Do Healthy Be Healthy: an occasional podcast
Mailing Address
Department of Psychology
Mail Stop 565
East Carolina University
1000 E. 5th St.
Greenville, NC 27858-4353

I am taking a doctoral student for 2026-2027 academic year

  • I encourage interested students to thoroughly investigate the Clinical Health Psychology concentration of the Health Psychology PhD program and to contact me with any additional questions about my lab and my work.

Institutional Neutrality

Education

  • Fellow in Randomized Behavioral Clinical Trials; 14th Annual Summer Institute on Randomized Behavioral RCTs (2014)
  • Post-doctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Medicine Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine (2012)
  • PhD, Clinical Psychology, West Virginia University (2009)
    • Internship: University of Mississippi Medical Center and G.V. Montgomery VAMC Consortium, Jackson MS.
  • MS, Clinical Psychology, West Virginia University (2007)
  • BA, Psychology (2nd major Biology), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2003)

Service Positions

   Within The Society of Behavioral Medicine
   Other Noteworthy Service Positions

Research Interests

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the result of a combination of modifiable health behaviors, environment, and genetic makeup and takes several decades to manifest itself before an individual begins to suffer impairment from this very common class of diseases. My research interests center around the association between mental health and health behaviors that influence risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While I began with an interest in understanding the biopsychological mechanisms of the association between depression and CVD, my more recent focus has been on identifying and modifying behavioral risk factors for CVD. Even with this focus, the association between mental health and CVD risk is complex, multifactorial, and necessitates strong collaborations between myself and my senior and junior colleagues to investigate multiple risk factors across multiple settings. My research efforts represent my attempts to understand this association from various perspectives and approaches in order to determine the role of mental health treatment in CVD prevention. Much of my work is focused within the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation setting, focused on late-stage prevention of CVD progression. To balance this, I am also highly interested in CVD prevention amongst emerging adults.

The Cardiovascular Psychophysiology Laboratory

We maintain a very active physical laboratory space that consists of my own graduate students, Dr. D. Erik Everhart‘s Cognitive Neuroscience laboratory, a rotating cast of undergraduate research assistants, and occasionally ECU Clinical Health Psychology graduate students from other labs. Using the equipment in this lab space, we study behavioral and physiological factors for cardiovascular disease among the undergraduate population. My graduate students and I also collaborate with the ECU Health Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Clinic. This collaboration has existed over many years and allows us to provide CVPR patients with much needed behavioral health education. As a large part of this partnership, we also conduct important research to determine how to improve patient adherence to life-extending CVPR treatment and how to improve both behavioral and physiological outcomes.

Current Graduate Students

Kallie Maloney

Kallie Maloney (she/her) is a fifth-year graduate student who earned her BS in Psychology from Coastal Carolina University and her MA in Clinical Psychology from ECU.  Her research interests center on the usage of digital health interventions (predominantly mobile apps) for lifestyle modification in chronic disease, in addition to the utility of digital health in mental health treatment. Additionally, she is interested in lifestyle modification for prevention of chronic disease. During her time at ECU, she has completed her master’s thesis in partnership with Noom. In this study, she assessed how their program influenced blood pressure in those with elevated blood pressure or stage 1 hypertension. She also investigated how these outcomes differed across rurality status and income environment. Currently, she is completing her dissertation that will investigate the relationship between hypertension, blood pressure knowledge, and health behaviors in college students. She also currently competing her clinical internship at UNC Health in Chapel Hill NC, partially under the supervision of Lab alum Dr. Freeman!

Taylor Stallings

Taylor Stallings is a fifth-year graduate student who earned her BS in Health Psychology from MCPHS University. She later completed a MS in Health Psychology and a Graduate Certificate in Health Education and Communication from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. After graduation she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the University of Pennsylvania’s Palliative and Advanced Illness Research (PAIR) Center. Under the guidance of Dr. Whited and Dr. Christensen, she hopes to explore how psychology and palliative care come together to influence care for patients and caregivers of those with advanced heart, lung and kidney disease and those who need palliative care/end-of-life care services. She is currently completing her dissertation investigating the palliative care needs of chronic kidney disease patients.

Rose Skelly

Rose Skelly(she/her) is a fourth-year student in the Clinical Health Psychology program. She completed her master’s degree in clinical psychology at Ball State University in 2021, with her thesis examining anxiety sensitivity’s moderating effect on the relationship between trait anxiety and sleep dysfunction. Rose also received her bachelor’s degree from Ball State University, where she studied psychology and journalism. Before starting at ECU, Rose worked as an addictions case manager in Louisville, Kentucky, and as a newspaper journalist in Indiana. Her dissertation is focused on piloting a 1-session intervention, with text messaging follow up, to improve anxiety sensitivity among CVPR patients.

Riley Craig

Riley Craig is a third-year student in the Clinical Health Psychology program. She earned her BS in Psychology and BA in Biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Following graduation, she worked as a clinical research assistant at UNC Medical Center, where she coordinated studies focused on patients with autoimmune diseases. Her current research interests focus on strengthening the understanding of interoception and its role in mental and physical health outcomes, particularly in patients who have recently experienced a cardiac event. Additionally, she is interested in exploring these questions using a combination of qualitative data and psychophysiological measurements.

Former Graduate Students

Dr. Taylor Freeman

Dr. Freeman graduated from ECU in 2019 and currently works as a clinical psychologist with the Abdominal Transplant team at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, NC.  While working with Dr. Whited, he completed a Master’s thesis examining depressive symptoms as a predictor of participation at a local cardiac rehabilitation center, as well as a dissertation where he designed and piloted a brief intervention attempting to use values-based behavior to promote exercise behavior. He went on to complete an internship in Clinical Health Psychology at VA Connecticut Healthcare System-West Haven, and a post-doctoral fellowship in Behavioral Medicine/Primary Care-Mental Health Integration at the Durham VA Healthcare System.

Dr. Ansley Taylor Loveless

Dr. Loveless (Corson) earned her Ph.D. from East Carolina University in 2019 and currently works as a clinical neuropsychologist in private practice in Franklin, TN. While working with Dr. Whited, she completed a Master’s thesis which examined the relationship between subtypes of perfectionism, BIS/BAS, and heart rate variability, as well as a dissertation that explored possible executive functioning deficits among perfectionists. Dr. Loveless went on to complete internship and a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Salem, VA.

Dr. Jordan Ellis

Dr. Ellis graduated from ECU in 2020 and is currently an active duty clinical health psychologist and Captain in the United States Air Force. Jordan completed his clinical psychology internship and 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX. He currently works as a clinical health psychologist at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and is engaged in training clinical psychology interns in health psychology and applied research focused on population level interventions for improving sleep health in the Air Force. While working with Dr. Whited, he completed his dissertation which utilized mobile ecological momentary assessment to examine the relationships between mood, stress, experiential avoidance, and program adherence in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation patients.

Dr. Ashley Griffith

Dr. Griffith earned her PhD from ECU in 2022 and currently works as an Advanced Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention in Aurora, CO. Ashley is a licensed psychologist and currently provides clinical services as part of the Suicide Risk Management Team at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA, while also engaging in research related to suicide prevention in Veterans, specifically LGBTQ+ Veterans. While working at ECU, she completed a Master’s thesis examining barriers to seeking mental health care among service members and earned her Quantitative Methods for the Social and Behavioral Sciences Certificate. She then completed her dissertation with Dr. Whited, where she examined how morally injurious experiences influenced mental health stigma and attitudes towards seeking mental health treatment for service members and Veterans. She went on to complete an internship at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, CO.

Dr. Emily Midgette

Dr. Midgette graduated from ECU in 2023. She earned her BA in Psychology at East Carolina University before earning her MA in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include the relationship between sleep quality, fatigue, and health behaviors. She recently completed her Master’s thesis project investigating the momentary association between sleep quality, daytime fatigue, and adherence to a Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation program using a mobile ecological momentary assessment app. She completed her dissertation project, which focuses on assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, values-based telehealth intervention to promote adherence to Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. She currently works at the Greenville VA Clinic.

Dr. Alex Capiaghi

Dr. Capiaghi graduated from ECU in 2023. He received his BS in Psychology from Towson University and MA in Clinical Psychology from ECU. He previously worked as a research interventionist at Johns Hopkins University using Motivational Interviewing to promote multiple health behavior change. Alex’s primary research interest includes the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and chronic diseases. He completed his dissertation project at ECU Family Medicine, where he evaluated the effectiveness of a yearlong organizational intervention to increase ACEs screening through provider education and training. Alex has additional interests in healthcare administration and quality improvement work.

Dr. Ashlan (Prince) Moe

Dr. Moe graduated from ECU in 2025. She earned her BA in Psychology Cum Laude from the University of South Carolina-Beaufort (USCB) in 2018 and her MA in Clinical Psychology from ECU in 2023. Her Thesis focused on illness perception among CVPR patients. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute, where she specialized in forensic psychology and restoration of competency to stand trial. Ashlan’s interests lie in forensics and severe and persistent mental illness.  Her doctoral dissertation partnered with the NC-STeP project to investigate racial inequity in IVC and IVC overturns. She currently works in Alaska as a forensic psychologist.

Clinical Interests

I occasionally hold a treatment practicum at the ECU Psychology Clinic. I specialize in Behavioral Activation and have experience training other clinicians in this treatment approach both regionally and nationally. If you’re curious about Behavioral Activation, the treatment manual has been published and you can obtain it free of charge if your institution has a subscription. Additionally, you can see me discuss Behavioral Activation in the videos below under “media.”

When I have the opportunity to supervise a clinical team of graduate students, I expand my service to include exposure-based treatments for anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder and social anxiety disorder. I also increasingly bring both formal and informal mindfulness practice into treatment these days and you can listen to some guided mindfulness and relaxation tracks I made to introduce and facilitate formal practice.

Grant Funding

TfR34ActfHL165716 Multisite feasibility of BA-HD: An integrated depression and behavioral risk factor reduction coaching program following acute coronary syndrome. This is a multi-site grant, with ECU as the third site. I am a Co-I (site PI) and Drs. Gathright and Busch are the Co-PI’s.

Engagement and Outreach Scholars Academy (2017-2018)
Accepted into EOSA which includes didactic training on Engaged Scholarship leading to a scholarly product supported by a $5000 research stipend and $4500 in support for graduate and undergraduate research assistants. The final goal of the Academy is a competitive external grant application.

Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
NHLBI/NIMH 5K23HL109620 (PI: Whited) Depression treatment and risk for cardiovascular disease. 2012-2017

NHLBI Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program Grant. 2011-2013, 2014-2015, 2015-2016 (Awardee) Depression, heart rate variability, and risk for cardiovascular disease.

Media

Publications

I maintain an active list of my published publications on the NCBI website and on Google Scholar. Feel free to contact me for a list of recent conference posters, works in progress, and current projects in the data collection phase.