Amy Gorin, professor of psychological sciences, is the 2021 recipient of the Connecticut Psychological Association (CPA) Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Science of Psychology. 

The award recognizes Gorin’s accomplishments to advance the science of psychology and her leadership as director of the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP). 

InCHIP supports the development of health-related science across UConn campuses and strives to foster strong interdisciplinary research with the goal of improving public health. Research within InCHIP’s portfolio addresses health issues such as opioid addiction, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, cancer prevention and survivorship, gun violence prevention, food insecurity, and obesity.  

Gorin’s research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, seeks to develop innovative treatment strategies to improve long-term weight loss and maintenance with an emphasis on interpersonal and environmental processes that impact weight management. Her recent work has examined motivational and behavioral strategies to facilitate weight-related behavior change in low-income, ethnically diverse families; whether delay discounting impacts decisions about physical activity; and a couples-based approach to weight loss maintenance. 

“I am honored to receive this award from CPA,” Gorin says. “I am fortunate to collaborate with many talented colleagues at UConn and our collective work is moving social and behavioral health science forward, at a time when this work is urgently needed.”