UTEP professor wins prestigious research award from American Psychological Association

Award recognizes contributions to rehabilitation psychology

2025-01-30

(Press-News.org) EL PASO, Texas (Jan. 30, 2025) – Health sciences researcher Emre Umucu, Ph.D., associate professor and associate dean for research at The University of Texas at El Paso, has been awarded the Roger G. Barker Distinguished Research Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association (APA). The award honors research in the field of rehabilitation psychology, which focuses on helping individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions improve their health, independence and social participation.

“I am profoundly honored and humbled to receive the Roger G. Barker Distinguished Research Contribution Award,” Umucu said. “I am deeply grateful to the committee and remain committed to advancing research that improves the lives of civilians and veterans with chronic conditions and promotes equity in health and well-being.”

Umucu’s research focuses on rehabilitation and wellbeing for veterans dealing with chronic conditions.

“My research aims to make civilians and veterans with disabilities healthier, happier and wealthier through the intersection of health, psychology, and employment and education,” Umucu said.

For example, a study Umucu published in July of 2024 found that being employed correlated with lower levels of stress and depression in veterans, as well as stronger social relationships and a sense of meaning in life. In addition, along with several colleagues at UTEP, Umucu was recognized as one of the top-cited scientists in the world in 2023 and was named an APA Fellow in 2024.

“Dr. Umucu is most deserving of this distinction as he represents the College and UTEP on a national level and at the forefront of his field,” said Stacy Wagovich, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Health Sciences.

The APA Barker Distinguished Research Contribution Award is named for Roger Garlock Barker, a social scientist who studied the connection between humans and the natural environment.

About The University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 25,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.

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