Sejal Barden of UCF will be analyzing the effectiveness of an online intervention for Latina breast cancer survivors and their partners. Barden will adapt the virtual couples-intervention program OurRelationship for a Latina audience with a goal of empowering patients to make better healthcare decisions.

“Even though my community was actually quite diverse, the only people who were really accessing these free services were Caucasian breast cancer survivors,” she says. “I discovered that minority cancer survivors experience heightened levels of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, body image and intimacy issues, but they’re also the least represented in any type of psychological intervention.”

• Sejal Barden