Dr. Marsac is a tenured professor at the University of Kentucky's College of Medicine, an Affiliate Research Scientist at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), an Affiliate at the Center for Violence Prevention at CHOP, and Division Chief of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Kentucky.
Meghan L. Marsac, PhD is an Affiliate Research Scientist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Center for Injury Research and Prevention and an Affiliate at the Center for Violence Prevention. Dr. Meghan Marsac is a pediatric psychologist, tenured Professor, and Division Chief of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Kentucky. She serves as the Associate Director for the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, collaborating with CHOP on promoting trauma-informed medical care.
Dr. Marsac is a leader in the field of pediatric medical traumatic stress, having published approximately 80 academic articles, 12 chapters, blogs in Psychology Today and a book for parents to help support their children through medical care and care for themselves: Afraid of the Doctor, Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma.
Dr. Marsac’s program of research centers on medical traumatic stress and includes conducting grant-funded studies to identify predictors of emotional and physical outcomes in the context of acute or chronic medical conditions, developing and validating assessment tools, and creating and evaluating programs to promote recovery and/or adjustment to medical conditions in children and families. In addition, Dr. Marsac specializes in training medical teams in the implementation of trauma-informed medical care. Clinically, Dr. Marsac implements evidence-based practices to facilitate families' management of medical treatment and emotional adjustment to challenging diagnoses and medical procedures.
BS, Baldwin-Wallace College (Neuroscience Psychology), 2003
PhD, University of Toledo (Psychology), 2008
Affiliate Research Scientist, Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Affiliate, Center for Violence Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Professor of Pediatrics and Chief, Division of Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Associate Director, Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress
Research Affiliate, Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience Research Partnership, University of Colorado
Member, American Psychological Association (APA)
Member, Society of Pediatric Psychology-APA Div. 54
Member, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
Most Cited Paper Award in Journal of Pediatric Psychology (co-author) (2016)
Chairman’s Research Award, Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky (2018)
Best poster presentation: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition, Section of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine (2019)
Top Downloaded Article in Journalists for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing (senior author) (2019)
Diane Willis Award for Outstanding Article in Journal of Pediatric Psychology (co-author) (2023)
Fellow of the American Psychological Association (2024)
Jones AC, Kassam-Adams N, Ciesla JA, Barakat LP, Marsac ML. A Prospective Examination of Child Avoidance Coping and Parental Coping Assistance After Pediatric Injury: A Mixed-Methods Approach. J Pediatr Psychol. 2019.
Kassam-Adams N, Kohser K, McLaughlin J, Winston FK, Marsac ML. Evaluating the Acceptability and Validity of Assessing Pain and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in an Adaptable eHealth System for School-Age Children. Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol. 2019;7(1):9-19.
Marsac ML, Sprang G, Guller L, Kohser K, Draus JM, Kassam-Adams N. A Parent-Led Intervention to Promote Recovery Following Pediatric Injury: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. Trials. 2019;20(1):137.
Cutuli JJ, Alderfer MA, Marsac ML. Introduction to the Special Issue: Trauma-informed Care for Children and Families. Psychol Serv. 2019;16(1):1-6.