Dr. Nancy L. Sin (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in health psychology, in addition to supervising undergraduate, MA, and PhD students. She is Co-Chair of the Antiracism Task Force for the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, faculty investigator in the UBC Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging, and previously served on the Executive Committee for the American Psychological Association’s Division on Adult Development and Aging. Dr. Sin established and formerly directed the Diversity Mentorship Program to provide mentorship to students from diverse backgrounds interested in pursuing graduate studies in psychology. Her work has been supported by grants as PI or Co-I from the U.S. National Institute on Aging, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

Dr. Sin’s research focuses on biological and behavioural pathways linking daily well-being and stress to health. Her work has shown that emotional responses to daily stressors are associated with inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and autonomic mechanisms that are implicated in the development of aging-related conditions, including cardiovascular disease. Dr. Sin is particularly interested in daily positive events as protective factors for stress processes and health. The ultimate goal of this research is to contribute towards the development of strategies for promoting psychological and physical well-being across the adult lifespan. 

Research interests include:

• Biological and behavioural pathways linking daily stress and emotions to long-term health and aging
• Daily positive experiences in the context of stress, depression, and social inequity
• Emotional well-being and aging
• The cycle of stress and sleep in daily life

For a complete list of Dr. Sin’s publications, please visit the UPLIFT Health Lab website.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Underline denotes graduate trainee and *asterisk and underline denotes undergraduate trainee under Dr. Sin’s direct supervision

Stuart, N. S., Wen, J., H., Klaiber, P., Puterman, E., DeLongis, A., & Sin, N. L. (2024). Stressors and subjective cognition in daily life: Tests of physical activity and age as moderators. Psychosomatic Medicine, 86, 681–689. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001338

Klaiber, P., van Roekel, E., DeLongis, A., & Sin, N. L. (2024). From the COVID-19 lockdown to the new normal: Two-year changes in daily stress and positive event processes. Stress and Health, 40, e3423. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3423

Wen, J. H., Klaiber, P., Leger, K. A., Hill, P. L., Pfund, G. N., Slavish, D. C., DeLongis, A., & Sin, N. L. (2024). Nightly sleep predicts next-morning expectations for stress and positive experiences. Psychosomatic Medicine, 86(4), 261–271. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001303

Klaiber, P., Hill, P. L., Almeida, D. M., DeLongis, A., & Sin, N. L. (2024). Positive event diversity: Relationships with personality and well-being. Journal of Personality, 92, 1616–1631. DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12917

*Mezuk, B., *Sin, N. L., *Stanton, M.V., *Szabo, Y. Z., *Tomiyama, A. J., & *White, K. E. (2023). The American Psychosomatic Society Antiracism Task Force: Implementation, activities, and lessons learned. Psychosomatic Medicine, 85(6), 466-473. https://www.doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001222 
*all authors contributed equally and are listed in alphabetical order

Klaiber, P., Wen, J. H., Ong, A. D., Almeida, D. M., & Sin, N. L. (2022). Personality differences in engagement and responsiveness to daily positive events. Journal of Personality, 90, 441-456. DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12676

Ong, L. Q., Klaiber, P., DeLongis, A., & Sin, N. L. (2022). Day-to-day associations of everyday discrimination with affect and physical symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Psychology, 41(11), 843-852. DOI: 10.1037/hea0001242

Sin, N. L. & Ong, L. Q. (2022). Considerations for advancing the conceptualization of well-being. Affective Science. DOI: 10.1007/s42761-022-00149-y

Wen, J. H., & Sin, N. L. (2022). Perceived control and reactivity to acute stressors: Variations by age, race, and facets of control. Stress and Health, 38(3),419-434. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3103 [PDF]
** Awarded the Gerontological Society of America’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Student Research Award (Pre-Dissertation Level) **

*Ying, F., Wen, J. H., Klaiber, P., DeLongis, A., Slavish, D. C., & Sin, N. L. (2022). Associations between intraindividual variability in sleep and daily positive affect. Affective Science, 3, 330-340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-021-00082-6

Wen, J. H., Klaiber, P., DeLongis, A., Slavish, D. C., & Sin, N. L. (2021). Day-to-day associations of sleep with health and well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Sleep Health, 7(6), 666-674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2021.09.007

Sin, N. L., Rush, J., Buxton, O. M., & Almeida, D. M. (2021). Emotional vulnerability to short sleep predicts increases in chronic health conditions across 8 years. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 55(12), 1231–1240. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab018
** Selected as an Editor’s Choice article at Annals of Behavioral Medicine **

Sin, N. L., Klaiber, P., Wen, J. H., & DeLongis, A. (2021). Helping amid the pandemic: Daily affective and social implications of COVID-19-related prosocial activities. The Gerontologist, 61(1), 59-70. DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnaa140

Klaiber, P., Wen, J. H., DeLongis, A., & Sin, N. L. (2021). The ups and downs of daily life during COVID-19: Age differences in affect, stress, and positive events. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 76(2), e30–e37. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa096
** Awarded the Innovative Research on Aging Award (Bronze Award) from the Mather Institute **

Sin, N. L., & Almeida, D. M. (2018). Daily positive experiences and health: Biobehavioral pathways and resilience to daily stress. In C. D. Ryff & R. F. Krueger (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Integrative Health Science. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190676384.013.10

• Innovative Research on Aging Award (Bronze Award) from the Mather Institute (2021)
• Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2020)
• Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging, Division 20 of the American Psychological Association (2019)

Dr. Sin will be accepting applications for graduate students to the Health Psychology program. She does not supervise students whose primary interests are in other areas of psychology (e.g., Clinical). For the 2024-25 school year, Dr. Sin is specifically seeking to supervise a Health Psychology graduate student who will focus on adult development and aging, stress, and health equity/disparities. For more information, see the Prospective Graduate Students page on her lab website.