Our work in the BMED lab aims to eliminate health disparities (e.g., a higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one group relative to another). Diversity and inclusion is an important value to the BMED team and inherent to the success of our research. The BMED Lab does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. We seek team members who are equally as passionate about diversity as we are. As you scroll through the names and stories of our lab members, we hope you gain insight into who we are.
BMED Lab Director
Christopher P. Fagundes, Ph.D. (he, him, his)
Director, Institute of Health Resilience and Innovation
Principal Investigator (CV)
Christopher.Fagundes@rice.edu
Areas of Interest: Psychoneuroimmunology, Clinical & Social Health Psychology, Lifespan Personality Development, Affective Science, Psychophysiology
Dr. Christopher Fagundes is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University, where he oversees a nationally recognized research program investigating how close relationships, stress, and trauma influence physical health across the lifespan. He serves as director of the Biobehavioral Mechanisms Explaining Disease (BMED) Laboratory, director of the Institute for Health Resilience & Innovation, and chair of Rice University’s Institutional Review Board. Within the Department of Psychological Sciences, he currently oversees the Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine Research Interest Group and the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Research Interest Group.
Dr. Fagundes’ work integrates perspectives from clinical, social, and developmental psychology with psychoneuroimmunology, biomedicine, and aging research to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms that link psychosocial adversity to chronic disease. Guided by attachment theory, he studies how early-life stress, marital quality, spousal loss, caregiving burden, and social disadvantage contribute to immune dysregulation, inflammation, autonomic function, and mitochondrial health—particularly in older adulthood. His research focuses on conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD).
His work is supported by a robust portfolio of NIH-funded projects, including longitudinal cohort studies and randomized controlled trials. His research has identified key risk and protective factors affecting bereaved older adults, dementia caregivers, and individuals exposed to chronic stress or discrimination. A core emphasis of his program is the development of mechanism-focused interventions that improve quality of life, emotional well-being, and health span in vulnerable populations.
Dr. Fagundes’ scholarship has been widely published in leading journals across psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, behavioral medicine, and gerontology. His research has also garnered significant public and media attention, with coverage in the New York Times, NPR, Time, Forbes, USA Today, and Business Insider. He is a frequent speaker at national and international scientific meetings and public health forums.
His honors include election as a Fellow of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, the field’s most selective scientific society, recognizing individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to behavioral medicine. He is also the recipient of the Academy’s Neal Miller New Investigator Award, presented for outstanding contributions by a promising early career scientist and named in honor of its founding president. Additional accolades include the Provost’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement at Rice University, the Herbert Weiner Early Career Award from the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine (formerly the American Psychosomatic Society), and the Excellence in Health Psychology Research Award from the American Psychological Association’s Society for Health Psychology (Division 38). He holds adjunct appointments at Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Houston, and frequently serves as an NIH grant reviewer and editorial board member for leading journals in psychology and psychoneuroimmunology.