And her busy schedule is that much more relevant when her clinical work involves populations at risk for relationship distress.

“I noticed a lot of resilience in people that experienced pretty horrible things in their life,” Balderrama-Durbin says. “And I became very interested in wanting to understand how humans are able to manage things that one might think to be completely horrific — traumatic events — and somehow come out of the other side.”

An assistant professor of psychology, Balderrama-Durbin earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado and a doctorate from Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on couples exposed to acute stressors, such as veterans or sexual minorities. Partner violence, infidelity and stigma, as well as external trauma such as car accidents or military combat, can all affect how couples function.

Her Couple Adjustment to Stress and Trauma (CAST) lab works to understand ways these problems can be addressed, in prevention or intervention, before they result in violence or prolonged suffering. Her published work includes research on post-traumatic stress disorder and couple therapy, which she continues to work on through her most recent studies.

One project attempting this goal is a five-session, 30-minute intervention targeting traumatic stress symptoms and problematic drinking. It works closely with primary care doctors and is to be administered in parallel with physical health check-ups.

Another study beginning this summer aims to collect data on lesbian, gay and bisexual pairs who face discrimination as a result of their sexual identity, as well as how they navigate potentially hostile environments.

If the process works, she plans to develop a reliable way for people to access the resources they need at the speed and intensity that their unique situations require.

“I don’t like to do research for research’s sake,” Balderrama-Durbin says. “I like to do research for the benefit of the population by which I’m doing the research on. It’s such a shame to think that a lot of our research studies sit there in journals and don’t actually inform practice. I hope to at least personally facilitate that change by translating it and testing it.”

This approach translates to her students, who say that Balderrama-Durbin cares deeply for the populations she studies and the people closest to her. For example, this fall she will participate in the AIDS Ride for Life, a 102-mile charity ride benefiting the Southern Tier AIDS Program.

“She’s constantly striving to learn as much as she can about her field and the surrounding fields’ relevance to what she studies, and she uses that to inform her research direction,” says Seigie Kennedy, one of her graduate students at the CAST lab. “We’re working together for my dissertation using eye-tracking, and she’s so invested in helping me to be able to use this new paradigm our lab has not used before. She’s a very supportive supervisor.”

As much as her students appreciate her, her ability as the head of a team comes across when she speaks about them.

“What makes me passionate about this, about research and about this position, is that mentoring others in their research is incredibly rewarding. Without my team, the work would not get done,” Balderrama-Durbin says. “If I were doing it by myself, it wouldn’t be any fun at all.”

The Binghamton University senior received a prestigious National Science Foundation grant to live with a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in Syracuse last summer.

“It was such an amazing project,” says Shaw, a double major in psychology and human development. “Too often I think researchers are separate from the population they are studying. It was great to hear the perspective of the veterans and to collaborate with them.”

The NSF funds intensive summer programs where students live at other universities to conduct research. Shaw was with four other students and five veterans, and says that her roommate was one of the strongest people she’s ever met. Shaw says the veteran, who is in her late 20s, had been on tour for about six years and has faced a multitude of hardships not obvious to others.

“Due to sandstorms, the air quality is deemed unlivable in some of the countries our veterans are deployed,” Shaw says. On top of the trauma caused by war itself, there is a whole different struggle of being a woman in the military, she says.

Right after her graduation this week, Shaw will present her research in Boston at the Association for Psychological Science conference. Her project focuses on attachment and the effect of social support on veterans who have PTSD.

“Everyone always makes fun of me because I pick the dark stuff, but I’m really interested in trauma and human resilience,” Shaw says.

Shaw, who grew up in North Babylon, N.Y., studies in two research labs at Binghamton. She works in a sex and gender lab under the supervision of Ann Merriwether, lecturer in psychology and human development, and Sean Massey, associate professor in women, gender and sexuality studies. She conducts both independent and group projects there. Shaw also works in the Couples Adjustment to Stress and Trauma Lab (CAST) under the supervision of Christina Balderrama-Durbin, assistant professor in psychology.

In the sex and gender lab, Shaw says, she had a lot of freedom to explore her interests and pick her own research topic. Her honors thesis focuses on intoxicated hookups and confidence in consent.

“It’s really interesting to look at consent on a scale because most studies on consent have a black-or-white answer,” Shaw says. “But there is a gray area. Only about 21 percent of people were absolutely confident that they gave consent in their last hookup in which alcohol was involved. A lot of people fall in the 2 to 5 range on a scale from 1 to 7.”

Shaw became interested in trauma when she interned for the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program during her first year at Binghamton. She was an educator on campus about sexual assault and bystander intervention, as well as serving as an advocate for those who were sexually assaulted. Now she is an intern at Rise – Comprehensive Domestic Violence Services, in Endicott, N.Y.

“My goal for the future is to understand how we foster resilience,” Shaw says. “Some people have the ability to overcome such intense trauma and it motivates me to want to help others do the same.”

As lead tutor for the University Tutoring Services, president of the Psi Chi International Honor Society, and business manager for the Student Association Ink, Shaw knows a lot about balancing a busy schedule. She says she gets joy out of being surrounded by people and learning from them.

“A lot of being a leader is clearly communicating with people all the time,” Shaw says. “You have to trust that you have a good team. Organization is so important in every aspect of life, especially if you want to be a leader.”

Shaw plans to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology at the University at Buffalo, where she will study alcohol and PTSD.

She says she’s grateful for the great friendships she made in Binghamton.

“I’ll always remember just sitting in my kitchen with my friends,” Shaw says. “We started this thing where we record each other randomly, like a cooking fail or something, and we call the videos #everydaymoments so that we’ll always have them.”

“Dealing with PTSD is like riding a rollercoaster, ” said Muscari, an associate professor in the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University. “The swing of emotions can have a huge impact on relationships, work environment and social activities. And in addition to disrupting the lives of the victims, PTSD often has a ripple effect, throwing relationships with family members, friends and colleagues into complete turmoil. But help is out there, and this book offers individuals with PTSD and their families the tools to recognize the problem and know how and where to get assistance.”

Muscari said the key is to get treatment as soon as possible after PTSD symptoms develop so that it doesn’t become a long-term condition.

“Treatments for PTSD can involve psychotherapy or medications, or a combination of both,” Muscari said. “It’s all about support, dialogue and education. But because everyone is different, there is no substitute for treatment provided by a mental health professional experienced in treating PTSD — someone who is trained to figure out what’s going to work best. And while my book cannot replace therapy, it can be a valuable resource for sufferers and family.”

In addition to covering current treatment options, What Nurses Know….PTSD goes to the root of the condition, examining the causes and the disorder’s impact on victims and their families. It also looks at associated problems such as substance abuse and offers tips for managing stress. For instance, Muscari urges PTSD sufferers to use time-management techniques such as learning how to say “no” and delegation as ways to manage everyday stresses.

Muscari also examines PTSD in children and adolescents, focusing on what makes this disorder so challenging in young sufferers. “Kids with PTSD may experience many of the same symptoms as adults,” Muscari said. “But they often have greater difficulty talking about their thoughts and feelings. Children and teens also tend to have different types of recollection experiences than adults. We’re talking frightening dreams and even behavioral problems. If not treated properly, a child’s sense of security can be severely impacted, which in turn influences brain function and development.”

Muscari said the goal of What Nurses Know….PTSD is to show victims and their friends and families that they are not alone in their struggle.

“PTSD sufferers have a real illness, one that is as real as high blood pressure or diabetes,” Muscari said. “But it can also be seen as merely a barrier in our life’s journey.”