SPA Mid-Career Scholar Award
The SPA Mid-Career Scholar Award is bestowed annually for outstanding mid-career impact and scholarship in the field of personality assessment. The award honors scholars who are 15-25 years beyond their graduate degree and whose work has contributed substantially to the body of knowledge to the field of personality assessment and psychology test development.
Meet the SPA Mid-Career Award Winner, Dr. Nicole M. Cain!
Dr. Nicole M. Cain is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College with the Personality Disorders Institute. Dr. Cain currently serves as President-Elect of the Society for Personality Assessment and will assume the presidency in January 2026. She previously served as Associate Editor for both the Journal of Personality Assessment and Assessment, and is a Past President of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research. Dr. Cain’s research advances understanding of how personality and interpersonal processes shape psychopathology, treatment response, and maladaptive outcomes such as suicidal behavior. Her current NIMH-funded research employs ecological momentary assessment methods to elucidate how social disconnection contributes to suicide risk across the lifespan, with the goal of informing targeted interventions and prevention strategies.
