Natoshia Cunningham

Natoshia Cunningham

Natoshia Cunningham , PhD

Associate Professor

Biography

Natoshia R. Cunningham, PhD, is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and is a licensed clinical psychologist. Her HELP Lab focuses on the psychological assessment and treatment of youth with chronic health conditions that involve pain. One line of Dr. Cunningham’s research focuses on youth with functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD). She uses neuroimaging techniques to better understand pediatric pain.

Her recently completed NIH/NCCIH K23-funded research investigates the neural mechanisms of response to a cognitive behavioral treatment (Aim to Decrease Anxiety and Pain Treatment (ADAPT)) to manage pain and anxiety in youth with FAPD, which she developed as part of her prior NIH/NICHD F32 award. Dr. Cunningham has found evidence of aberrant functional connectivity patterns between the amygdala with other regions implicated in pain in youth with FAPD (published in PAIN) and has found ADAPT to be effective in improving pain-related outcomes in a randomized clinical trial as compared to usual care, which was published in Journal of Pediatrics.

ADAPT has been translated to Swedish and colleagues from the Gothenburg region are integrating this approach into pediatric primary care settings. Dr. Cunningham's research also focuses on improving psychological care for children with painful rheumatologic conditions. She recently completed a multi-site study funded by the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance-Arthritis Foundation (CARRA-AF) to test a telehealth application of a tailored cognitive behavioral intervention (Treatment and Education Approach for Childhood-onset Lupus (TEACH)) she developed for adolescents and young adults diagnosed with childhood-onset lupus to manage fatigue, mood, and pain symptoms.

She was recently awarded a Transformative Vision Research Award from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to test the implementation of TEACH into rheumatology clinics across the US and Canada. She was also recently awarded a grant from CARRA with the Lupus and Allied Diseases Association to study the role of adverse childhood experiences in health and mental health- related outcomes in pediatric lupus, which will enable the development a tailored approach to psychological care. Dr. Cunningham currently serves as the co-chair of the Mental Health Workgroup of the CARRA organization.

In this role, she actively supports multiple projects geared towards improving psychological care for pediatric rheumatology patients. Collaborative projects include the development of mental health screening and management guidelines for pediatric rheumatology settings, studying the impact of adverse childhood events on health-related outcomes in juvenile idiopathic arthritis, understanding cognitive functioning in pediatric lupus, and the development of a family education program to promote pediatric mental health in pediatric rheumatology settings. Dr. Cunningham is passionate about using implementation science to enhance pediatric health outcomes and reduce barriers to accessing behavioral healthcare. She was selected as an inaugural fellow of the 2023-2024 Community Engaged Research Fellows Program at Michigan State University.

Further, Dr. Cunningham was funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan to train Michigan school providers (school nurses and mental health workers) to use pain-focused CBT strategies to address pediatric pain. Dr. Cunningham received her BA in psychology from Boston University in 2005, graduating summa cum laude with distinction.  Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she conducted pediatric mental health research at the Macquarie University Anxiety Research Unit (Sydney, Australia) and at the Columbia University Center for Advancement of Children's Mental Health.

She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2011, specializing in the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety disorders. As part of her graduate training, she completed her clinical internship in pediatric behavioral medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center from 2010-2011. She came to MSU from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric pain from 2011 to 2014 and served as research faculty from 2014 to 2019.

Grants

Employment

Michigan State University, East Lansing, -

Publications

American College of Rheumatology Guidance Statements for Addressing Mental Health Concerns in Youth With Pediatric Rheumatologic Diseases Arthritis Care & Research (2025)

The Evolving Landscape of Using Telehealth to Address Pediatric Mental Health in a Postpandemic Era Academic Pediatrics (2025)

The Impact of a Brief Educational Seminar on Pediatric Pain-focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for School Providers The Clinical Journal of Pain (2024)

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of psychological interventions on anxiety in children and youth with chronic medical conditions Journal of Pediatric Psychology (2024)

Helping Educators Learn Pediatric Pain Assessment and Intervention Needs Program (HELP PAIN): Program Development with Community Partners Children (2024)

Study protocol for a pilot clinical trial to understand neural mechanisms of response to a psychological treatment for pain and anxiety in pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) PLOS ONE (2024)

Commentary: Actionable Steps for Addressing Pediatric Pain in Rural and Underserved Communities: Disrupting Our Approach to Psychological Science and Care Journal of Pediatric Psychology (2023)

A multi-site pilot randomized clinical trial of the Treatment and Education Approach for Childhood-onset Lupus (TEACH) program: study design and COVID-19 adaptations Pediatric Rheumatology (2023)

The Elephant in the Rheum: Time to Address Mental Health as a Priority in Pediatric Rheumatology The Journal of Rheumatology (2023)

Amygdalar functional connectivity during resting and evoked pain in youth with functional abdominal pain disorders Pain (2022)

Mental Health in Pediatric Rheumatology Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America (2022)

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Tailored to Anxiety Symptoms Improves Pediatric Functional Abdominal Pain Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial The Journal of Pediatrics (2021)

In the News

Natasha Cunningham

Decoding Pain Relief: How Does a Coping Skills Program Impact Pain, Anxiety, and Brain Function in Children with FAPD?

Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) are the most common chronic pain conditions of childhood and are made worse by co-occurring anxiety.
Women in Medicine Month

Women in Medicine Month

September is recognized as Women in Medicine Month. During September members of our department will be sharing their thoughts and stories on Women in Medicine.

Read more

||||

Cunningham Presents Research in Sweden

Natoshia R. Cunningham, PhD, clinical scientist and pediatric psychologist in the department, was recently invited to Gothenburg Sweden to continue to build upon the momentum of collaborative…

Establishing Clinical Cut-points on the Pediatric PROMIS-pain Interference Scale in Youth with Abdominal Pain

Pain is a common presenting complaint in youth seeking medical care and can be debilitating. As such, it is important to understand the impact of pain on functioning using a clinically sensitive…
Natasha Cunningham

Mental Health in Pediatric Rheumatology: An Opportunity to Improve Outcomes

Mental health disorders are more common in children with pediatric rheumatologic diseases compared to healthy peers. Mental health disorders impact disease-related outcomes and health-related quality…
Natasha Cunningham

Elevated fecal calprotectin is linked to psychosocial complexity in pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders

Complex functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) in youth (e.g., categorized by elevated levels of anxiety, pain, and functional disability) are associated with the greatest risk for persistent…
|Alaina Miller

Engagement during a mixed in-person and remotely delivered psychological intervention for youth with functional abdominal pain disorders and anxiety

Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD) are common pain conditions in youth that are associated with anxiety and can impact daily functioning. The Aim to Decrease Anxiety and Pain Treatment …

Natasha Cunningham

Addressing Pediatric Mental Health Using Telehealth During Coronavirus Disease-2019 and Beyond: A Narrative Review

by Natoshia Cunningham, PhD The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the way pediatricians deliver care.  Pediatricians are increasingly faced with the challenge of delivering care, including mental…

Psychological Assessment and Treatment of Youth with Chronic Health Conditions: Focus of HELP Lab.

The HELP Lab focuses on the psychological assessment and treatment of youth with chronic health conditions that involve…

Natasha Cunningham

Natoshia Cunningham, PhD, Discusses Psychological Treatment Study for Childhood Onset Lupus

Natoshia Cunningham, Phd, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, discusses her research…
Natasha Cunningham

The Impact of PTSD on Clinical Presentation and Psychosocial Treatment Response in Youth with Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders

by Natoshia Cunningham, PhD The goal of this study was to investigate the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of youth with functional abdominal pain and to investigate…
Natasha Cunningham|Picture1

Faculty Spotlight: Natoshia Cunningham, PhD

  Natoshia R. Cunningham, PhD, is a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Family…