Anna Epperson is a doctoral candidate in Psychological Sciences (Health Psychology) at the University of California, Merced.  Her research primarily focuses on health risk behaviors and health disparities, especially among racial/ethnic minority groups.  Past projects have examined stress among caregivers, perceptions about physical appearance and weight loss among adolescents, and tobacco use.  More recently, her research has focused on psychosocial and cultural factors associated with tobacco use, both among adolescents and adults.  She is interested in further identifying factors associated with tobacco-related disparities to aid in smoking prevention and cessation.