Skip to main content
Katianne Sharp, PhD
Katianne Sharp, PhD

Katianne Sharp, PhD

Assistant Member, St. Jude Faculty

Departments

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
Internship – University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
PhD – The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
MS – The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
BA/BS – University of California, Davis, Davis, CA

Research Interests

  • Genetic predisposition to cancer
  • Family communication and decision making in the context of genetic testing
  • Coping and adjustment in families of children with cancer
  • The impact of family factors on children’s risk and resilience

Clinical Interests

  • Cancer predisposition

Selected Publications

Elias R, Blake A, Dean L, Flynn JS, Sachner L, Harrison L, McGee R, Nichols KE, Howard Sharp KM. Playing Russian Roulette: Parent and Adolescent Perspectives on Tumor Surveillance for Adolescents with Cancer Predisposition Syndromes. Clin Cancer Res 2024 Jun 26. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-24-0693. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38922635.

Howard Sharp KM, Blake A, Flynn J, Brown S, Rashed J, Harrison L, McGee R, Mandrell B, Nichols KE. Adolescent and Young Adult Understanding of Their Childhood Cancer Predisposition Diagnosis: A Qualitative Study. J Pediatr 2023 Oct;261:113538. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113538. Epub 2023 Jun 4. PMID: 37279817.

Howard Sharp KM, Li C, Lu Z, Clark ME, Jurbergs N, Ouma A, Harrison L, Gerhardt E, Taylor L, Hamilton KV, McGee RB, Nuccio R, Hines-Dowell S, Gattuso JS, Pritchard M, Mandrell BN, Tercyak KP, Nichols KE, Johnson LM. Parent Quality of Life After Disclosure of Pediatric Oncology Germline Sequencing Results. JCO Precis Oncol 2023 Sep;7:e2300159. doi: 10.1200/PO.23.00159. PMID: 37944075.

Howard Sharp KM, Tillery Webster R, Cook J, Okado Y, Long A, Phipps S. Profiles of Resilience, Distress, and Posttraumatic Growth in Parents of Children with Cancer and the Relation to Subsequent Parenting and Family Functioning. J Pediatr Psychol 2023 Apr 20;48(4):375-385. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsac097. PMID: 36668686; PMCID: PMC10118855.

Sharp K, Tillery R, Long A, Wang F, Pan H, Phipps S. Trajectories of resilience and posttraumatic stress in childhood cancer: Consistency of child and parent outcomes. Health Psychol 2022 Apr;41(4):256-267. doi: 10.1037/hea0001132. Epub 2021 Dec 2. PMID: 34855418; PMCID: PMC9809178.

Schaefer MR, Kenney AE, Himelhoch A, Howard Sharp KM, Humphrey L, Olshefski R, Young-Saleme T, Gerhardt CA. A quest for meaning: A qualitative exploration among parents of children with advanced cancer. Psycho-oncology doi: 10.1002/pon.5601, 2020  (In Press).

Howard Sharp KM*, Jurbergs N*, Ouma A, Harrison L, Gerhardt E, Taylor L, Hamilton K, McGee RB, Nuccio R, Quinn E, Hines-McDowell S, Kesserwan C, Sunkara A, Gattuso J, Pritchard M, Mandrell B, Relling MV, Haidar CE, Kang G, Johnson L, Nichols KE. Predicting families who decline participation in a pediatric oncology next generation sequencing study. JCO Precision Oncology 4:202-211, 2020. doi: 10.1200/PO.19.00213

Howard Sharp KM, Meadows E, Keim M, Winning AM, Barrera M, Gilmer M, … Gerhardt CA. The influence of parent distress and parenting behaviors on bereaved siblings’ externalizing problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies 29:1081–1093., 2020 doi: 10.1007/s10826-019-01640-0

Howard Sharp KM, Fisher RS, Clark OE, Dunnells ZDO, Murphy LK, Prussien KV, Vannatta K, Compas BE,  Gerhardt CA. Long-term trajectories of depression symptoms in mothers of children with cancer. Health Psychology 39:89-98, 2020. doi: 10.1037/hea0000826

Tillery R, Willard VW, Howard Sharp KM, Klages KL, Long A, Phipps S. Impact of the Parent-Child Relationship on Psychological and Social Resilience in Pediatric Cancer Patients. Psycho-Oncology 29:339-346, 2019. doi 10.1002/pon.5258

Ramsey LH, Graves PE, Howard Sharp KM, Seals SR, Collier AB, Karlson CW.  Impact of race and socioeconomic status on psychological outcomes in childhood cancer patients and caregivers. Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology 41:433-437, 2019. doi: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000001405

Howard Sharp KM, Russell C, Keim M, Barrera M, Gilmer M, Foster Akard T, Gerhardt CA. Grief and growth in bereaved siblings: Interactions between different sources of social support. School Psychology Quarterly 33:363-371, 2018. doi: 10.1037/spq0000253

Howard Sharp KM, Lindwall J, Willard VV, Long A, Martin-Elbahesh K, Phipps S. Cancer as a stressful life event: Perceptions of children with cancer and their peers. Cancer 123:3385-3393, 2017. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30741

Howard Sharp KM, Willard VW, Barnes S, Tillery R, Long A, Phipps S. Emotion socialization in the context of childhood cancer: Youth perceptions of parents’ reactions to cancer vs. non-cancer related distress. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 42:95-103, 2017. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsw062

Okado Y, Howard Sharp KM, Tillery R, Long AM, Phipps S. Profiles of dispositional expectancies and affectivity predict later psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 41:298-308, 2016. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsv096

Okado Y, Tillery R, Howard Sharp K, Long AM, Phipps S. Effects of time since diagnosis on the association between parent and child distress in families with pediatric cancer. Children’s Health Care 45(3):303-322, 2016. doi: 10.1080/02739615.2014.996883

Tillery R, Howard Sharp KM, Okado Y, Long A, Phipps S. Profiles of resilience and growth in youth with cancer and healthy comparisons. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 41:290-297, 2016. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsv091

Howard Sharp KM, Rowe A, Russell K, Long A, Phipps S. Predictors of psychological functioning in children with cancer: Disposition and cumulative life stressors. Psycho-Oncology 24:779-786, 2015. doi: 10.1002/pon.3643

Howard Sharp KM, Willard VW, Okado Y, Tillery R, Barnes S, Long A, Phipps S. Profiles of connectedness: Processes of resilience and growth in children with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 40:904-913, 2015. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsv036

Last update: July 2024

Close