Biography

Dr. Marek joined the faculty in Department of Psychology and Philosophy at Sam Houston State University in 2023. He previously was faculty at Sam Houston State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and University of Houston-Clear Lake before joining the department. His main focus of research centers around health psychology and assessment psychology, with a particular focus in presurgical psychological assessment and how psychopathology predicts various medical outcomes.Dr. Marek received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Methodology from Kent State University in 2017. He completed numerous practicum placements during his training, including at the Cleveland Clinic and at a rural outpatient mental health facility. He completed his APA-accredited internship at the Medical University of South Carolina where he completed numerous rotations under supervision including weight management, behavioral medicine (including pre-surgical psychological evaluations of patients seeking bariatric, spinal cord stimulator, and solid organ transplant, treatment of chronic pain, and generally helping patients adjust to/manage their medical diagnoses), and conducted neuropsychological evaluations. Dr. Marek also trained numerous master and doctoral level therapists through supervision, teaching, research, and mentorship at his former university, University of Houston-Clear Lake.Dr. Marek’s program of research is focused on understanding how psychological factors contribute to medical outcomes. He currently has over 60 peer-reviewed publications mostly focused on pre-surgical psychological evaluations and how they predict various outcomes. Dr. Marek uses his research to help patients manage risk factors prior to and after surgery to help them achieve good outcomes. He also has interests in psychological assessment and notably uses and studies the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in his research and practice. He has been recognized by a few national organizations who have awarded him early-career research awards for his work in pre-surgical psychological evaluations. He also is lead author on the book “Presurgical Psychological Assessment: Evidence Based Practices and Procedures”.