Marilyn Huckans was born in Rochester, New York. She completed her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell University and then obtained her doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at George Mason University. She has eight years of clinical experience and has worked in a variety of settings including group homes, homeless case management programs, community mental health centers, forensic hospitals, and medical centers. Her clinical interests include serious mental illness, neuropsychology, brief assessment, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and health psychology. Research interests have included immigrant mental health, family rituals, mood disorders, cognitive effects of physical illness, multiple sclerosis, and hepatitis C. She is currently a Psychology Resident at the Mood Disorders Center and Northwest Hepatitis C Resource Center at the Portland VA Medical Center.