 |
Welcome to my home page. I'm a faculty member in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The navigation bar on the left will take you to those pages that describe my research and teaching activities. |
| My own research interests are broad but primarily focus on the etiology and course of substance use disorders (particularly alcohol dependence) across the life span. I direct the Alcohol, Health, and Behavior Project a high-risk, prospective study of a cohort of college students who were freshmen in 1987 and are now in their 30s, and IMPACTS, a study that followed a cohort of students who were first-time freshmen at the University of Missouri-Columbia, in the Fall of 2002, over their four years of college. In addition to ongoing analyses of data collected here at Missouri and new data collections, I currently have a research grant to conduct secondary data analyses on a large, nationally representative data set with a goal of characterizing developmental aspects of alcohol use disorders and related comorbidities. I also collaborate with colleagues here in studying the behavioral effects of alcohol consumption in laboratory studies. |
The Midwest Alcoholism Research Center. In addition to research projects based here at the University of Missouri, several MU colleagues and I are very involved with research projects at the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center (MARC) in the Department of Psychiatry of Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM). This national research center was recently renewed for five more years (2009-2014) and current MARC research projects focus on behavioral pharmacology of alcohol (PIs: Bartholow at MU and McCarthy at MU), alcohol use in bipolar disorder using electronic diaries (PI: Trull at MU), and genetics of alcoholism (PIs: Anokhin and Nelson at WUSM). My graduate students and postdocs can, and often do, collaborate with MARC investigators both here at MU and at WUSM.
Graduate and postdoctoral study in my lab. I currently direct a research training grant on the psychology of alcohol use, abuse, and dependence that supports several graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Trainees can conduct research and undertake focused study with any of several faculty members in the Department who specialize in alcohol studies and also gain some exposure to patient populations with problematic alcohol involvement. I hope to have a web page up describing the program in greater detail soon. Please check back. If you're interested in applying to our program to work with me, please note that I am always looking for good trainees who are committed to a career of scientific excellence. It is not that important to me that you have a background in alcohol research. What is important is that you enjoy research, don't shy away from quantitative endeavors, and are willing to work hard. Each year in the fall I get a number of inquiries asking "are you planning on taking student next year?" The bottom line is that there is always room for a promising student; if you are committed to a research career in clinical psychology and have strong credentials I hope you apply. If you do apply, please send me an email on the closing date for applications to give me a "heads up" so I can make sure I see your file. Descriptive information and instructions on how to apply to our doctoral program can be found on our clinical psychology program home page. If you are interested in postdoctoral study in my lab, please contact me directly.
Looking north on South Seventh Street from the Psychology Building at sunset...shades of Magritte.
