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Bridging Science and Culture to Improve Drug Abuse Research in Minority Communities
This Conference was held at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza hotel in Philadelphia, P.A., September 24-26, 2001.
Biographies (continued)
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Kathy Sanders-Phillips, Ph.D.
Center for Drug Abuse Research
Howard University
2900 Van Ness Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 806-8600
(202) 537-3806 Fax
ksandersphillips@aol.com
Dr. Sanders-Phillips received her Ph.D. degree in developmental psychology from The Johns Hopkins University. She is currently a Distinguished Scientist in Drug Abuse Prevention Research and Director of the Research Program in the Epidemiology and Prevention of Drug Abuse at Howard University's Center for Drug Abuse Research. She was formerly a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. She has also served as a faculty member in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley, Senior Program Director with the UCLA School of Public Health, Division of Community Health Sciences, and Associate Member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Much of her research has focused on general health behaviors and health outcomes in low-income African American and Latino women and children. The work has specifically explored the impact of psychosocial factors such as exposure to community violence on health decisions and behaviors in these populations and resulted in the development of an 8-year community-based cancer prevention program for Head Start mothers in south central Los Angeles. Dr. Sanders-Phillips has published several articles on the psychosocial determinants of health behaviors in low-income, ethnic minority groups. In 1991, Dr. Sanders-Phillips was a University of California Wellness Lecture awardee for her work on health behaviors in African American and Latino populations.
Dr. Sanders-Phillips serves as a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is a member of the Advisory Council for the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. She is the former Chair of the University of California AIDS Taskforce and a former member of the Extramural Science Advisory Board for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Merrill C. Singer, Ph.D.
Hispanic Health Council, Inc.
175 Main Street
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 527-0856
(860) 724-0437 Fax
anthro8566@aol.com
Dr. Singer, Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center, is Director of Research and Deputy Director of the Hispanic Health Council, Inc., in Hartford, where he has worked since 1982. Dr. Singer is principal investigator on Project COPE, a community demonstration research project funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that is designed to test culturally relevant AIDS prevention for African American and Hispanic injection drug users and non-injection cocaine users; Director of Project CONNECT, a federally funded program to provide AIDS prevention education and pretreatment drug counseling and referral to drug users and their sex partners; Project Director of Project Recovery, a comprehensive drug treatment program for pregnant women funded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; and Director of the Hartford Needle Exchange Evaluation Project, funded by the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Dr. Singer is a medical anthropologist and serves as a Steering Committee member of the AIDS and Anthropology Research Group of the Society for Medical Anthropology and the Chairperson of the American Anthropological Association Task Force on AIDS. Dr. Singer has more than 60 publications in the social science and health literature. He is coeditor of Rethinking AIDS Prevention: Cultural Approaches (Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1992) and coauthor of African American Religion in the Twentieth Century (University of Tennessee Press, 1992).
James E. Springfield, M.A.
Prevention Research Center
Morehouse School of Medicine
720 Westview Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
(707) 752-1144
(707) 761-9599 Fax
jspringfield@msm.eau
Mr. Springfield is a graduate student working toward a doctorate in psychology with a specialization in neuropsychology. He conducts behavioral research at Morehouse School of Medicine under the tutelage of Dr. James Griffin. Mr. Springfield is the recipient of a research-training supplement funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse through the Special Populations Office.
Torrance Stephens, Ph.D.
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
Room 564
1518 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30322
(404) 727-5131
(404) 727-3333 Fax
tsteph@sph.emory.edu
Dr. Stephens is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Morehouse College, his master's degree in educational psychology and measurement from Atlanta University, and his doctorate from Clark Atlanta University. He has completed postdoctoral work with the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help, with a fellowship emphasis on international health. Additional postdoctoral work with the U.S. Department of Education and the West African Research Association was completed with a fellowship emphasis on epidemiology.
Launching his career in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Stephens has worked as Adjunct Professor at Clark Atlanta University and Research Specialist at Morris Brown. Other positions include Research Specialist at Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Inc., of Atlanta and Africare International, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Currently, Dr. Stephens is Research Assistant Professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. In that role, he has taught social behavior and public health, social statistics, and public health theory. Dr. Stephens has also been involved in student-advising activities. In the past 3 years, he has been the chair or a member of the thesis committee for 15 students.
Dr. Stephens' interest in African American male health is reflected in his numerous projects, presentations, and publications. He is currently co-investigator for several projects including a post-apartheid study of prison health issues in the South.
Actively involved in the community, Dr. Stephens is a member of the Georgia Statewide HIV Prevention Community Planning Council as well as the Advisory Committee for the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta AIDS Response Fund.
Claire E. Sterk, Ph.D.
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
Room 520
1518 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30322
(404) 727-9124
(404) 727-1369 Fax
csterk@sph.emory.edu
Dr. Sterk is a Professor at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Her background is in anthropology and sociology, and her research interests include substance use and addiction, women's health, mental health, and community-based prevention interventions. Dr. Sterk is the principal investigator on a National Institute on Drug Abuse grant for research that is developing, implementing, and evaluating an HIV risk reduction for African American female crack users. Other funded projects link individual, household, and community factors and explore (re)emerging drug trends and use patterns. She has written several monographs and is widely published in her areas of interest.
Jerry Stubben, Ph.D.
Institute for Social and Behavioral Research
Iowa State University
Suite 500
2625 North Loop Drive
Ames, IA 50010
(515) 294-4329
(515) 294-3613 Fax
jstubben@iastate.edu
Dr. Stubben is an extension State communities specialist and principal research investigator at the Institute for Social and Behavioral Research at Iowa State University. Presently, he serves as a co-principal investigator on a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded project to develop, implement, and evaluate a tribally based, family-oriented substance abuse prevention program and as principal investigator on a Center for Substance Abuse Prevention high school-based intervention project. He has written several monographs and articles on culturally competent substance abuse prevention and treatment issues. He is a member of the Osni Punka (Northern Ponca) Heduska Society.
José Szapocznik, Ph.D.
Center for Family Studies
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of Miami
Suite 312
1425 NW 10th Avenue
Miami, FL 33136
(305) 243-8217
(305) 243-5577 Fax
jszapocz@med.miami.edu
Dr. Szapocznik is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology, and Counseling Psychology at the University of Miami. Dr. Szapocznik is also Director of the Center for Family Studies/Spanish Family Guidance Center, University of Miami School of Medicine. This Center is the Nation's major systematic program of minority family therapy research. Dr. Szapocznik currently serves on the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Advisory Council and has served on the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) National Advisory Council, the NIDA Extramural Science Advisory Board, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Advisory Council, and the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (ex officio) of the National Institutes of Health. He has been a member of the Search Committees for the Directors of NIDA, NIMH, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, CSAP, and Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
For his groundbreaking contributions in intervention research with minority families, Dr. Szapocznik has received national recognition awards such as the 2001 Exemplary Substance Abuse Prevention Program Award; the 2000 Presidential Award for research on the development of family interventions for adolescents, from the Society for Prevention Research; the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Latino Behavioral Health Institute; the first-ever Substance Abuse Prevention Research Award from the National Substance Abuse Prevention Congress; and awards from the American Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organization, and the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals. Internationally, his work led to the designation of the Spanish Family Guidance Center as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center.
Dr. Szapocznik has more than 145 professional publications, including a seminal book, Breakthroughs in Family Therapy with Drug Abusing and Problem Youth (Springer, 1989). His updated Brief Strategic Family Therapy Manual will be published in 2001 by NIDA as part of NIDA's Treatment Manual Series.
Eric W. Trupin, Ph.D.
Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy
University of Washington
Suite 100
146 North Canal Street
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 685-5324
(206) 685-3430 Fax
trupin@u.washington.edu
Dr. Trupin is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington. He is a child psychologist. Dr. Trupin directed the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Children's Hospital and Medical Center for 12 years.
Dr. Trupin is also the Director of the Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy, which maintains a wide range of clinical, research, and training programs primarily focused on youth and adults who manifest both mental illness and substance abuse and are involved with the justice system. His research interests are focused in the following areas: prevalence and prevention of mental illness in children and adolescents, analysis and development of mental health public policy and service system integration for adults and children, and mentally ill youth and adults in the criminal justice system.
During 1993-94, Dr. Trupin was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, working for the U.S. Congress on the House Ways and Means Committee. He has been a consultant to numerous State and Federal agencies on issues related to child and adolescent mental health.
R. Jay Turner, Ph.D.
Life Course and Health Research Center
Florida International University
DM Building, Room 243
11200 SW Eighth Street
Miami, FL 33199
(305) 348-1060
(305) 348-1063 Fax
turnerja@fiu.edu
Dr. Turner has a doctorate in sociology from Syracuse University. He is a Professor in the College of Health and Urban Affairs and Director of the Life Course and Health Research Center at Florida International University. Previous positions have included appointments as Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychology, and Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He holds two major grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Donald R. Vereen, Jr., M.D., M.P.H.
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Executive Office of the President
750 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-4607
(202) 395-6750
(202) 395-5653 Fax
Dr. Vereen began his duties as Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy on June 1, 1998. Earlier, he served as Special Assistant to the Director for Medical Affairs at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH).
During his tenure at NIH, Dr. Vereen worked on the development of new research strategies to address public health issues such as violence, drug abuse, and addiction. From 1992 to 1994 while at the National Institute of Mental Health, he was charged with the development of community-based research projects on violence. Dr.Vereen carried this interest over to NIDA, where he worked on interdisciplinary research projects dealing with the causes and consequences of drug abuse. This work led to the development of research partnerships within NIDA, NIH, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as with other institutions, most notably the Departments of Justice and Education. In addition, Dr. Vereen was appointed to represent NIH on the District of Columbia Task Force on Health Affairs and worked with the Mayor's Health Policy Council.
Dr. Vereen graduated from Harvard College in 1980 with an A.B. degree in biology. He then attended Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, where he received his M.D. degree. Dr. Vereen completed an internship in internal medicine at Salem Hospital, followed by a residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was appointed Chief Resident. He received his master's degree in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health, an associate fellowship in health services research at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene, and a research fellowship in clinically relevant medical anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Vereen has held membership and leadership positions in several professional societies. He serves on the board of directors of a number of District of Columbia health organizations.
John M. Wallace, Jr., Ph.D.
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Room 2312
426 Thompson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248
(734) 763-5043
(734) 936-0043 Fax
johnwall@umich.edu
Dr. Wallace is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work and a Faculty Associate at the Institute for Social Research. He earned his B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1987 and his M.A. degree and doctorate in sociology from the University of Michigan in 1988 and 1991, respectively.
Dr. Wallace is a co-investigator on the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Monitoring the Future Study. His current research examines (1) racial/ethnic differences in the epidemiology of adolescent substance use and (2) the relationship between religion and adolescent health-promoting and health-compromising behavior.
Wendee M. Wechsberg, Ph.D.
Center for Interdisciplinary Substance Abuse Research
Research Triangle Institute
3040 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
(919) 541-6422
(919) 541-6683 Fax
wmw@rti.org
Dr. Wechsberg has more than 25 years of experience in the substance abuse field. She has been a director of clinical services and has published on substance abusers and HIV risk, gender differences, and women's issues. She has led several studies with nontraditional recruitment methods for women and minorities at risk and is currently the Director of Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluations and Intervention Research at RTI International.
Frank Yuan Wong, Ph.D.
Center for Health Services Research and Policy
George Washington University
Suite 800
2021 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 530-2314
(202) 296-0025 Fax
ihofyw@gwumc.edu
Dr. Wong is affiliated with the Center for Health Services Research and Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. His research focuses on HIV and substance abuse targeting vulnerable populations as well as Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
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