Life Unites Us' campaign receives grant from PA Department of Drug and Alcohol
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol (DDAP) recently awarded multiple faculty members, staff and units from Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State College of Medicine's Project ECHO and Addiction Center for Translation, and additional Penn State campuses a $…
New book: Time-Varying Effect Modeling for the Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences
This book, co-authored by Stephanie Lanza, Penn State professor of biobehavioral health and director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC); and Ashley Linden-Carmichael, PRC assistant research professor, is the first to introduce applied behavioral, social, and health sciences…
Engage Podcast highlights project
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute released the latest episode of its Engage Podcast discussing research into e-cigarettes. Andrea Hobkirk, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavior health, discusses her work into how the brain responds to flavored e-cigarettes…
Human development and family studies professor joins Recovery Rising initiative
H. Harrington ‘Bo’ Cleveland, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and SSRI cofunded faculty member, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs’ Recovery Rising initiative.
Recovery Rising works to foster a resilient, diverse and…
Training scientists in substance use prevention the focus of $3.2M grant
A $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will fund the continuation of Penn State's Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program, which focuses on training the next generation of scientists in preventing substance use and addiction.
Effective strategies to prevent…
Annual substance-use conference examines cross-systems solutions
The Penn State Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) hosted its second annual conference, “Addressing Substance Use: Cross-Systems Solutions,” on Monday, May 3.
Held virtually via Zoom and drawing over 120 attendees throughout the day, the conference kicked off with a welcome…
How drunk is 'drunk?' New scale helps predict negative drinking effects
The words young adults use to describe how they feel when they have been drinking alcohol are a key to understanding whether they will engage in risky behaviors such as driving under the influence. A new scale for researchers developed at Penn State has been shown effective in gauging how young…
Are more parents letting their teens drink during the pandemic?
COVID-19 stay-at-home orders during spring 2020 dramatically changed daily life and created significant challenges for families. A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that 1 in 6 parents first allowed their adolescent children to have an alcoholic drink with their families…
Addressing stigma and discrimination one story at a time
The Story Powered Initiative is a newly relaunched nationally focused initiative that addresses stigma and discrimination through sharing individual stories. Founded and led by Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington and…
Penn State researchers combat problems of substance misuse
The misuse of alcohol, opioids, and other substances poses many serious, well-known risks to people’s health and communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, economic stress, social isolation, and anxiety about the future may have deepened the public health emergency posed by substance misuse and…
Annual substance use and addiction conference to be held virtually on May 3
Penn State’s Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) will hold its second annual conference to bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, foundation representatives and the public to discuss significant and emerging problems in combating substance use and…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse seeks applications for seed grant program - 2021
The Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA), part of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State, has announced an invitation for Level 2 pilot research projects aimed at addressing issues related to substance use and addiction. The program seeks interdisciplinary Penn State…
Two Penn State researchers contribute to fight against human trafficking
Two Penn State researchers are contributing to the fight against human trafficking, acting as leaders and speakers at the First Annual Regional Human Trafficking Summit For Advocates Against Human Trafficking, taking place on Feb. 9-10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Glenn Sterner, assistant professor of…
Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse seeks co-funded faculty position candidates
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) has announced an invitation for applications from departments across the Penn State system for a co-funded faculty position as part of the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA).
Addressing one of the University’s aims in its…
Impacts of the pandemic on opioid-related drug overdose
Opioid-related drug overdose is a leading cause of death and injury in the United States. When we consider individuals who use opioids, social factors including poor access to healthcare, unstable housing and employment, and social isolation may double as risk factors for infectious disease…
Preventing risky drinking by college students the focus of new Penn State study
Is there a simple way for parents to reduce the chance of their college-age children having problems resulting from drinking alcohol? Professor of Biobehavioral Health Robert Turrisi was recently awarded a 5-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to…
Building bridges to improve drug misuse prevention
Many agencies at the national, state and local levels are working to address the nation’s drug and alcohol misuse crisis. While this provides numerous opportunities for individuals to receive support, efforts across these agencies are often not closely coordinated.
A new million-dollar award from…
Engineering professor named as new Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse director
Paul Griffin, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering and recently returning Penn State faculty member, will become the next interim director of the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) beginning in summer 2021. Griffin, an expert in health systems engineering, is…
Impacts of the coronavirus on student athlete substance abuse
College is a well-known risk environment for problematic alcohol use and substance abuse. In this post, Katherine McLean, associate professor of criminal justice at Penn State Greater Allegheny, outlines why student athletes may be at particular risk for higher levels of alcohol consumption and…
Abstracts wanted for Sixth Annual Penn State Addiction Symposium
Penn State Addiction Center for Translation is accepting abstracts for virtual oral poster and “data blitz” presentations at the center's Sixth Annual Penn State Addiction Symposium. Submit a 250-word abstract, complete with title, author(s), affiliations, and presenter's email address to…
New study will examine women with opioid-use disorder in criminal justice system
A new five-year, $842,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will allow Penn State researchers to examine opioid-use disorder among criminal justice-involved (CJI) women.
Abenaa Jones, assistant professor of human development and…
Four researchers join the Social Science Research Institute
Four Penn State researchers have joined the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse, part of the Social Science Research Institute, including faculty members from the colleges of Engineering, Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Health and Human Development.
The Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA)…
EIC Podcast on the opioid crisis is now available
The fifth episode of the new Evidence-to-Impact Podcast features a discussion with Glenn Sterner, PhD, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Abington, and Stephen Forzato, deputy chief for tStatewide Drug Initiatives at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General about reducing the…
Turrisi advises parents in a new video series about teen alcohol use
Parents with questions about how to protect their teens from the dangers of alcohol and other drugs can now receive research-based advice from videos featuring Robert Turrisi, a Penn State professor of biobehavioral health with more than 35 years of experience in researching underage drinking.…
Impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on substance abuse
Penn State researchers provide informed commentary on the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on those affected by substance abuse disorder. They point out it is essential that treatment and intervention, recovery services, and prevention mechanisms remain accessible, operational, and optimized.…