A. Personal Statement

I am an Associate Professor of Psychology, and my research is focused on neuropsychological changes associated with substance use disorders. I have a broad background in psychology, with specific training and expertise in ethnographic and survey research and secondary data analysis on psychological aspects of substance use disorders. As PI or co-Investigator on several university- and NIH-funded grants, I laid the groundwork for the proposed research by developing effective measures of disability, depression, and other psychosocial factors relevant to older people with substance use disorders, and by establishing strong ties with community providers that will make it possible to recruit and track participants over time as documented in the following publications. In addition, I successfully administered the projects (e.g. staffing, research protections, budget), collaborated with other researchers, and produced several peer-reviewed publications from each project. As a result of these previous experiences, I am aware of the importance of frequent communication among project members and of constructing a realistic research plan, timeline, and budget. The current application builds logically on my prior work. During 2015-2016, my career was disrupted due to family obligations. However, upon returning to the field, I immediately resumed my research projects and collaborations and successfully competed for NIH support. In summary, I have the expertise, leadership, training, expertise, and motivation necessary to successfully carry out the proposed research project.

Ongoing and recently completed projects that I would like to highlight include:

R01 DA942367

Hunt (PI)

09/01/16-08/31/21

Health trajectories and behavioral interventions among older people with substance use disorders

R01 MH922731

Merryle (PI), Role: co-investigator

12/15/17-11/30/22

Physical disability, depression, and substance use among older adults