Research Professor, Primary Care Research Institute
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Behavioral Health; Community Health Research; Criminal Justice Involvement; Health Disparities Research; Health Services Research; Medical Anthropology; Program Evaluation; Substance Use Disorder; Translational Research
I am an applied medical anthropologist with a strong history of leading ethnographic, mixed methods, and health services research focusing on improving care for people with complex chronic medical and behavioral health conditions. Together with my team, we uncover the contextual factors and processes involved with implementing interventions that translate research into practice.
Throughout my career, my community-based research has promoted the growth and sustainability of academic-community partnerships and initiatives to improve healthcare for high-risk community members. I have led the research and evaluation of multiple funded public health initiatives that include: the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)-funded Buffalo Treatment Court Opioid Intervention Program (“Opioid Court”); an Office of Women’s Health-funded initiative to implement universal screening, brief intervention and referral for treatment (SBIRT) in community-based OB-GYN practices; and a BJA-funded Opioid Overdose Outreach Enhancement Program to improve first response to opioid overdose and linkage to treatment. I completed an R01 grant (as co-PI with Dr. Greg Homish), funded by CDC, in which we rigorously evaluated processes and outcomes of the opioid court and traditional drug treatment courts (R01 CE003144-0). Results from these projects will inform interventions to improve access to care and reduce treatment barriers for people with substance use disorder (SUD) and co-morbid chronic illnesses.
Across my research projects, a major crosscutting theme centers on how people adapt to adversity – and which strategies can be adapted or replicated. This includes how patients self-manage the treatment burden of diabetes or chronic kidney disease, and the ways that people with SUD access recovery capital. In a recent study on justice-involved women with SUD we combined stigma theory with a resiliency model to consider how some women developed coping strategies in the face of daunting challenges. My current research interests focus on the relationship between substance use and oral health and improving access to dental care for patients with SUD. I am also undertaking a research study on how primary care practitioners in four distinct clinical practice settings are implementing SBIRT: screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT).
I am an enthusiastic teacher and have trained and mentored diverse learners at all levels: postdoctoral, medical students, residents, junior faculty, graduate, and undergraduate. From 2017-2022 I was Director of a NRSA T32 institutional research training grant for postdoctoral candidates pursuing careers in biomedical/behavioral health research related to primary care (T32HP30035). Since 2023 I have been lead evaluator/research lead on a $2.5 million Health Resources and Service Administration grant (TA248948) to improve Family Medicine residency training in substance use disorder and behavioral health.