What are some of the steps you took in life and/or influences that brought you to your current area of research?
Several of my interests and life experiences coalesced to form my current area of research. My interest in substance use was borne from my love of music. In my teens, I listened to many bands that were influenced by substance use (e.g., Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Phish, Jimi Hendrix) and witnessed regular use (especially cannabis) at concerts I attended. These experiences ran counter to my substance use education (e.g., D.A.R.E.), which suggested use was inevitably harmful. This contradiction sparked my curiosity. I began to search the internet for accurate information about cannabis and other substances, which I quickly learned was complicated by policy (e.g., medical cannabis, legalization), psychological factors (e.g., biases, mental health disorders), and social factors (e.g., normative beliefs, racism), among others. Moreover, I learned cannabis use and related harms were more common in the LGBTQ+ community, a community I care deeply about. Combined, this motivated me to pursue a research career seeking to uncover the actual harms of cannabis use, identify who is most vulnerable to experiencing those harms, examine how policies influence cannabis use and harms, develop strategies to reduce cannabis-related harms, and addressing cannabis-related disparities that affect the LGBTQ+ community.
What is your current area of research and what’s an example of a current project you are involved in?
My current area of research broadly examines psychosocial determinants of cannabis and other substance use, with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ individuals. I have numerous interests in this area and am involved in several research projects spanning cannabis etiology, harm reduction, and treatment. One primary project I am conducting over the next several years is a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded study examining how and why minority stress (e.g., discrimination, harassment, rejection) relates to cannabis use and use-related harms among LGBTQ+ young adults. This study uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a research method that asks participants to complete brief surveys multiple times per day to capture snapshots of their mood, thoughts, social context, and recent experiences. Using these data, I can examine how stressful experiences on a given day relate to the cannabis use and use-related harms on the same day, and if there are any changes following stressors (e.g., mood, beliefs, socializing) that explain why minority stress relates to cannabis use. Findings from this study will help inform potential treatment targets that could ultimately reduce LGBTQ+ cannabis-related harms.
What are a couple of interesting findings that have come from your past research projects?
One of my early research projects I was particularly excited about compared undergraduate cannabis use before and after recreational legalization in Colorado. I found that the number of students who reported trying cannabis increased after legalization, especially among students 21 or older; however, use frequency (e.g., number of past-month use days) remained the same. Since use frequency is closely related to experiencing cannabis-related harms, this finding suggested that legalization may not inherently relate to more frequent, and potentially riskier, use patterns. At this time (2018), our country was still unsure how recreational legalization would impact cannabis use, and findings like mine were important to building a broader understanding and informing public health decisions/policy.
I am also excited about study findings that can be used to help improve prevention and treatment. While providing adolescent cannabis use treatment, many adolescents reported using cannabis to improve sleep and not wanting to reduce use for fear of sleep problems. I examined EMA data from an adolescent cannabis treatment trial and found that early in treatment, cannabis use improved sleep, while in the middle and end of treatment, cannabis use impaired sleep. I was eager to share with the adolescents I work with that cannabis-related sleep concerns likely dissipate within a week or two and use later in treatment will actually make sleep worse. Findings like these are exciting to discuss with therapy clients and can be used to enhance treatment (e.g., setting treatment goals, managing expectations).
What excites you most about your next couple of years at UMass?
Among the many exciting opportunities at UMass, one of the most exciting is getting to work with students and trainees. My experiences mentoring, teaching, and supervising students have been immensely fulfilling. Whether it is research mentorship, classroom teaching, or clinical supervision, I look forward to sharing my passion and enthusiasm for psychological science, motivating students to learn and think critically, and providing accurate, evidence-based information to the up-and-coming generation. I am especially looking forward to mentoring graduate students in my lab to conduct high quality, ethical, evidence-based research and clinical work. Mentoring students also offers the opportunity to develop a closer, more meaningful relationship, along with the reward of helping my trainees pursue and reach their career goals.