Sex, Drugs & Science

Natalie Brousseau recently earned her PhD in Human Development & Family Sciences from the University of Delaware and will soon begin a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut. Natalie, Valerie, and Carly chat about their work on the UDisclose study, which focused on understanding disclosure experiences among people in recovery from opioid use disorders in Delaware. Natalie shares the results of her three dissertation studies, and Valerie and Carly wish Natalie good luck ...

Sarah Calabrese is an Assistant Professor of clinical psychology at The George Washington University. Her research focuses on sexual health promotion among racial and sexual minorities and other socially marginalized groups. Sarah chats with Valerie about all things PrEP (an HIV prevention medication), including: how many people are (or aren’t) using PrEP, (arguably) conservative guidelines around PrEP recommendations, and provider bias in PrEP prescription that likely leads to inequities in ...

Dave Humes is a Board Member and the Public Policy Coordinator of aTAcK addiction, a naloxone trainer, and co-chair of the Changing Perceptions and Stigma Subcommittee of the Behavioral Health Consortium In Delaware. Dave shares his story of losing his son to an opioid overdose, and how that inspired him to advocate for policy change surrounding access to naloxone (an opioid overdose-reversal medication) in Delaware. Valerie and Carly ask Dave for advice about advocating for policy change and...

Dr. Judy Tan is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Prevention Science, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), at the University of California San Francisco. She is a behavioral and prevention scientist trained in social and health psychological theory, quantitative research methods, and intervention development. Judy chats with Valerie and Carly about her work with older people living with HIV, researching the role of romantic relationships in health promotion, and deve...

Ben Levenson is the Chairman of The Levenson Foundation and founder of Origins Behavioral HealthCare. Ben chats with Valerie and Carly about harm reduction, or ways to “derisk” drug use for the millions of people who use drugs in the United States, and the gap between “the bench and the trench,” or between scientific findings and addiction treatment. Ben talks about international approaches to drug use and leaves Valerie and Carly with some excellent food for thought about the need to end sti...

Dr. Brandon del Pozo is a postdoctoral researcher on the consequences of substance use and addiction at Rhode Island's Miriam Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. His interests include studying systems-level approaches to delivering substance use treatment services, overcoming the stigmas that obstruct evidence-based responses to the nation's opioid crisis, and confronting our growing stimulant epidemic. Brandon talks with Valerie and Carly about implementing evi...

Dr. Allecia Reid is an Assistant Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Allecia’s research aims to both understand the psychological, social, and environmental factors that relate to health behaviors and to improve the design of health promotion interventions. Allecia talks with Valerie and Carly about drinking on college campuses, including the roles of peer influence and mimicry on alcohol use as well as protective strategies to reduce harm...

Dr. Morgan Philbin is an Assistant Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Morgan’s work explores how social-structural factors impact health outcomes for vulnerable populations, particularly racial/ethnic and sexual minority youth. Morgan talks with Valerie and Carly about her research on cannabis policies, challenges in studying how policies impact health, and the role of scientists in policy change. Morgan describes how her experien...

Liz Richards is Executive Director of the Delaware Cares Coalition for Paid Leave, which is a coalition of health, labor, faith, business, family and community organizations and advocates committed to passing Paid Family and Medical Leave in Delaware. Liz talks with Valerie and Carly about her work advocating for paid leave in Delaware, the research evidence supporting paid leave, and how scientists can support policy change surrounding paid leave. Learn more about Delaware Cares here: h...

Dr. Ryan Watson is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Ryan’s research focuses on reducing health disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth and young adults. Ryan talks with Valerie and Carly about how terminology used by sexual and gender minority individuals changes over time (especially among youth), the role of minority stress in health, and how parents can buffer or protect youth from minority stressors. Ryan an...