PhD Faculty
Research Areas
Troy Andersen, PhD
Associate Professor/Lecturer
(801) 587-9648 SW 206
troy.andersen@hsc.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Alzheimer’s disease, progressive neurologic disease, aging, health, rural health care.
Tiffany Baffour, PhD
Associate Professor & MSW Program Director
(801) 581-7585 SW 333
tiffany.baffour@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Community-based Participatory Research, Health Care Delivery, Violence Prevention,
Evidence-based Mental Health, Professional Development in Social Work
Joanna Bettmann Schaefer, PhD
Professor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
(801) 587 -7600 SW 108
joanna.schaefer@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Attachment, Treatment Outcomes, Wilderness Therapy, Residential Treatment
Christopher Cambron, PhD
Assistant Professor
(801) 581-8691 SW 330A
chris.cambron@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Health disparities, substance abuse/addiction, cancer prevention, quantitative research,
ecological momentary assessment
Sarah Canham, PhD
Associate Professor (Social Work & Architecture + Planning)
(801) 581-8738 SW 330B
sarah.canham@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Social determinants of health; Health and social services; Environments and aging;
Homelessness; Substance use and dependence; Mental health; Qualitative research methods;
Community-based participatory research; Life course perspective; Social construction
of knowledge; Culture of medicine; Knowledge translation
Jason Castillo, PhD
Associate Professor, BSW Program Director
(801) 585-9592 SW 335
jason.castillo@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Disadvantaged Children and Families with an Emphasis on Fathers, Social Work Education,
Substance Use Disorder Counselor Education and Training, Social Welfare Policy, Macro
Social Work Practice
Caren J. Frost, PhD
Research Professor, Director CRMRI
(801) 581-5287 SW 208
caren.frost@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Maternal and child health; Social/behavior aspects of breast cancer;
Qualitative research methods; Ethics in international research;
Refugee women’s health.
Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW
Professor, Associate Dean for Research, Director C-MIIND
(801) 581-3826 SW 275
eric.garland@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Mindfulness-based interventions; Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement; Clinical
Research and Treatment of Addiction, Chronic Pain, Affective Disorders, PTSD; Integrative
Medicine and Behavioral Medicine; Translational Research using Cognitive Neuroscience
Methods; Resilience; Positive Psychology.
Data Sets Available:
1) Data from NIDA-funded grant on Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement as a treatment
for prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients.
2) Data from a SAMHSA-funded trial of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement as
a treatment for comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders.
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
Pain; opioid misuse; addictive behavior; psychiatric diagnosis; psychophysiological
variables (heart rate variability, facial EMG, GSR, EEG); attentional bias to pain
and drug cues; dispositional mindfulness; emotion regulation; coping.
Christina Gringeri, PhD
Professor
(801) 581-4864 SW 315
christina.gringeri@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Social networks, violence, and low income women; Social capital and human development;
International service learning; Feminist research strategies; Qualitative and critical
methodologies; Women creating social change in patriarchal structures; Bridging macro
and diversity curriculum in field practicum.
Data Sets Available:
Various narrative data collections; data sets of published social work articles to
examine quality indicators as well as diversity features.
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
Theories of feminist organizing, social movements theories; diversity and critical
theories related to social work education; using critical consciousness frameworks
to analyze social work publications.
Emma R. Gross, PhD (emeritus)
Research Interests:
Community development theory; Institutions and the distribution of power in communities;
Organization development theory; Policy studies: Agenda setting through evaluation;
Human development theory in relation to poverty environments and impacts (ACES).
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
Factors influencing social development processes and outcomes—How and why societies
make the decisions they do about public welfare. Application of policy knowledge and political process to the development and implementation
Jeremiah Jaggers, PhD
PhD Director; Assistant Professor
(801) 581-7644 SW 307
jeremiah.jaggers@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Familial influence on juvenile delinquency; Dual-status (a.k.a. multi-system, dually-involved)
youth; factors contributing to delinquent behavior in abused and neglected youth;
Mental health services to prevent justice system involvement among maltreated youth.
Data Sets Available:
- Pathways to Desistence
- National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN)
- National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
- Numerous restricted access data sets from the Indiana Department of Child Services and the Marion County, Indiana Juvenile Court
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
- Child abuse and neglect
- Psychological trauma and mental illness
- Serious delinuency
- Mental health interventions for maltreated youth
- Integration of social control and differential association theories
- Neurocognitive theory
Hank Liese, PhD (emeritus)
Research Interests:
Service-learning; Civic engagement; Community-based research; Social justice.
Alysse Loomis, PhD
Assistant Professor
(801) 581-8679 SW 330C
alysse.loomis@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Early childhood trauma, child maltreatment prevention; early care and education, attachment,
trauma-informed care, social work practice
Brad Lundahl, PhD, LCSW
Associate Professor
(801) 581-4570 SW 224
brad.lundahl@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Motivational Interviewing; Evidence based practice through metaanalytic research;
Child welfare; Counseling.
Data Sets Available:
Some in DWS; some systematic reviews.
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
Does MI work in systems such as DCFS, DWS? What are best practices of DCFS caseworkers?
Meeyoung Min, PhD
Belle S. Spafford Endowed Chair, Associate Professor
(801) 581-8796 SW 125
meeyoung.min@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Prenatal Drug Exposure; Trauma; Maternal Mental Health; Child Development; Adolescence Substance Use
Philip Osteen, PhD
Dean, Professor
(801) 581-6192 SW 130
philip.osteen@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Health and Behavioral promotion, Suicide prevention; Impact of physical and mental
health on quality of life and job performance.
Patrick Panos, PhD
Associate Professor
(801) 671-5226 SW 313
patrick.panos@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
International social work; Participatory agency outcome evaluation; Research methods;
Distance learning for community development in isolated communities.
Kort Prince, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
(801) 587-9947 SW 232
kort.prince@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Criminal justice; Research design; Longitudinal/multilevel modeling; Structural equation
modeling.
Data Sets Available:
UCJC conducts research across a wide range of criminal justice topics and programs
as well as in domains that intersect with criminal justice (e.g., homelessness, mental
health, substance abuse, etc.). A full list of research topics/projects can be found here.
Emily Salisbury, PhD
Associate Professor, Director, Utah Criminal Justice Center
Research Interests:
Criminological Behavior, Correctional Philosophy and Rehabilitation, Justice-Involved
Women and Girls, Correctional Risk/Need/Strength Assessment, Gender- and Trauma-Responsive
Policy and Practice
Christian Sarver, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Associate Director, Utah Criminal Justice Center
(801) 587-9437
christian.sarver@utah.edu
Research Interests:
Correctional Rehabilitation and Programming, Reentry, Offender Pathways and Desistance,
Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice, Qualitative Research Methods
Martell Teasley, PhD
Professor
(801) 581-6194 SW 109
martell.teasley@utah.edu
Research Interests:
African American adolescent development; Diversity in cultural competence; Black studies;
School social work practice.
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
What social and cultural factors promote successful educational outcomes for African
American children and youth?
Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson, PhD
Research Associate Professor
(801) 581-3071 SW 126
marybeth.vogel-ferguson@socwk.utah.edu
Research Interests:
Social welfare policy and welfare reform; Poverty issues; University-public social
service agency research partnerships; Program evaluation; Trauma and Resiliency.
Variables, Frameworks, Research Questions of Interest:
Characteristics of public benefit recipients in Utah; experiences of public benefit
users related to the agency providing benefits; Questions of interest: impact of adverse
childhood experiences on adult functioning relative to work, relationships, etc.;
providing community services from a trauma informed approach.