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PhD Faculty

 

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

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

 

 

 

Tiffany Baffour

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

 

   

 

Chris Cambron

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

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

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 curriculum in field practicum.

 

 

 

 

 

Emma R. Gross, PhD (emeritus)

emma840@gmail.com

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:

  1. Pathways to Desistence
  2. National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN)
  3. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
  4. 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:

  1. Child abuse and neglect
  2. Psychological trauma and mental illness
  3. Serious delinuency
  4. Mental health interventions for maltreated youth
  5. Integration of social control and differential association theories
  6. Neurocognitive theory

 

   

 

Hank Liese, PhD (emeritus)

hank.liese@utah.edu

Research Interests:
Service-learning; Civic engagement; Community-based research; Social justice.

 

 

Alysse Loomis

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

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

emily.salisbury@utah.edu

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; Many backgrounds 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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 6/13/24