#CSHRB's Tessa Frohe (2nd from L.) & her colleagues in the Public Health Department receiving the prestigious Mosaic Award. The Mosaic Award recognizes groups within health services & policy research that have created a broader, more vibrant & welcoming experience for employees/members. Yay, Tessa!
Center for the Study of Health & Risk Behaviors (CSHRB)
@cshrb.bsky.social
In Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Our goal is to reduce harm related to addictive & other health risk behaviors & improve the health of all people through research, training, practice & policy initiatives.
#CSHRB's Myra Parker, JD, MPH, PhD was recently named the 2026 Alumni of Impact Awardee from the UW School of Public Health for her dedication to improving Indigenous public health. This is the highest honor given to alumni from the school. Congrats Myra!
Save the Date & Register: 2026 UW ADAI Symposium The Dose Makes the Poison: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Goes Mainstream hosted by the University of Washington (UW) Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI) 9/18 from 9am-4pm PT, Free bit.ly/4hrA1je
2026 ADAI Symposium Registration
Join us on September 18, 2026, for The Dose Makes the Poison: Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Goes Mainstream. Attend virtually or in-person 4333 Brooklyn Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98105 (UW Tower Audit...
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Significant Achievement in Collaboration – Congrats to co-director of the Harm Reduction Research & Treatment (HaRRT) Center #CSHRB colleague Seema Clifasefi! The Significant Achievement in Collaboration award recognizes a faculty member in our department demonstrating exceptional collaboration
Study by #CSHRB alum says for the potential mental health benefits of AI chatbots to be realized, attention to safety is paramount. Findings support the reliability of VERA-MH, an open-source, fully automated AI safety evaluation for suicide risk detection and response bit.ly/3RfI1tc
Wayne J. Kayton Outstanding Research Mentor Award – Jason Kilmer This Mentor Award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to fostering the creative, scholarly, professional & personal development of their mentees. One of this year’s winners is #CSHRB's Jason Kilmer
Jason Williams & #CSHRB's Christine Lee, Michele Bedard-Gilligan, Urmi Pandya, Katherine Walukevich-Dienst & Katarina Guttmannova presented their research at the WSU/UW Cannabis Research Symposium at Washington State University in Pullman. Urmi won first place for the student presentation! Go Team!
Outstanding Early Career Researcher – Congrats #CSHRB's Katherine Walukevich-Dienst, PhD! The Outstanding Early Career Research Award recognizes an assistant professor level scientist who has demonstrated outstanding skills or impact as a researcher
Outstanding Education Mentor – Congrats to #CSHRB's Mary Larimer, PhD The Outstanding Education Mentor recognizes a faculty member (from any faculty pathway) in our department who has done an outstanding job mentoring & furthering the careers of faculty members dedicated to our educational mission
#CSHRB co-authored study says 1st therapy session contains meaningful signals about whether patients are likely to remain engaged in care or drop out. By analyzing patient-provider interactions in early conversation, we can identify early risk for disengagement & recognize its drivers bit.ly/4v6o1XS
#CSHRB co-authored study says as harm reductionists in alcohol intervention, we must continue to orient towards the future, working with communities & digital technologies to broaden the spectrum of people we can engage & ensure we continue to meet people where they’re at bit.ly/4eI6kaY
“There’s a massive unmet need in mental healthcare right now: Around half of people with mental illness don’t receive care & for those who do, they wait on average 50 days before their first appointment,” says Devon Sandel-Fernandez, clinical psychologist & #CSHRB colleague at UW School of Medicine.
Is AI Your Therapist?
If so, read this.
rightasrain.uwmedicine.org
#CSHRB study indicates greater overall implementation of sleep hygiene & use of specific strategies (i.e., avoiding pre-bedtime arousal, only using the bed for sleep & sex, & consistent sleep timing) is related to more favorable same-night sleep in adults with regular cannabis use bit.ly/3S6AlJS
Juneteenth is sometimes called Independence Day for Black Americans or America’s second Independence Day, & that spirit of hard-won freedom is at the heart of how the holiday is observed & celebrated today. Learn more about local celebrations & events you can attend hr.uw.edu/cfd/2026/05/...
Juneteenth 2026: A celebration of freedom, a call to action - UW Combined Fund Drive
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Known by many names, including Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day and Liberation Day, i...
hr.uw.edu
This week's PsycShot published in Dep't of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science's News & Events, June 5, 2026, was taken at Fritz Hedges Waterway Park on UW campus where #CSHRB was celebrating their spring picnic on May 12. Go Team!
#CSHRB scoping review study highlights the depth & diversity of community-led, culturally grounded harm reduction practices in Indigenous communities across Turtle Island affirming that they are extensions of longstanding Indigenous ways of knowing, relating & caring for one another bit.ly/4ekv61E
#CSHRB co-authored study results highlight the important role of situational contexts in shaping drinking behavior in YAs & suggest potential targets for preventive intervention efforts aimed at reducing alcohol use bit.ly/4v8O6ps
#CSHRB's Myra Parker is receiving the Alumni of Impact Award from the UW School of Public Health! Congrats on this extremely well-deserved honor, Myra! bit.ly/4uvwCUo
Myra Parker receives Alumni of Impact Award for commitment to Indigenous health | UW School of Public Health
Parker, a UW SPH doctoral alum, leads Indigenous health research at UW.
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#CSHRB-affiliated student Lucas Mejia working on a LAHRA study presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium last week. His presentation: "Alcohol Use. Binge Drinking & Depression Patterns Among Latinx Adolescents & Young Adults Across Large Urban, Small Urban & Rural Contexts." Kudos Lucas!
#CSHRB co-authored study says prior experiences of discrimination were associated with more mental & physical health problems in all racial groups. Prior dislike of meeting people from other racial or ethnic groups was associated with more AUD symptoms in Black & White participants bit.ly/4fg9AfF
#CSHRB study featured in article written by the Population Reference Bureau about one of the papers drafted by Griselda Martinez, Katarina Guttmanova & the LAHRA team on Young Latinos in rural America www.prb.org/resource/lat...
For Latinos Coming of Age in Rural America, the Path to Adulthood Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All - Population Reference Bureau
New research sheds light on the experiences of an understudied group of young people
prb.org
#CSHRB co-authored study identified a specific domain of acculturative stress (pressure to acculturate) that intensifies the association between drinking to cope with depressive symptoms & more negative alcohol-related consequences among Hispanic/Latino American college students bit.ly/4uMWSt9
Co-authored by #CSHRB's Jason Kilmer & inspired by the 2002 report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism College Task Force, A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges, this new resource builds on a legacy of culture change in higher ed bit.ly/4nrL7G5
#CSHRB co-authored study findings suggest that more severe & repeated sexual victimization experiences may motivate more frequent communication to prevent negative sexual outcomes, including nonconsensual sex, unwanted pregnancy & sexually transmitted infections bit.ly/4nqS8Hc
Data from the US Department of Health & Human Services shows drinking among 18-25 year-olds fell over the past 5 years. #ADAI's Mandy Owens has been watching this trend. "It looks like in 2021, about 51% of young adults reported any past month drinking, & in 2024 it was down to 47.5%" bit.ly/4tYVe7C
Muck Rack | For journalists and public relations
Use Muck Rack to find journalists, get press for your story, monitor the news and report on the impact of your PR. Journalists can build portfolios and accelerate their careers.
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Each week features a different theme: understanding mental illness, early support for youth, words matter, and supporting loved ones bit.ly/4tQdvE6
#ADAI Director and colleague Dr. Susan Ferguson is interviewed on NPR about the reclassification of medical cannabis by the federal government bit.ly/4cFg6L6
Marijuana research may reach new heights as Trump Administration reclassifies medical cannabis
On Thursday acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order reclassifying medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. Advocates say it could be a sign of bigger changes to come.
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"In clinical settings, #CSHRB's lead author Dani Kang said, patients often struggle to recall or recognize patterns in their drinking. Real-time tracking could help people see those patterns more clearly and recognize when they may need help" bit.ly/3QAXpzE
Real-time tracking reveals gaps in recalled alcohol use symptoms
When young adults are asked to recall their drinking habits, their recollections may not always match what actually happened in their day-to-day lives, a new study suggests.
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People remember drinking - but not how they behaved. “We’re doing all this research to understand the etiology of AUD but we’re doing it with entirely retrospective assessments. We can’t use those reports to understand how AUD progresses & develops in daily lives,” noted #CSHRB lead author Dani King
People remember drinking - but not how they behaved
Young adults may not remember their drinking habits accurately. A new study shows daily tracking reveals patterns that memory misses.
earth.com