2012 AWARDS PRESENTATION

Society for Prevention Research
2012 Awards Presentation at 20th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
May 31, 2012

Presidential Award

The Presidential Award is given to those who have made a major lifetime contribution to prevention science research.

This year, we are pleased and proud to present the Presidential Award to Dr. Richard F. Catalano and Dr. J. David Hawkins. They have worked together as partners for more than three decades to further the goals of prevention science and are among a small group of scholars who have applied theory and empirical findings to the prevention of social problems. Both men have devoted a large part of their careers to developing tools that are widely used to guide policy and practice in substance abuse and juvenile delinquency prevention at the community, state, federal, and global levels. Their theory, the Social Development Model (SDM), is a developmental theory of delinquency and drug use and has been the basis for most of their prevention programs.

Hawkins and Catalano were prominent in introducing the concepts of risk- and protective-focused prevention to the fields of substance abuse and delinquency prevention. They developed tools that are currently used by communities to audit and create their own profiles of levels of risk and protection. Catalano and Hawkins also developed tools that were useful to communities for identifying effective preventive interventions suited to their risk and protection profiles. These research-based tools are built into a prevention planning operating system called Communities That Care (CTC). The CTC program has been chosen by the OJJDP as the prevention component of their Comprehensive Strategy. CSAP has also selected the CTC measurement system as a standard to be used in all new prevention needs assessment contracts and at least ten state agencies have adopted CTC. CTC is presently being evaluated in the U.S. in a randomized controlled trial in 24 communities across seven states and has been used in eight countries throughout the world.

Hawkins and Catalano also developed other prevention interventions, Guiding Good Choices (formerly Preparing for the Drug Free Years); Seattle Social Development Project; Raising Healthy Children; Raising Healthy Children, Preparing for School Success; Staying Connected with Your Teen; Focus on Families; Project Skills; and Project ADAPT. Several of these programs have been disseminated as national models of evidence-based programs by federal agencies.

Both Catalano and Hawkins are very productive scholars, whose research findings contribute to the literature on the etiology and prevention of substance use and delinquency and who have disseminated their findings to a wide range of audiences. They are internationally renowned for their research and prevention activities and have been invited to speak about them throughout the world. Each has about 250 publications and an H factor greater than 50. They also have a very impressive record of funded research totalling over a hundred million dollars, most of which is devoted to the understanding and prevention of substance abuse and delinquency.

Dr. Hawkins is the founding Director of the prevention research organization, the Social Development Research Group (SDRG), and Dr. Catalano is the current director. Their work at SDRG and at the University of Washington has furthered the goals of prevention science through their mentoring of graduate students and junior faculty and teaching of courses in prevention science for graduate and undergraduate students. Both men have also advanced the field through their numerous public service activities and participation on expert panels at the local, state, and federal level, where they have advocated for controlled trials of prevention and treatment approaches.

The SPR has greatly benefited by the contributions of both individuals. They have been board members, and Hawkins has been President of the Society and both have served on numerous committees and task forces in support of the work of the Society.

Nan Tobler Award for Review of the Prevention Science Literature

The Nan Tobler Award for Review of the Prevention Science Literature is given for contributions to the summarization or articulation of the empirical evidence relevant to prevention science.

This year we are pleased to present the Nan Tobler Award for Review of the Prevention Science Literature to Drs. Albert Farrell, David Henry and Amie Bettencourt for the article:

Farrell, A.D., Henry, D.B, and Bettencourt, A., (2011) Methodological Challenges Examining Subgroup Differences: Examples from Universal School-based Youth Violence Prevention Trials. Prevention Science, Online First, January 27. DOI: 10.1007/s11121-011-0200-2.

Prevention Science Award

The Prevention Science Award is given for the work of developing and testing prevention strategies.

This year, we are pleased to present the Prevention Science Award to Dr. Robert Turrisi for the creative prevention programs that he has developed, which have led to reductions in high-risk drinking among youth and reductions in skin cancer risk behaviors across all age groups.

His prevention research includes both efficacy trials examining society for prevention research society for prevention research parent- and peer-based interventions for high-risk populations and effectiveness trials, in which he is currently examining issues around implementation and sustainability.

Dr. Turrisi began his prevention research with a focus on preventing alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems in older adolescents and emerging adults (ages 16-25) by increasing the quality of parenting (relationships, communication, monitoring, and alcohol permissiveness). He and his colleagues developed a parent-based intervention (PBI) that aims to increase parents’ motivation and skills specific to communicating about alcohol use with their children.

This program has been implemented on several college campuses across the country as a universal intervention, a targeted intervention on high-risk campuses, and a targeted intervention for high-risk sub-populations, such as student athletes. His efficacy research utilizes randomized clinical trial designs and not only measures outcomes but focuses on mediating processes, moderation, timing, and dose-response effects. Recently, he has expanded this work to examine neurophysiologic effects of parent interventions on physical structures of the brain among youthful populations.

Dr. Turrisi is also working with the Mothers Against Drunk Driving to nationally distribute the intervention developed for use with high school students and to evaluate the effectiveness of the PBI implementation on a national scale. This implementation reach and impact of this collaborative effort is extremely unique and has great potential for prevention.

Dr. Turrisi has also been working in the area of skin cancer for prevention for children, adolescents, and adults. He and his colleagues have recently developed several new lines of skin cancer prevention research; increasing preventative skin self-exams with melanoma patients to reduce the future incidence and harm associated with melanomas; training physicians how to conduct brief negotiated interviews to increase patient compliance with treatment regimens to reduce future incidences of cancer; and reducing high-risk ultra violent exposure behaviors (e.g. sun tanning) in youth via parents and motivational/education efforts.

In summary, Dr. Turrisi’s focus on both efficacy and effectiveness trials contributes greatly to the evidence base of prevention science.

Public Service Award

The Public Service Award is given in recognition of extensive and effective advocacy for prevention science and research-based programs.

This year, we are pleased to present the Public Service Award to Dr. Jerry Reed. Dr. Reed has been very important in the establishment of applying prevention efforts for suicide.

Dr. Reed became Director of the Health and Human Developments Center (HHD), Suicide Prevention Research Center (SPRC) in July 2008. He oversees the Center, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that provides state and local officials, grantees, policymakers, interested stakeholders, and the general public with assistance in developing, implementing, and evaluating programs to prevent suicide.

In October 2008, he assumed leadership of HHD’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Injury, Violence, and Suicide, encompassing several additional projects such as the Children’s Safety Network, the National Young Worker Safety Resource Center, and the Suicide Prevention Assessment and Resource Kit project.

Previously, Dr. Reed, as Executive Director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, a national nonprofit created to raise awareness; built political will, and called for action in advancing, implementing, and evaluating a national strategy to address suicide. He spent 15 years as a career civil servant working in Europe and the United Stated with the Department of the Army developing, implementing, and managing a variety of quality-of-life programs including substance abuse prevention and treatment; family advocacy; child and youth development programs; social services; and a range of morale, welfare and recreation programs. Selected as a Congressional Fellow in 1996, Dr. Reed worked in the Office of Senator Harry Reid (NV), serving as senior advisor on health care, mental health, suicide prevention, and aging issues.

Along with the Clifford Beers Foundation, The Carter Center, and the World Federation for Mental Health, he was the prime mover for organizing the 6th World Congress on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and

Behavioral Disorders in November 2010 held in Washington, DC. The conference addressed how to improve equity in mental health prevention research and policy. Dr. Reed has been active internationally serving on the Board of the International Association for Suicide Prevention as Chair of the Council of Organizational Representatives.

Dr. Reed’s work was recently recognized by the Obama administration. The SPRC at the Education Development Center, Inc. was selected by the White House as a Champion of Change; part of President Obama’s Winning the Future Across America initiative in August 2011. In selecting SPRC as a Champion of Change, the administration described it as an organization “empowering and inspiring others in their communities” and cited “the work and passion of your organization in the area of suicide prevention [as] an outstanding example of President Obama’s vision to outinnovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.”

Community, Culture, and Prevention Science Award

The Community, Culture, and Prevention Science Award is given for contributions to the field of prevention science in the area of community and culture.

This year we are pleased to present the Community, Culture, and Prevention Science Award to Dr. Flavio Marsiglia. Dr. Marsiglia is a pioneer in the development of and adaption of preventive interventions for racial and ethnic minority populations. He has made significant contributions over his academic career to the field of prevention science in the areas of community and culture. Dr. Marsiglia is the Distinguished Foundation Professor of Cultural Diversity and Health at Arizona State University’s School of Social Work and Director of the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC). SIRC is a Center of Excellence, funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and focuses on improving minority health and eliminating health disparities in traditionally under served populations, including Hispanics and Native Americans.

Dr. Marsiglia’s research in the areas of community, culture, and health disparities has led to more than 70 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He has also coauthored a book entitled Diversity, Oppression and Change: Culturally Grounded Social Work . Dr. Marsiglia serves on numerous scientific editorial boards and has been elected to serve on boards of national professional organizations such as the Society for Social Work and Research and the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research. H e also serves on a permanent NIH scientific review panel and other NIH special emphasis review panels. Dr. Marsiglia’s research has been recognized by the National Hispanic Science Network and the National Association of Social Workers.

Translational Science Award

The Translational Science Award recognizes contributions to the field of prevention science in the area of Type I or Type 2 translational research.

This year, we are pleased to present the Translational Science Award to Dr. Philip Fisher. Dr. Fisher is an extremely productive scientist who has been active with Type 1 work on examining the effects of differing models of foster care on developmental trajectories of children in foster care, as well as his work on the relation between stress/trauma, cumulative risk, and neurobiological processes. His work examining the effects of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care on young children’s development is of substantial direct public health importance and has already had major effects on the design of foster care for young children both in the US and other countries. His work on the relation between trauma and neurobiological processes is significant and boundary spanning. Dr. Fisher was one of the first prevention scientists to understand and demonstrate the importance that psychosocial events (including interventions) could have on the HPA axis as well as other neurobiological systems. This work has not only been powerful in demonstrating that different forms of foster care can alter the child’s stress response system, but also for the fundamental discovery of how stress “gets under the skin.”

He is highly deserving of this award because his work is published in the best journals in the multiple fields, in which he operates (prevention science, developmental psychopathology, developmental neuroscience, child welfare); his level of funding from the National Institutes of Health is remarkable, not only for the number and size of the grants, but for his ability to have these grants funded over long periods of time which allows for the necessary longitudinal follow-up of prevention impact; and his work has combined examining the outcomes of prevention trials with a focus on understanding developmental process at both the behavioral and biological levels and how these levels transact together across early childhood.

International Collaborative Prevention Research Award

The International Collaborative Prevention Research Award recognizes contributions to the field of prevention science in the area ofinternational collaboration.

This year we are pleased to present the International Collaborative Prevention Research Award to Dr. Josipa Basic. Dr. Basic has been a leader in bringing the concept and training of prevention science to her country. After a few years of collaborative groundwork with prevention scientist researchers at The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Nimegen, Dr. Basic launched a prevention research doctoral program at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. During the past 4 years, she has nurtured the development of an excellent class of Ph.D. students involved in epidemiology and prevention studies in Croatia. Dr. Basic exemplifies the ability to bridge international issues to build long-term collaborations.

Secondly, she works with The Pennsylvania State University Prevention Center to build a long-term collaboration in the translation, cultural adaptation, and evaluation of the PATHS Curriculum in Croatia. Beginning with the translation process and a small pilot trial in the Istria region of Croatia, Dr. Basic developed the first careful evaluation of a prevention program in her country.

Due to her steadfast work, and the hard work of her doctoral students, she has now received a cross-national collaborative grant (with Penn State as her partner) to launch a much larger randomized trial of PATHS in three different regions of Croatia. The grant from the Croatian Ministry of Science is a unique mechanism called the Unity Through Knowledge Fund that involves international partners. Her ability to develop international partnerships and to craft a carefully designed clustered randomized trial was essential in obtaining this grant and continuing to deepen prevention research in Croatia. Further, this funding allows even more in-depth experiences for the doctoral students discussed above in the University of Zagreb Ph.D. Program in Prevention Science.

Together, these two initiatives create an exciting set of international collaborations that have provided new and unique opportunities in a nation that is still recovering from economic and political collapse, and is still developing its scientific infrastructure. Her work, against many obstacles, isa stellar example of overcoming many odds to bring scientific ideas to improve the public health of her nation.

Service to SPR Award

This year we are pleased to present the Service to SPR Award to The Mothers of Prevention.

The band members are Gilbert Botvin, trumpet and flugel horn; Brian Bumbarger, drums, vocals, and band manager; Celene Domitrovich, vocals; Jim Emshoff, electric piano and vocals; John Graham, saxophone, guitar and vocals; J. David Hawkins, guitar, harmonica, and vocals; John Jimenez, lead guitar; and Randy Swaim, bass guitar.

The Mothers of Prevention (The Mothers) have been performing at the SPR Annual Minority Scholarship Dance for 8 years. The Mothers performance at the minority scholarship dance is an important social event at the SPR Annual Meeting bringing together colleagues to share an evening of relaxation and fun for a good cause. The concept of the SPR Annual Minority Scholarship Dance was first proposed by SPR President-Elect J. David Hawkins. The first year a hired band played; the dance was fun but it was the following year in 2003 in Washington, DC that The Mothers first played at SPR and created a cultural sensation engaging conference attendees of all ages to take part in a fun filled evening. The Mothers play together only once per year typically with only two nights of rehearsal, yet they come together as a polished, professional band demonstrating that prevention scientists are fun loving,lively, and musically talented.

Friend of ECPN Award

The Friend of ECPN Award is presented to a mid-career or senior preventionist who has supported and encouraged early career prevention scientists or issues.

The recipient of the Friend of ECPN Award will have been active in supporting early career activities, either by helping ECPN as an organization; promoting training, funding, or early career involvement in prevention efforts; or encouraging early career preventionists in their work.This year, we are pleased to present the Friend of ECPN Award to Dr. Michael Hecht who has been a remarkable mentor and friend to a number of students, post-docs, and junior prevention scientists. He has actively trained and funded early career preventionists as well as encouraged numerous others in their work. Continuously funded through competitive NIDA grants for over 20 years, Hecht has created numerous opportunities to involve and train undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and junior faculty. His service spans departmental, college, or university affiliations. Drawing on his experience as Chair of an NIH Center for Scientific Review Committee for example, Hecht has conducted several grant writing workshops as well as offered instrumental feedback on a number of successful NIH proposals. Despite his indispensable leadership role, Hecht maintains that accomplishments are a reflection of team effort and shared by everyone involved. He appreciates interdisciplinary scholarship and multiple research methods, and he welcomes and supports suggestions from junior researchers and students. This willingness to “share the spotlight” can be seen by noticing his place in the authorship order on a number of his publications. Hecht’s mentorship incredibly supports yet challenges students to become better scholars, and his work ethic greatly inspires students to become professional and productive prevention scholars like him.

Hecht values excellence, but is quick to volunteer his time and amass his broad administrative acumen as an advocate for those early in their careers.

ECPN John B. Reid Early Career Award

This is the first year the ECPN Early Career Award has been named in honor of John B. Reid (1940 – 2012). The ECPN John B. Reid Early Career Award is given in recognition of a person early in their career in prevention who has shown a commitment to prevention science through outstanding contributions to research, policy, or practice.

This year we are pleased to present the ECPN John B. Reid Award to Dr. Eric Rice. His commitment to prevention research, his leadership abilities, and his forward thinking surrounding issues of social network science and social media applications to prevention science make him exceptionally well qualified for the award.

As Dr. Rice’s curriculum vitae attests, he is an individual of exceptional skill and commitment, who consistently receives high awards and honors from prestigious institutions. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago.

While a graduate student at Stanford University, he won the William H. Metzler Fellowship in Sociology, and the Barbara and Sanford Dornbusch Award in Social Psychology. He was awarded distinction on his dissertation proposal. While working at UCLA’s Center for Community Health, he was a two time winner of the National Institute of Health Loan Repayment Program for clinical research. He is currently a tenure track, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. Dr. Rice shows great promise of being a leader in the field of prevention research. He is applying social network theories and models to interventions which target health behaviors and mental health for disadvantaged youth. He has developed a focus on how the social network processes of late adolescents and young adults are being changed by social networking technologies (such as Facebook and mobile phone technologies). He has been developing a social media-based HIV prevention program for homeless youth and the outcomes of the pilot study are currently in press. He has an impressive publication and grant winning record for a young scientist. He is the lead author of 15 manuscripts in journals such as Prevention Science, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Adolescent Health, and AIDS and Behavior. He is also the co-author on 22 additional manuscripts. He has received both a K01 and a R01, with funding totaling more than 2.7 million dollars to pursue his line of social network-based prevention research in the context of homeless youth.

Dr. Rice has a commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers. He is the primary mentor to two Ph.D. students, the co-mentor on an F31 grant of another, and a consultant on a K01 for a research assistant professor.

One of his two Ph.D. mentees recently won the best student paper award from the social work section of the American Public Health Association. He started a lab group that includes nine Ph.D. students and two assistant professors which focuses on the application of social network science to prevention research. Dr. Rice also is dedicated to community based service, working primarily with local organizations who serve homeless youth, where he serves on community advisory boards, as an external reviewer for grants, and conducts program evaluations. He has recently begun to disseminate his research in the context of community collaborations with local and national-level organizations who are beginning to use his social network methods to assess the social networks at-risk populations, with the intention of delivering preventive health and housing services to key persons in high-risk networks.

His scholarly accomplishments, his forward thinking research agenda regarding the utilization of social media for social network-based prevention programs, his dedication to the next generation of prevention scholars, and his commitment to community-based leadership efforts make him ideally-suited for this award.