Past and Current Projects

Leadership in developing and writing Georgia's $1.5 million grant proposal to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment for its 1999-2002 State Substance Abuse Treatment Needs Assessment that was funded in September, 1999, and providing the technical leadership for the project.

Continuing consultation with the Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse (MHMRSA) of the Georgia Department of Human Resources regarding quantitative assessment of the need for substance abuse treatment services among Georgia residents, especially, the medically indigent. Tasks include:

Providing annual estimates of the number of adults, adolescents and women of reproductive age in need of treatment by county and MHMRSA planning region, including indicators of the number in need who would be eligible for publicly supported services.

Representing Georgia and the Division of MHMRSA on committees developing core protocols for the State Treatment Needs Assessment Program of the federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

Assisting State staff in preparing Georgia's annual Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant application.

Evaluation of the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) as an acute and continuing treatment for geriatric depression among patients who do not respond to pharmacological therapies (with William McDonald, M.D.).

Clinical trial of treatment for the sexual side-effects of SSRI (Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors) used to treat depression and anxiety.

Continuing analysis of the prevalence of the FMR-1 gene, which causes Fragile-X syndrome, and of the cognitive-behavioral effects of CGG repeat number (with Stephanie Sherman, Ph.D.).

Biostatistical design and analysis of a study of the role of thyroid dysfunction in the etiology of major depression (with Phillip Ninan, M.D.)

Biostatistical design and analysis of the neuroimmunological consequences of opiates on the progression of SIV infection in rhesus macaques. (With Robert Donahoe, Ph.D.)

Executing a statewide substance abuse treatment needs assessment for the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Includes:

Providing annual estimates, by county, of the number and distribution of Georgia residents in need of substance abuse treatment (1998 Report).

Supervised subcontract and analysis of a household survey of 7713 adult and 3493 adolescent Georgians to determine the prevalence of DSM-III-R substance use disorders. (Final Report (PDF))

A survey of 693 juvenile offenders entering Regional Youth Detention Centers to determine the prevalence of DSM-III-R Axis I psychiatric disorders in this understudied population. (HTML - Substance abuse, PDF - Full Report)

Surveys of 2200 adult criminal offenders to estimate the prevalence of DSM-III-R substance use disorders. Study consisted of surveys of adult and juvenile arrestees at two sites each, and of admissions to community and residential probation systems.

Design and development of data system and genetic components of the South Carolina Registry of Dementing Illnesses.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Florida Alcohol and Drug curriculum for first time drunk driving offenders through statewide objectives-based testing. Comparing the current curriculum with two alternatives in a randomized follow-up study. (Executive Summary)

Evaluation of the effectiveness of Georgia's DUI Risk-Reduction program in reducing DUI recidivism. (Project executive summary) This included:

Surveys of administrators and instructors of DUI schools to assess provider beliefs regarding the effectiveness of the Risk Reduction curriculum and State administration of the program.

Follow-up studies of DUI offenders entering the Risk Reduction Program to estimate the prevalence of substance use disorders, substance use behavior change following the curriculum, and risk of DUI recidivism based on substance use patterns and problems and demographic profiles.

Development of models predicting behavior change and recidivism as a basis for potential future trials of targeted substance abuse treatment to reduce recidivism.

Evaluating the association between alcohol dependence and DUI recidivism based on a follow-up sample of 78,000 assessed offenders.

Evaluation of the reliability and validity of the Driver Risk Inventory, second edition (DRI-II) using a sample of 1014 Florida DUI offenders. The DRI-II is an updated version of the DRI, which is used to screen DUI offenders for potential substance abuse treatment need. Tasks included questionnaire design and statistical analysis.

Data management and statistical analysis of a placebo-controlled clinical trial of the use of fluvoxamine (Luvox®) as a treatment for compulsive buying disorder. Tasks included design and programming of a database for entry and validation of some 6400 pages of subject data, supervision of data entry, and statistical analysis including data summarization, and mixed-model "random-regression" and repeated-measures models.

Design and analysis of clinical trials of pharmacological treatments for juvenile depression.

Biostatistical design and analysis support of clinical studies of affective disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and impulse control disorders.

Statistical analysis and continuing research design for a study of the association between hyperserotonemia and cognitive, behavioral and immune system impairment in autistic probands and their first degree relatives.

Statistical analysis of the brain imaging and socio-demographic components of the NIMH funded multicenter trial "Treatment Strategies in Schizophrenia".

Biostatistics, field coordination and database administration for major school-based follow-up study of the epidemiology of adolescent depression and suicidality.

Evaluation of the efficacy of a more accurate alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) assay as a screening instrument for open spina bifida and Downs syndrome.

Statistical design and analysis of a study of the prevalence of the FMR-1 gene, which causes Fragile-X syndrome and of the behavioral-cognitive effects of CGG repeat number within families carrying the gene (with Stephanie Sherman, Ph.D.).

Development of analytical procedures for truncated data from DNA repair studies.

Preliminary design of a prospective study of geographic/environmental variation in the rate of neural tube defects in upstate South Carolina.

Occupational survey of genetic counseling profession.

Analysis of studies of the longitudinal effects of opiates on the immune system of rhesus monkeys.