BA, Psychology, UCLA, 1992.
MA, Social Psychology, Quantitative Emphasis, Arizona State University, 1994.
PhD, Social Psychology, Quantitative Emphasis, Arizona State University, 1997.
Research Interests: The main thrust of my research has focused on a transdisciplinary approach to the study of health and risk behavior, and the development of theory-based interventions to improve health behaviors including physical activity and healthy diet and reduce risk behaviors including unsafe sexual behavior and substance use. Most recently, I and my colleagues have been heavily focused on the public health implications of cannabis legalization. We study harm reduction in the context of high potency cannabis concentrates and the potential influence of cannabis on the obesity epidemic as well as potential benefits of cannabis in terms of anxiety, pain, opiate use, and the amelioration of side effects due to cancer and its treatment. We also study the relationship of cannabis to physical activity and the potential risks and benefits of cannabis use among older adults. With students and postdocs, I pursue secondary interests in evolutionary social and health psychology with a focus on attraction and mating and on the role our evolution as a species may play in current health behavior challenges.
Responsibilities: I am co-director of CUChange and a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Social Psychology Program. I am currently the Associate Chair for Faculty Development in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. I am also a faculty fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Science at CU Boulder and faculty in the Centers for Neuroscience at both CU Boulder and the Anschutz School of Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver. Finally, I am a Member of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center at Anschutz.
About Me: I love living in Boulder and enjoying all it has to offer. I can frequently be found hiking and trail running with my dogs, doing yoga, and visiting local Colorado breweries. I love traveling to interesting new places and to visit my daughters Ainsley and Finley who are college students at Boston University and the University of Washington, respectively.
