Angela Bryan

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.

Selected Publications:

Bryan, A.D., Skrzynski, C.J., Giordano, G., Yang, J., Stanger, M., Bidwell, L.C., Hutchison, K.E., & Perreault, L. (2025). Frequent use of cannabis is associated with less peripheral inflammation but similar insulin function as non-use. The American Journal of Medicine, 138(9), 1285–1295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2025.05.002.

Gibson, L.P., Giordano, G., Bidwell, L.C., Hutchison, K.E., & Bryan, A.D. (2023). Acute effects of ad libitum use of commercially available cannabis products on the subjective experience of aerobic exercise: A crossover study. Sports Medicine, 54, 1051-1066.

Gibson, L.P., Skrzynski, C.J., Giordano, G. & Bryan, A.D. (2023). A daily diary investigation of cannabis use and its diet and exercise correlates. Frontiers in Psychology-Eating Behavior, 14, 1217144. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1217144.

Giordano, G., Martin-Willett, R., Gibson, L.P., Camidge, D.R., Bowles, D.W., Hutchison K.E., & Bryan, A.D. (2023). Cannabis use in cancer patients: acute and sustained associations with pain, cognition, and quality of life. Exploration of Medicine, 4, 254-271. https://doi. org/10.37349/emed.2023.00138.