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Director's Comments
Friends-
I always loved the start of the Fall semester; the energy and optimism, the camaraderie accompanying demanding courses, the smell of new books with backs not yet broken (anyone else remember?), and my red Converse high-top tennis shoes. I loved them. I didn’t love them always. Initially, I just liked them; funky, cheap, red. I came to love them. I wore them. I took a test. I made an A. I wore them. I took a test. I made an A. Two trials were sufficient- I wore them to every exam. Granted, the outcomes were not uniformly spectacular. But it didn’t matter—I was like a batter who must repeat each approach to the home plate with the same cadence, the proper rotation of the bat, the perfect sneer at the pitcher- to maintain hope of success. Though I persisted in wearing them (over years in fact), I silently agreed with friends who dismissed it as superstition. In retrospect, I’ve changed my interpretation. Wearing those goofy shoes became a part of a uniform reminding me to focus in the now and apply every bit of information hidden in some associative network or another. They buoyed my confidence. Who couldn't use a little buoyancy about now? As for me, I’ve decided it’s time to purchase a new pair of red Converse high-tops!
While I do my online shopping, I hope you’ll check out UF CARE’s activities, our members’ recent accomplishments, and a first glimpse at new programming in 2022-2023. After years of anticipation, we have the opportunity to host our inaugural Legacy Lecture- an overdue recognition of UF’s exceptional history of addiction related research. Find more info about our first recipient inside.
Best— SJN
PS Knowing these confidence building shoes will be in high demand (!), I’ll be sure to distribute the link in a later newsletter.
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UF CARE INAUGURAL LEGACY LECTURE
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The Legacy Lecture has been established to honor former trainees and colleagues who have demonstrated exceptional achievements in addiction-related science and professional leadership. Given its intent, we are particularly delighted that Rueben Gonzales, PhD has accepted our invitation to provide this inaugural Legacy Lecture. Since training at UF with Dr. Fulton Crews (now a Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Psychiatry at UNC), Dr. Gonzales has continued to make discoveries regarding the neurochemistry of ethanol drinking behavior. In parallel, his commitment to training, diversity and leadership is reflected throughout his training record as well as his positions of institutional and national leadership including being a past president of the Research Society on Alcoholism. Dr. Gonzales will deliver his lecture at 3 p.m. on October 12, 2022. The lecture will be delivered in DeWeese Auditorium in the MBI with a remote option available to listeners outside UF.
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THE MONTHLY SEMINAR SERIES
This year, you’ll see another exciting line-up of speakers from UF and beyond! The committee co-chairs are mixing up speakers from within UF and those from other institutions to continue our intent to reflect UF CARE’s scientific diversity in the speaker line-ups. Our internal speakers will be presenting in a face-to-face format. Whereas, with a few exceptions, our external speakers will be presenting via ZOOM.
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September Seminar
Our first monthly seminar will be delivered by Dr. Niall Murphy on Wednesday September 21st at 3:00pm. Dr. Murphy will present in a face-to-face format in Communicore (HSC) C1-011. AND YES, there will be cookies (albethey inferior to the pre-pandemic versions!). Please see the full line-up on our website.
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PROMOTIONS AND AWARDS
Congratulations to the UF CARE members who were promoted during this cycle!
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Dr. Jeff BoissoneaultAssociate Professor with Tenure
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Congrats to Dr. Jeff Boissoneault who was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure. Jeff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology in the College of Public Health and Health Professions and the Co-Director of the Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health. His work is multi-faceted ranging from the development of VR technologies to permit study of drinking patterns in diverse contexts, to interrogating the neurobiobehavioral interface of acute and chronic pain and substance use, and exploring the longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a note, Jeff also serves on the UF CARE Executive Committee and co-chairs its Social Committee!
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Dr. Sara Jo NixonDistinguished Professor
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Congratulations to our Director for being promoted to the highest faculty honor at UF: Distinguished Professor! The College of Medicine has just four faculty to ever be named Distinguished Professor, and Dr. Nixon is the first woman in COM to receive the honor. In addition to directing UF CARE, Dr. Nixon is the Co-Vice Chair of Research and Director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry. Her work interrogates the neurobiobehavioral and psychosocial concomitants of substance use and misuse in humans.
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SUMMER FUN
Thanks to Drs. Brandon Warren & Jeff Boissoneault for carrying on the bocce ball wars! AND—in case you didn’t know… recruiting Dr. Amanda Elton was a win on so many levels. There’ll no doubt be arguments over who gets to be her teammate after the tournament and exhibition play at Cyprus & Grove on August 2nd. Can’t close without thanking Meagan Sullivan for being sure that the food options offered something for everyone.
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AFFILIATE HIGHLIGHTS
Our affiliate members had quite the successful summer! See below to learn more:
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Erin Ferguson
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Congratulations to Erin Ferguson who successfully defended her dissertation on June 2nd! Her primary mentor is UF CARE member Dr. Jeff Boissoneault. Another UF CARE member, Dr. Ali Yurasek (Department of Health Education and Behavior, College of Health and Human Performance), was on her committee. The title of her dissertation is Impact of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness on Demand for Alcohol and Cannabis Among Co-users. She's now completing her clinical psychology internship at Brown University.
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Dr. Christian Garcia
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Congratulations to Dr. Christian Garcia for graduating with his PhD in Psychology, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience this summer! His primary mentor was Dr. Sara Jo Nixon and his committee included UF CARE Members Dr. Ben Lewis (Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine) and Dr. Jeff Boissoneault. The title of his dissertation is Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults’ well-being. Dr. Garcia is now a postdoctoral associate and the project coordinator for an NIH-funded longitudinal study on the COVID-19 impact on older adults (PI: Nixon, Co-I: Lewis and Boissoneault).
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Dr. Neo Gebru
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Congratulations to Dr. Neo Gebru for graduating with his PhD in Health Education and Behavior. His primary mentor was Dr. Robert Leeman (Professor & Chair in the Department of Health Sciences at Northeastern University) . The title of his dissertation is A Behavioral Economic Examination of Sexual Behaviors in the Era of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study. Dr. Gebru is now a postdoc at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University.
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MBI Rising Stars: Andrew Moore
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Congratulations to Andrew Moore for being featured as an MBI Rising Star, a video series highlighting up-and-coming neuroscience researchers at UF.
Click below to read the full story and watch the video about Andrew.
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Congratulations to the new affiliate members!
We are excited to welcome 2 new affiliate members: Dr. James Moran, a postdoctoral trainee, and Abigail Masterson, a graduate trainee. Both are working with Dr. Liana Hone in the Department of Health Education and Behavior. If you are a UF CARE faculty member and are working with outstanding trainees in addiction science, click below to nominate them for membership.
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Alumni Updates
Our affiliate members have gone on to continue their success! We highlight two of our alumni below.
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Dr. Juhan Lee
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Dr. Juhan Lee is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Lee was a pre-doctoral UF CARE affiliate member. His primary mentor was Dr. JeeWon Cheong (Associate Professor, Department of Health Education and Behavior) and UF CARE members Dr. Ali Yurasek and Dr. Mildred Maldonado-Molina (Chair & Professor, Department of Health Education and Behavior) were on his doctoral committee. The title of his dissertation is Investigations on developmental trajectories in electronic cigarette use, risk perception, and e-cigarette ads among US adolescents: Results from US National Survey, 2015-2018. Click below to read more about Dr. Lee's current work at Yale.
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Dr. Yiyang Liu
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Dr. Yiyang Liu has transitioned to Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UF. Dr. Liu was a postdoctoral UF CARE affiliate member under Dr. Linda Cottler (Dean's Professor And Associate Dean For Research, Department of Epidemiology). Click below to see Dr. Liu's Department of Epidemiology research profile.
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UPCOMING UF CARE OPPORTUNITIES
This Fall Semester is full of exciting opportunities for UF CARE members and affiliates; see below for what's in store.
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Dissertation Aid Awards
We are continuing the Dissertation Award Grant program. Like years past, the objective of the program is to facilitate the best science from our affiliate membership. Stay tuned for more information!
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Staff Affiliate Program
We are excited to announce the new staff affiliate member program! Staff working in addiction science can be nominated for staff affiliate status by full UF CARE members. Nomination criteria and submission form coming soon.
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Not yet a member?
If you are a UF Faculty member working in addiction science and would like to join UF CARE, click below for more information about becoming a full member of UF CARE.
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Have news to share?
Have updates you'd like to be included in the next UF CARE newsletter? Click below to share news about you and/or your affiliate trainees!
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Alumni updates?
Are you a UF CARE alumni affiliate? We want to hear from you! Click below to let us know about the work you're doing and update your contact information.
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