CBEHR Seminars

April 14, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Amy L. Odum, Ph.D.,
Professor, Department of Psychology, Utah State University

Dr. Odum’s research interests are in basic behavioral phenomena, such as response persistence, sensitivity to delayed outcomes, conditional discriminations, and environmental influences on drug effects. Her work has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health. Her teaching interests include basic behavior analysis and behavioral pharmacology. She has served on the board of editors of a number of journals and is a past editor for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

View Recording of Seminar

January 20: Seventh Annual CBEHR
Science Exchange

Student and Early Career Investigator Presentations

Emily Murray, Cassandra O’Hara, Mia Radevski, Maribel Rodriguez, Lesleigh Stinson, Justin Van
Heukelom, University of Florida

View Recording of Seminar

February 10, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Bethany R. Raiff, Ph.D.,
BCBA-D, Professor, Department of Psychology, Rowan University 

Dr. Raiff’s research explores
technology-based interventions to promote and sustain health behavior, including substance use
disorders, medical regimen adherence, and physical activity. Her theoretical framework can be
understood within the domains of behavioral economics, with a particular focus on delay
discounting and immediate incentives for healthy behavior. She has extensively studied
incentive-based interventions with the goal of decreasing their costs and making them scalable.

View Recording of Seminar

November 18: Choice and the
Reinforcing Value of Food

Katelyn A. Carr, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Jacobs School
of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Buffalo, NY.

Dr. Carr’s research centers on using experimental methods and behavioral economics to study
decision making in children and adults to improve health choices. Her current research focuses on
studying how choices influence the reinforcing value of food, including non-food alternative
reinforcers. She also examines decision making in children, including delay discounting and how
innovations in episodic future thinking can improve delayed choices.

View Recording of Dr. Carr’s Seminar

October 14: Addressing the Intersection of Alcohol Use and Sexual Violence: Developing a
Protective Behavioral Repertoire

Roselyn Peterson, Ph.D., Research Director & Clinical Faculty, Clinical Psychology PsyD
program, School of Health & Behavioral Sciences, Bryant University, RI

After completing her doctoral training in clinical psychology at the University of Central
Florida and then postdoctoral training at the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies, Dr. Peterson recently started a new position as Clinical Faculty and the Research
Director of the Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Bryant University. Her research focuses on
sexual violence, alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategies.

View Recording of Dr. Peterson’s Seminar

September 9: Behavioral Economic Demand for Abuse Potential Assessment

Steven R. Hursh, Ph.D., President & Chief Scientist, Institutes for Behavior Resources,
Inc., Baltimore, MD

Dr. Hursh is the president of the Institutes for Behavior Resources and adjunct professor of
Behavioral Biology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hursh has over 40 years’
experience as a researcher and is author of over 80 articles, book chapters, and books. He is a
former associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. His seminal
article on economic concepts for the analysis of behavior is considered one of the most
significant articles in the history of the journal. Dr. Hursh has been a key figure in the
establishment of behavioral economics as a major conceptual area.

View
Recording of Dr. Hursh’s Seminar

November 18: Choice and the
Reinforcing Value of Food

Katelyn A. Carr, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Behavioral Medicine, Jacobs School
of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Buffalo, NY.

Dr. Carr’s research centers on using experimental methods and behavioral economics to study
decision making in children and adults to improve health choices. Her current research focuses on
studying how choices influence the reinforcing value of food, including non-food alternative
reinforcers. She also examines decision making in children, including delay discounting and how
innovations in episodic future thinking can improve delayed choices.

View Recording of Dr. Carr’s Seminar

October 14: Addressing the Intersection of Alcohol Use and Sexual Violence: Developing a
Protective Behavioral Repertoire

Roselyn Peterson, Ph.D., Research Director & Clinical Faculty, Clinical Psychology PsyD
program, School of Health & Behavioral Sciences, Bryant University, RI

After completing her doctoral training in clinical psychology at the University of Central
Florida and then postdoctoral training at the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies, Dr. Peterson recently started a new position as Clinical Faculty and the Research
Director of the Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Bryant University. Her research focuses on
sexual violence, alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategies.

View Recording of Dr. Peterson’s Seminar

September 9: Behavioral Economic Demand for Abuse Potential Assessment

Steven R. Hursh, Ph.D., President & Chief Scientist, Institutes for Behavior Resources,
Inc., Baltimore, MD

Dr. Hursh is the president of the Institutes for Behavior Resources and adjunct professor of
Behavioral Biology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hursh has over 40 years’
experience as a researcher and is author of over 80 articles, book chapters, and books. He is a
former associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. His seminal
article on economic concepts for the analysis of behavior is considered one of the most
significant articles in the history of the journal. Dr. Hursh has been a key figure in the
establishment of behavioral economics as a major conceptual area.

View
Recording of Dr. Hursh’s Seminar

January 14: 6th Annual CBEHR Science Exchange via Zoom

Student and Early Career Investigator Presentations

View
Recording of 2025 CBEHR Science Exchange

February 11th: Valuation of delayed alcohol and hyper-palatable food: Caveats to Reinforcer
Pathology Model

Richard Yi, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research &
Treatment, Department of Psychology, The University of Kansas

Dr. Yi employs behavioral economic approaches to examine basic decision and behavioral processes
associated with health, with focus on valuation of delayed outcomes (delay discounting) and
dynamic inconsistency as principal factors in addiction and relapse.

His research has also explored approaches to remediate accelerated delay discounting associated
with health-compromising behaviors. He is also broadly interested in the intersection of
intertemporal and interpersonal decision-making.

View Recording of Dr. Yi’s Seminar

April 8: Hypothetical Purchase Tasks for Assessing Demand for Beef and Plant-Based Foods

Cynthia Pietras, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Western Michigan University

Dr. Pietras’s areas of expertise in behavioral analysis include experimental analysis of human
and nonhuman behavior, pro-social behavior (e.g., cooperation, altruism) and aggressive behavior,
risky choices and self-control, behavioral pharmacology and behavioral ecology.

View
Recording of Dr. Pietras’s Seminar

Wednesday, September 11th, 4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom: Preclinical Evaluations of Contextual and
Contingency Control over Relapse through Crowdsourcing

Christopher Podlesnik, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of
Florida

Dr. Podlesnik’s research focuses on the role of fundamental conditioning processes in choice and
the relapse of operant behavior, with interests in translating this research to understand and
develop behavioral treatments for challenging behavior.

Dr. Podlesnik served as Associate Editor for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
and Behavioral Processes, past President of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior,
and as a board member for the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

View Recording of Dr. Podlesnik’s Seminar

Tuesday, October 8th, 4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom: Testing Theories and Technology Together

Early Career Speaker, Neo Gebru, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies (CAAS), Brown University

Dr. Gebru is an NIH MOSAIC (Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent
Careers Awards) Scholar working to develop and test digital interventions aimed at health behavior
change.

His research explores behavioral mechanisms involved in human substance use and sexual behaviors,
while also applying behavioral economic concepts and technology-based approaches to better
understand, and intervene upon, substance use and related negative consequences, particularly
among young adults.

Dr. Gebru received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida and is currently conducting
post-doctoral research at Brown University with a concentration in Substance Use and HIV Research.
His research has been supported by various national and international organizations, including the
National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association.

View Recording of Dr. Gebru’s Seminar

Tuesday, November 12th, 4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom: Alternatives to Animal Testing—The Now, the New
and the Next

Thomas Hartung, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing

Doerenkamp-Zbinden Chair Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Hartung steers the revolution in toxicology to move away from 50+ year-old animal tests to
organoid cultures and the use of artificial intelligence. He served as head of the European Center
for the Validation of Alternative Methods of the European Commission (2002-2008) and is involved
in implementing the 2007 National Research Council vision document “Toxicity Testing in the 21st
Century: A vision and a strategy.”

He has furthered the translation of concepts of evidence-based medicine to toxicology, which aims
for systematic assessment of the quality of all tools for regulatory toxicology and the
development of new approaches based on annotated pathways of toxicity (the Human Toxome).

View Recording of Dr. Hartung’s Seminar

Tuesdays,  4 p.m.–5 p.m. 

January 16th: Engaging Parents in Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention

Rob Turrisi, Ph.D., Professor, Biobehavioral Health and Prevention Research Center, The
Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Turrisi has been engaged in research on prevention science topics for more than 35 years. His
initial work investigated methods for reducing drunk driving—a subject on which he is passionate
and continues to engage with graduate fellows and his research team. His research also includes
externally funded studies on brief parent interventions, substance abuse prevention, and skin
cancer prevention.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Health Education and Behavior, Southern HIV and Alcohol
Research Consortium, and CBEHR

View Recording of January 16 Seminar 

February 13th: 5th Annual CBEHR Science Exchange via Zoom

Student and Early Career Investigator Presentations

View Recording of February 13 Seminar

April 9th: Gambling as a Target for Health Behavior Change via Zoom

Jeremiah Weinstock, Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair, Department of Psychology, Saint Louis
University

Dr. Weinstock’s clinical and research efforts center on addressing the difficulties in helping
individuals with addictive disorders make lasting and meaningful changes in their lives, with
emphasis on the characterization and treatment of gambling disorders.

Much of his research is translational and focuses on measures to assess gambling disorder and
randomized clinical trials examining the efficacy of psychosocial interventions, such as
motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy and contingency management. He also
maintains a small clinical practice focused on gambling disorder.

View Recording April 9 Seminar

Second Tuesday of the month: 4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

September 12th: Enhancing the Efficacy of Brief Alcohol Intervention for Higher-Risk Emerging
Adults

James G. Murphy, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

View September 12 Recording

QR code to the recording of Dr. Murphy’s presentation:

October 10th: Integrating Substance Use Treatments within HIV Clinics

Karen Cropsey, Psy.D., Vivian Conaster-Turner Professor of Psychiatry, University of Alabama at
Birmingham

Dr. Cropsey’s research and clinical interests center on treating addiction in vulnerable
populations such as individuals in the criminal justice system and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

She has several ongoing NIH-funded projects on tobacco intervention and alcohol research. She has
an ongoing naloxone training project to prevent opioid overdose

She is Vice Chair for Clinical Research in the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology,
directs the Center for Addiction and Pain Intervention and Treatment, and is active in the Center
for AIDS Research Zambia Alabama HIV Alcohol Comorbidities Program (ZAMBAMA).

View October 10 Recording

November 14th: Environmental Sustainability and Behavioral Economics

Brett Gelino, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Gelino’s research interests focus on behavior change and demand characteristics associated
with public health and sustainable living. His long-term goal is to influence policy change aimed
at promoting ecologically responsible habits and regulatory science via behavioral economic
investigation and the application of behavioral sciences.

He did his doctoral work in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas
before joining the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit in the Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral research
fellow.

View November 14 Recording

Second Tuesday of the month: 4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

January 17th: 4th Annual CBEHR Science Exchange

Student and early career investigator presentations.

View January 17 Recording

February 14th: Contextual Influences on Reinforcing Value for Addictive Substances: Examples
from Laboratory and Neuroimaging Research

Michael Amlung, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Associate Scientist, Associate Director for Training,
Coffrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, Department of Applied Behavioral
Science, The University of Kansas

Dr. Amlung’s research examines factors that contribute to pathological decision-making in
individuals with substance use disorders, the behavioral and brain basis of motivation to use
alcohol and other drugs, and the effects of environmental contexts and physiological states on
addictive behaviors.

Dr. Amlung’s research is funded by grants by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other institutional grants and
awards.

View February 14 Recording

April 11th: Behavior Economic Demand for Cannabis: Approaches, Methodological Considerations and
Public Health Impact

Elizabeth Aston, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Research),
Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University

Dr. Aston’s research includes qualitative methods, laboratory marijuana administration
methodology, behavioral economic theory, and co-use of alcohol and marijuana. Dr. Aston was
awarded a K01 career development award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2015 to
conduct qualitative and quantitative research to modify and validate a behavioral economic measure
of demand for marijuana.

She examines predictors of problematic cannabis use and the relative reinforcing value of
marijuana.

View April 11 Recording

Second Tuesday of the month: 4 p.m.–5 p.m.

September 13th: Behavioral and Economic Demand Across the Translational Continuum

Justin Strickland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science,
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Strickland’s research focuses on the use of behavioral economics as a theoretical framework
to address issues of public health significance to include addiction and sexual health. He is also
interested in the behavioral mechanisms underlying psychedelic drug effects and treatment
efficacy.

View September 13 Recording

October 11th: Contextual Influences on Cannabis and Alcohol Demand

Erin Ferguson, M.S., M.P.H., Clinical Psychology Intern, Brown University

Erin Ferguson is a doctoral student in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the
University of Florida. She is currently completing her Clinical Psychology Internship at Brown
University. Her research examines contextual influences on alcohol and cannabis demand including
pain and other psychosocial variables.

View October 11 Recording

November 1st and November 8th: Workshop: Dynamic Models of Decision-Making and their
Applications to Health-Relevant Behavior

Peter Kvam, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida

In this 2-session workshop, participants will learn about dynamic models of cognition and how to
apply them to studying health-relevant behavior.

View November 1 Recording
View November 8 Recording

Second Tuesday of the month: 4 p.m.–5 p.m.

January 18th: Third Annual CBEHR Science Exchange

This annual event highlights current behavioral economic research begin conducted by our CBEHR
students and trainees.

February 8th

Lidia Meshesha, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Central
Florida

Dr. Meshesha’s research examines behavioral interventions for addiction focusing on increasing
alternative rewards and using behavioral economic theory to understand etiology, maintenance and
treatment of addiction.

April 12th

Derek D. Reed, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of Kansas

Title: Applying Behavioral Economics to Public Health Crises: Historical Precedence and
Translational Promise

View April 12 Recording

Second Tuesday of the month: 4 p.m.–5 p.m.

September 14th: Behavioral economics to promote healthy food choices and prevent cardiometabolic
disease. 

Dr. Anne Thorndike, MD, MPH; Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Associate
Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, MA; Director of the Metabolic
Syndrome Clinic at the MGH Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center

October 12th: Irrational Exuberance, Incautious Stoppage, Ethical Failure: Lessons from Our
Prescription Opioid Story 

Dr. Stefan Kertesz, MD, MSc; Professor, Division of Preventive Medicine, UAB

November 9th: Beyond the Lab: A Computational Framework to Understand How Daily Behaviors Arise
from Cognitive, Affective, and Environmental Dynamics

Dr. Nathaniel Haines, PhD; Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, the Ohio State
University

January 21, 2021: Second Annual CBEHR Science Exchange

3:30 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

Ricarda Pritschmann, MS (Doctoral Student, HEB), Nioud Gebru, MPS, MS, CHES (Doctoral Student,
HEB), Katie Lindstrom, MS (Doctoral Student, HEB), Adrian Ortega, MA (Doctoral Student, Kansas
University)

View January 21 Recording

February 11, 2021: Unrealistic optimism and aspirational labor in minor league baseball

4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

Christopher McLeod, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UF Department of Sport Management and N. David
Pifer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Texas Tech
University

April 8, 2021: Choice and compulsion in addiction and recovery

4-5 p.m. via Zoom

Matt Field, Phil.D., Professor of Psychology, Univeristy of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Jointly sponsored with the HHP Department of Sport Management and HHP Department of
Applied Physiology and Kinesiology

September 8, 2020: Hazards of Hindsight: High-risk Weight Loss and Sports Dietary Supplements

4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

Pieter A. Cohen, M.D. (Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

October 13, 2020: Framing Addiction as Contextual Decision Making

4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

Samuel F. Acuff, MS, Doctoral Student in Psychology, Universtiy of Memphis

November 10, 2020: Using Bayesian Statistics and Generative Models to Improve Validity of Health
Predictors

4 p.m.–5 p.m. via Zoom

Peter D. Kvam, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Florida

January 9, 2020: Understanding Addictive Behavior using Behavioral Economics and Neuroeconomics:
A Translational Approach

Chamber Room in Reitz Union, 3:30 p.m.–4:30pm

Dr. James MacKillop (McMaster University)

February 13, 2020: Science Exchange 2020

Yon Hall 15, 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

HEB doctoral students Ricarda Pritschmann, MS; Shahar Almog, MS; Katie Lindstrom, MS; and Andrea
Vasquez Ferreiro, BS; HEB Data Analyst II Joseph Bacon, MA

Seminars are co-sponsored by the Center for Behavior Economic Research and Department of
Health Education and Behavior – Community and Behavioral Science Seminars.

April 17, 2020: Psilocybin in the Treatment of Cocaine Dependence: Preliminary Findings

FLG 250, 12 p.m.–1 p.m.

Dr. Peter Hendricks (Associate Professor, Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama
Birmingham)

September 12, 2019: Happy to Take Some Risk: Investigating the Dependence of Risk Preferences on
Mood Using Biometric Data

FLG 250, 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Dr. Bachir Kassas (University of Florida; Food & Resource Economics Department)

October 10, 2019: CBEHR Behavioral Research Symposium

FLG 250, 3 p.m.–5 p.m.

Diverse Applications of Behavioral Economics across Health Behavior

Dr. Joanna Buscemi (DePaul University) and Dr. Ashley Dennhardt (the University of Memphis)

November 14, 2019: Early Career Showcase

FLG 250, 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Internal Validity and Design Considerations of Episodic Future Thinking Manipulations for
Reducing Impulsive Choice

Dr Jillian Rung (Postdoctoral Fellow; Univeristy of Florida; Department of Epidemiology)

January 10, 2019: CBEHR Methodology Workshop

FLG 250, 3 p.m.–5 p.m.

Behavioral Economic Methods & Data Analytic Techniques for Behavioral Impulsivity,
Substance Demand and Reward Value

Ali Yurasek, Ph.D. and Meredith Berry, Ph.D. (UF Department of Health Education and Behavior)

February 14, 2019: Beyond self-medication: Exploring comorbidity between PTSD and substance
misuse

FLG 250, 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Megan McDevitt-Murphy, Ph.D. (Professor, University of Memphis & Research Psychologist,
Veterans Affairs Medical Center)

April 11, 2019: Application of Discrete Choice Experiments in Health

FLG 250, 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D.

September 13th: The Link Between Health and Wealth

Michael Gutter, Ph.D. (University of Florida; IFAS)

October 11th: Using Behavioral Economics to Understand and Reduce Lifestyle-Related Morbidity
and Mortality Evidence from Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal and Experimental Studies

Jeff Stein, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute)

November 8th: CBEH Early Career Showcase

Understanding Substance Problems through Combining Trait and Behavioral Economic
Perspectives: A Spotlight on Substance-Free Reward

Keenan Joyner, BA (Florida State University, Clinical Psychology PhD graduate student)

January 18th: What should physicians do when patients make bad decisions?

Chamber Room, Reitz Union, 3 p.m.–5 p.m.

Peter Ubel, M.D. and Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Ph.D.

February 22th: Applied Behavioral Economics in Neurodevelopment Disorders

Yon Hall 15, 3:30 p.m.

Iser “Willie” DeLeon, Professor of Psychology, University of Florida

April 12th: Sex, Drugs and Risk Behavior: Decision making and pharmacology underlying sexual
risk

Yon Hall 15, 3:30 p.m.

Matthew W. Johnson, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins
Medicine

October 12th: Behavioral Economics of Natural Recovery from Alcohol Problems

Matherly Hall Room 18, 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.

Jalie A. Tucker, Ph.D., M.P.H., Professor & Chair, Dept. of Health Education & Behavior,
University of Florida, & Director, CBEHR

November 15th: The Effects of Informational Nudging on Pre-Ordered Food Choices of Middle School
National School Lunch Program Participants

Jaclyn Kropp, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Food & Resource Economics, University of
Florida