2025 Pilot Funds Awarded
The Center for Alcohol and Substance Use Studies (CAS) is excited to announce the recipients of the 2025 Pilot Funds. These awards support innovative student-led research projects that advance understanding of substance use prevention, intervention, wellness and recovery. Below is a listing of this year’s awardees, their faculty sponsors, and project descriptions:
Megan Blanton, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP), School Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Erum Nadeem, GSAPP School Psychology
Project Title: Advancing a Unified Approach: Refining Trauma-Sensitive Schools Frameworks to Include Substance Use Prevention and Intervention
This study develops a trauma-informed schools framework using a multidisciplinary Research Practice Partnership with Jersey City Public Schools. It includes key informant interviews and focus groups with students, teachers, and school-based mental health providers.
Simone Imani Boyd, Department of Psychology
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jessica L. Hamilton, Psychology
Project Title: Short-term Effects of Adolescent Social Media Experiences on Suicidal Ideation and Alcohol and Substance Use: Examining the Roles of Identity Exploration and Functioning
This study explores within-person relationships between adolescent social media identity exploration experiences, self-concept clarity, suicidal ideation, and substance use using intensive longitudinal monitoring.
Samantha Hernandez, GSAPP Clinical Psychology
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. German Cadenas, GSAPP Clinical Psychology, and Dr. Margaret Swarbrick, GSAPP Applied Psychology and Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies
Project Title: Recovery Support: Exploring the Experience of the Rutgers’ Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP) Participants and Alumni
This study examines the experiences of current and former participants in the Rutgers Recovery House through surveys and interviews with students from Rutgers New Brunswick and Rutgers Newark collegiate recovery programs.
Alexander Gamble, GSAPP Organizational Psychology
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Peter Economou and Dr. Margaret Swarbrick, GSAPP Applied Psychology
Project Title: Basketball as a Tool to Promote Wellness for Youth and Young Adults of Color
This study investigates the perceived wellness benefits of basketball participation among youth and young adults of color. It aims to co-develop a wellness model informed by these benefits to create alternative treatment manuals to traditional mental healthcare.
Sonali Singal, GSAPP Clinical Psychology
Faculty Sponsors: Dr. Tanya Saraiya and Dr. Denise Hien, GSAPP Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies
Project Title: The Impact of Treatment-Seeking Attitudes on Substance Use Treatment Utilization in Asian American Adults
This study examines attitudes toward treatment seeking and barriers to treatment among Asian American adults using substances, exploring their impact on substance use treatment utilization.
We congratulate the awardees and look forward to the outcomes of their important work!