Research Team
Dr. Bridget Freisthler, Principal Investigator UCLA Department of Social Welfare and California Center for Population Research freisthler@publicaffairs.ucla.edu http://publicaffairs.ucla.edu/bridget-freisthler
Dr. Freisthler is an expert in the application of population-based geospatial research methods to the exploration of relationships between drug distribution systems, alcohol and drug abuse, and child abuse and neglect. She has extensive experience studying how changes in alcohol outlet densities affect various social problems, including child maltreatment, violence, and juvenile delinquency. The MMD project extends her expertise in understanding the effects of the substance use environment to the distribution of marijuana through dispensaries. Her expertise includes the development of geographic information systems (GIS), and applications of spatial statistics and spatial econometrics to (1) understanding how social problems vary across geographic areas, such as neighborhoods, (2) identifying those areas in a community which are at risk for developing or already experiencing high levels of social problems related to specific social and environmental exposures, and (3) examining how locations of social service facilities may ameliorate the growth of problems in neighborhood areas. She is applying her expertise in these areas in the current project to aid in the assessments of the impacts of marijuana dispensaries upon neighborhood conditions.
Dr. Paul J. Gruenewald, Co-Investigator Prevention Research Center paul@prev.org http://www.prev.org/aboutprc_staffandfellows1.asp?curid=239
Dr. Gruenewald has more than two decades of experience (1) conducting population studies of drinking, drug use, and problems associated with alcohol outlets and related policies, (2) fielding surveys and analyzing survey data from studies of risks associated with multiple contexts, (3) formulating theoretical models of community systems and their relationships to alcohol and drug problems, (4) advancing methods for spatial and multilevel statistical analyses of ecological and survey data, and (5) directing, as PI, an NIAAA P60 Research Center grant examining ecological correlates of drinking risks across 50 communities in California. On the MMD project, Dr. Gruenewald assists in the management of all survey activities with Dr. Freisthler, guides development of project geographic information systems and spatial descriptive analyses, and assists in the production of presentations, manuscripts and reports from the project.
Scott E. Martin, Sacramento Site Coordinator Prevention Research Center smartin@prev.org http://www.prev.org/aboutprc_staffandfellows1.asp?curid=297
Scott has over 10 years of experience while working at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in project management of large scale studies. Responsibilities range from instrument development and programming of hand held computers for data collection; supervising research assistants including hiring, training, site supervision, and overall data collection process; data management including the assembly datasets and conducting analysis.
Nancy Jo Kepple, Graduate Student Researcher UCLA California Center for Population Research njwilliams@ucla.edu
Nancy Jo Kepple received her BA from Stanford University and her MSW from UCLA. She is a doctoral student in UCLA’s Department of Social Welfare, a NIDA Pre-Doctoral Fellow at UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Program (ISAP), and a student affiliate of the California Center for Population Research (CCPR). She is currently exploring the spatial distribution of medical marijuana dispensaries, how policies impact this distribution, and associated consequences for social and health outcomes. Her long-term research aims are to incorporate how substances impact communities, families, and the institutions that serve them. She has particular interest in understanding the role of alcohol and drugs in the development and perpetuation of community violence and family violence outcomes. She also is interested in how these issues impact minority and low-income populations.
Heather Agnew, Graduate Student Researcher UCLA Center for Population Research
Heather earned her BA and MA from Cal State Fullerton, in History and American Studies, respectively. She is a doctoral student in UCLA’s Department of Geography. Her broader research interests are the multiscalar effects of transnational drug trafficking operations, and the consequences of bilateral and multilateral international counternarcotics agreements on global drug distribution networks, specifically in Mexico and Central America. As a member of this research team she is working toward understanding the spatial effects and social outcomes of drug use and distribution at the community level, as well as the development of policies and informal networks that advocate harm-reduction strategies and situate drug use within the discourse of public health.