Our research
Research programs through the Institute for Research on Behavioral and Emotional Health include a set of working groups focused on specific issues and/or populations, pilot grants for faculty and postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate student research collaborations with faculty. A robust archive is available of manuscripts via Zotero and publications and presentations via Scholars Compass.
Working groups
IRBEH includes working groups that use a team science approach to research. The following working groups are active in facilitating Spit for Science data sharing, promoting transdisciplinary research, grant writing, and mentoring of students and trainees.
Interested in getting involved? Connect with our working group chairs to explore opportunities for collaboration.
In addition to the stress that accompanies important developmental milestones for emerging adults (i.e., leaving home, establishing financial independence, navigating peer and romantic relationships, and developing an adult identity), LGBTQIA college students face stressors related to their LGBTQIA identity, such as coming out, transitioning gender identities, encountering non-affirming and/or hostile campus and work environments, and experiencing lack of access to inclusive health and mental health services. Our goals are to examine the role of protective factors in increasing positive outcomes for LGBTQIA college students and the potential moderating influences of social support and belongingness on the relationships between stressors (i.e., social isolation, discrimination, and family-related stress), flourishing, and social, academic, and mental health outcomes.
Our working group is multidisciplinary, comprised of VCU faculty and students and external collaborators in psychology, social work, education, kinesiology, sports management, and behavioral genetics. We are are conducting cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that examine social determinants of health (e.g., discrimination, social and systemic inequalities, COVID-19 pandemic) and cultural assets (e.g., racial-ethnic identity, civic engagement, etc.) on academic outcomes and minority mental health, including alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use.
Emerging adulthood represents a time of significant change in health behaviors as youth transition from high school to the responsibilities of adulthood and, for some, college. The Health Behaviors Working Group aims to advance knowledge of engagement in and the impact of health behaviors (e.g., eating patterns, sleep, exercise, sexual practices, healthcare engagement, etc.) on psychosocial well-being during college. Our group is further interested in understanding the social determinants of health behaviors in college students.
Our group aims to facilitate the use of S4S genetic data via documented data and file structure organization, recommendations for best practices for common genomic analyses, and facilitate ongoing updates related to the genetic data towards inclusive use of the genetic data (e.g., using trans-ancestral analytic methods) and reproducibility of results. Our efforts will include documentation via READMEs, scripts, and GitHub repositories. Major projects will include: (1) organized file structures, (2) updates to imputation, ancestry informative principal component covariates, and ancestry assignments, and (3) best practices for genomic analyses including genome-wide association studies, polygenic risk scoring (PRS), genetic architecture (heritability, genetic correlation), and PRS by environment studies. Additional statistical genetic workflows will be included based on advancements in the field and user need (e.g., Mendelian randomization, genomic structural equation modeling).
Our group seeks to examine substance use in college students during emerging adulthood, a time of increased risk for problematic substance use and associated outcomes. Our working group examines alcohol and illicit substances, as well as motives and expectancies, across the spectrum of use disorder and recovery. Our work focuses on group-based differences and longitudinal/trajectory models of substance use constructs as both outcomes and predictors of other psychosocial and mental health outcomes.
The ‘Smoking’ subgroup grew out of the ‘Genetics, Epidemiology, Methods & Smoking’ lab, in short, gemS. This group comprises VCU faculty, trainees, and external collaborators, all of whom share an interest in exploring the role of genes and environment in the stages of smoking behavior, from initiation to dependence and cessation. We use a variety of genetic epidemiologic approaches to investigate why people start smoking and continue to smoke, and to identify risk and protective factors that predict trajectories of smoking and related outcomes.
Traumatic stress is a transdiagnostic risk factor for the development and maintenance of psychiatric and substance use problems. Emerging adulthood is a particularly high-risk developmental period wherein the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events, both interpersonal and accidental in nature, is high. Our working group examines the impact of exposure to stressors and traumatic events in relation to psychiatric and substance use outcomes across college. We are also interested in examining sex/gender differences, potentially modifiable moderators, and interplay with genetic risk.
Spit for Science publications
Spit for Science is a university-wide initiative that fuels interdisciplinary research across VCU and strengthens partnerships with institutions nationwide. Below is a growing collection of peer-reviewed journal articles that have leveraged Spit for Science data – organized by year of publication – to showcase the breadth and depth of this collaborative work. We invite researchers, students and partners to explore these findings and join us in shaping the future of behavioral and emotional health research.
IRBEH pilot grants
The pilot grants program supports projects focused on studying behavioral and emotional health across the lifespan or at specific life stages. This mechanism encourages proposals from VCU faculty and postdoctoral fellows that:
- Advance interdisciplinary or cross-campus research collaborations;
- Involve inclusive teams of faculty, early-stage investigators, and trainees;
- Build translational bridges between research and practice or the community; and
- Have specific plans for how the funds will be used to support external grant proposals.
For updates on IRBEH funding calls and related opportunities, email spit4science@vcu.edu to be added to the Spit for Science Spotlight listserv.
The Impact of Racial Identity Agreement on Child Substance Use and Mental Health: Tests of Longitudinal and Moderation Effects
- Funded: 2025
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Anna Wright
This study utilizes the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing – NSCAW II to examine whether a mismatch between caregiver (CG) and child reports of child racial identity is associated with higher youth substance use and mental health outcomes and whether key predictors (e.g., trauma, CG alcohol/drug use disorder, and closeness to CG) and demographic factors influence these associations.
Building a Culture of Sexual Health for LGBTQ+ People in the U.S.
- Funded: 2025
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Ethan Coston
This multi-component study aims to measure the breadth and depth of sexual health and wellbeing among sexual and gender minority adolescents, adults, and elders to better inform research, community programming, policy briefs, and individual wellbeing outcomes.
Enhancing Genetic Discovery for Depression Through Machine Learning-Based Trans-Ancestry GWAS
- Funded: 2025
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Mohammed Hassan
This project aims to develop a machine learning-based trans-ancestry GWAS pipeline leveraging Spit for Science data to enhance statistical power, improve phenotype specificity, and ensure broader ancestry representation in major depressive disorder genetic research.
Deciphering the Cognitive Mechanisms of Risk-taking in Emerging Adults with Eating Disorders in the Spit for Science Study: A Computational Approach
- Funded: 2024
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Kelsey Hagan
The goal of this study is to leverage recent advances in computational psychiatry to test whether the cognitive underpinnings of risk-taking differ between Spit for Science participants with and without eating disorders and how risk-taking parameters are linked to eating disorder and other high-risk (e.g., substance use) behaviors.
Examining the Longitudinal Impact of Pandemic-Related Stressors on Health Outcomes Among Sexual Minority Women
- Funded: 2024
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Traci Wike
This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of sexual minority emerging adult women by analyzing quantitative data from Spit for Science and conducting qualitative interviews to gain an in-depth, contextual understanding of their experiences with substance use, mental health, social support, and positive coping.
Exploring Internet-Facilitated Exploitation and Sex Trafficking Among College Students
- Funded: 2025
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Abigail Conley and Dr. Kellie Carlyle
This mixed-methods project aims to develop a Spit for Science spin-off study to extend prior Campus Climate Survey research exploring the risk factors, correlates, and grooming experiences of VCU student survivors of sexual violence, technology-facilitated exploitation, and sex trafficking.
Investigating the Longitudinal Contribution of Depression Symptoms on Alcohol Use Disorder in an Ancestrally Diverse College Cohort
- Funded: 2023
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Amanda Gentry
This study uses symptom-level longitudinal items available in Spit for Science data to examine the joint impact of underlying alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression genetic risk, in conjunction with depression symptoms, on AUD symptom severity over time in an ancestrally diverse sample.
Investigating Emotional and Stress Regulatory Networks Connecting Adverse Childhood Events and Mental Health
- Funded: 2023
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Paula Rodriguez Miguelez
This study aims to provide insight into the relationship between adverse childhood events (ACEs), mental health disorders, and brain functionality in children and adolescents through the assessment of innovative neurophysiological circuits.
Sex Differences in the Genetic Relationship between PTSD and Cardiovascular Disease Phenotypes as Influencing Outcomes following Exposure to Interpersonal Trauma Exposure
- Funded: 2023
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Shannon Cusack
This study uses Spit for Science in conjunction with publicly available summary statistics from large genetic consortia to better understand sex-specific genetic effects and the impacts of interpersonal trauma on behavioral, emotional, and health outcomes.
Trainee projects
Through the VCU GREAT program and other similar undergraduate research training initiatives, undergraduate students have the opportunity to work with VCU faculty members from various disciplines to create original research projects. Below are some examples of the original research done by our undergraduate research fellows.
Nia Warren
Nia Warren worked with Dr. Traci Wike (School of Social Work) to examine the influence of relationship disruptions on mental health and well-being among college students who are sexual minorities.
Llorielle Gregory-Jerome
Llorielle Gregory-Jerome worked with Dr. Chelsea D. Williams (Department of Psychology) to explore whether ACEs and depressive symptoms affect cannabis use symptoms among college students of color.
Voisava Bokciu
Voisava Bokciu presents her fellowship research done with Dr. Matthew L. Banks’ lab in VCU’s Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology.
Adam Hvitfeldt-Matthews
Adam Hvitfeldt-Matthews worked with Dr. Christina Sheerin (Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics) to examine the association between drinking to cope motives and alcohol-related blackouts in a college population.
