Society for Prevention Research
2008 Awards
May 29, 2008

The International Collaborative Prevention Research Award is given for contributions to the field of prevention science in the area of international collaboration. This year we are pleased to present this award to Dr. Marion Forgatch, Research Scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center. Dr. Forgatch and her colleagues are well known for their development and evaluation of the Parent Management Training, Oregon Model (PMTO) intervention for families with children at risk for adjustment problems and substance abuse. In recent years, Marion has turned her attention to implementation of this evidence-based program internationally, conducting wide scale program dissemination studies in Norway, Iceland, and the Netherlands. Her study of national implementation of PMTO in Norway, conducted in collaboration with Norwegian colleagues, has contributed significantly to our understanding of factors that influence adoption and implementation of evidenced-based programs, how these factors impact implementation fidelity, and successful strategies for addressing the challenges of taking evidence-based programs to scale in other cultural contexts.

The Science to Practice Award is given in recognition of continued support for the implementation of research-based prevention practices in real world settings. This year we recognize Sharon Mihalic, Project Director at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado. As Project Director of the Blueprints for Violence Prevention since its inception in 1996, Sharon has managed the review of hundreds of program evaluations to identify programs that are effective in reducing adolescent substance use and violence, and has worked with the developers of effective programs to publish short books that assist communities to implement these programs successfully. Sharon has also conducted research on factors that contribute to successful implementation. She has been instrumental in disseminating information about the Blueprints Initiative to those working to improve the lives of youth people, including the organization of two well-attended conferences that brought together policy makers and program developers. Sharon’s dedication and commitment has helped to make Blueprints one of the most respected sources of information about evidence-based violence prevention programs.

Robert Granger	Edward Seidman	From L to R: Vivian Tseng, Rebecca Maynard, Thomas Weisner, Brian Wilcox

The Public Service Award is given in recognition of extensive and effective advocacy for prevention science. This year we are pleased to recognize the William T. Grant Foundation senior program team of Robert Granger, Edward Seidman, Vivian Tseng, Rebecca Maynard, Thomas Weisner and Brian Wilcox. This team of individuals has worked diligently to implement the W.T. Grant Foundation’s mission of furthering the understanding of human behavior through research, and improving the lives of youth in the United States. Taking a scientific approach to bridging the gap between research and practice, the W.T. Grant Foundation has funded high-quality empirical studies on the ways in which social settings affect youth development, how these settings can be improved, and when, how, and under what conditions scientific evidence gets used in policy and practices that affect youth. We recognize the foundation for its support of individual research project grantees and Distinguished Fellows and its advocacy for improving the lives of youth.

The Presidential Award is given to those who have made a major lifetime contribution to prevention science research. This year we are pleased and proud to present the Presidential award to Dr. Sheppard Kellam, Professor Emeritus of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Center for Integrating Education and Prevention Research in Schools at the American Institute for Research. Shep’s groundbreaking longitudinal study of African American children growing up in the Woodlawn area of Chicago was among the first community studies to identify risk factors for negative health and behavioral outcomes in an urban, minority population. That research generated a wealth of knowledge regarding the etiology of problem behaviors that has guided the development of numerous subsequent preventive interventions. Another major contribution that Shep made to prevention science was as founding director of the NIMH Hopkins Prevention Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, where he led two generations of population-based randomized trials of preventive interventions. This pioneering work tested the effectiveness of both the Good Behavior Game and Mastery Learning in reducing aggressive and violent behavior and promoting school success among inner-city elementary school students. His collaboration with the Baltimore City Schools on this work is an excellent example of successful university-community partnerships, and demonstrates Shep’s strong commitment to bridging the gap between public education and prevention research. Shep has also made important contributions to SPR, serving as our first elected president from 1998 to 2001, leading the development of bylaws for the organization, being instrumental in securing our first grant from NIMH, and working to build SPR as a broad, inclusive international scientific organization. Shep epitomizes the lifetime of commitment and contribution to prevention science that this award is designed to recognize.

The Prevention Science Award is given in recognition of a significant body of research that has applied scientific methods to test preventive interventions or policies. This year we are pleased to recognize Dr. Richard Spoth, F. Wendell Miller Senior Prevention Scientist and Director of the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute at Iowa State University. Dick has made important scholarly contributions in two main areas of prevention intervention research. The first is a set of randomized trials of family-based interventions, which is the single most important body of work demonstrating that interventions focused on family attitudes, norms, and communication can produce reductions in early drug and alcohol use. Dick’s second important contribution is his groundbreaking Project Family and PROSPER studies, which have shown that service systems like the Cooperative Extension can play a key role in the high-quality delivery of evidence-based prevention interventions, and thus become a central organizing influence for the prevention of problems and the promotion of resilience in American communities. Dick’s work serves as an excellent example of the important role that university scientists can play in the translation of science to practice and the promotion of community health. Dick is an extremely productive scientist of national and international renown, and he was recently recognized by the National Institute of Drug Abuse with the reception of a 10 year “MERIT award.”

The Community, Culture, & Prevention Science Award recognizes contributions to the field of prevention science in the area of community and culture. This year, we are pleased to honor Dr. Karol Kumpfer, Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Education in the College of Health at the University of Utah. Karol is well known as the developer of the evidence-based Strengthening Families Program, which has been implemented across the United States and in many foreign countries. In collaboration with both national and international colleagues, she has conducted numerous studies on the effects of cultural adaptations of the Strengthening Families program, as well as other evidence-based programs, which have significantly furthered our understanding of the importance of culturally grounded prevention. Karol has been a leader in advocating for well-planned cultural adaptations to health promotion programs. In addition to her research, she has made a notable contribution to the prevention field through a series of published guidelines for making adaptations to evidence-based programs across a broad range of cultural groups.

The Nan Tobler Award for Review of the Prevention Science Literature is given for contributions to the summarization or articulation of the empirical evidence relevant to prevention science. This year, we are pleased to give this award to Dr. Eric Stice, Senior Scientist at the Oregon Research Institute. Dr. Stice conducted a meta-analytic review of obesity prevention programs for children and adolescents, which was published in Psychological Bulletin in 2005. This literature review has contributed significantly to our understanding of the evidence base for obesity prevention, including the participant, intervention, delivery, and design features that are associated with larger program effects.

The Early Career Prevention Network (ECPN) Early Career Award is presented to a person early in their career in prevention. This award is bestowed to someone who has shown a commitment to prevention science through outstanding research, policy or practice. This year, we are pleased to give this award to Dr. Stephanie Lanza. Dr. Lanza’s commitment to prevention science is evident since very early in her career. Five years after completing her Ph.D., Dr. Lanza has published nearly 20 publications, many in leading journals in the field of prevention science. Since 2004, she is the Scientific Director of the Methodology Center, Penn State University. She has been the driving force behind much of the free software that The Methodology Center has made available over the last several years, including Proc LCA and Proc LTA. Stephanie is also responsible for Methodology Center’s annual Summer Institute on Longitudinal Methods. In summary, Stephanie knows what needs to be done and creates, motivates, and leads teams to successfully complete her vision.

The Friend of ECPN Award is presented to a mid-career or senior preventionist who has supported and encouraged early career persons or issues. The recipient of the Friend of ECPN Award will have been active in supporting early career activities, either by helping ECPN as an organization; promoting training, funding, or early career involvement in prevention efforts; or encouraging early Preventionists in their work. This year we are very pleased to present this award to Dr. Mark Greenberg. Dr. Greenberg has collaborated with students and early career preventionists since early in his own career at University of Washington. In 1997, upon becoming the Edna Peterson Bennett Chair and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Greenberg immediately included early career preventionists in the faculty, staff and projects of the center. He enthusiastically impels his trainees to collaborate with other senior researchers and to acquire expertise in alternative fields that can complement prevention such as neuroscience, methodology and genetics. Many such collaborations have burgeoned into long-term career positions for his trainees. Recently, Dr. Greenberg collaborated with Dr. Linda Collins of the The Pennsylvania State University Methodology Center to create the Prevention and Methodology Training Program (PAMT), funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “PAMT’s mission is to produce scientists trained in the integration of prevention and statistical methodology” (http://www.prevention.psu.edu/grad/pamt.html). Dr. Greenberg’s friendship to early career preventionists is embodied by the experience of one of his recent trainees, who first met him during a student internship in an after school program while residing in Washington. Dr. Greenberg invited him to continue his training at the Prevention Research Center. After completing training at Penn State, this student went on to post-doctoral training with another well-known senior prevention researcher and currently is in a tenure-track faculty position with expertise in neuropsychology and prevention. Dr. Greenberg’s efforts on behalf of early career preventionists characterize what the Friend of ECPN Award was intended to recognize.

The Service to SPR Award is given in recognition of outstanding service to the Society for Prevention Research. This year we are pleased to recognize Dr. Brian Flay, Professor of Public Health at Oregon State University. Brian is a distinguished scholar who has led the work of two SPR committees examining significant and timely prevention science issues. First, he was the chair of the Standards of Evidence committee, which designed standards for determining which prevention interventions are efficacious, which are effective, and which are ready for dissemination. Brian served as the lead author on an article published in Prevention Science in 2005 that described the committee’s findings. The standards they developed have proven to be an invaluable resource to prevention scientists as they research, and bring to the field new prevention interventions, as well as to government agencies as they develop policies for prevention program funding. Currently, he is the chair of a second committee that is examining replication research. The work of this committee will culminate in a paper that discusses reasons for conducting replication research, types of studies that can be considered replications, and factors that could influence the extent of replication research.