SPR Community

Newsletter of the Society for Prevention Research
Spring 2013 , Volume 3, Issue 1

President's Message

Deborah Gorman-Smith

Dear SPR Members:

It has been a privilege to serve as President of the Society for Prevention Research and to work with the SPR Board of Directors, each of whom are dedicated to addressing the increasing challenges that face the Society and the field of prevention science. The Board, SPR standing committees and special task forces have been very busy over the past year working on advancing the field of prevention science and increasing SPR’s presence as the leading scientific organization in the field. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to share with you some highlights of the contributions of many outstanding SPR members who volunteer with great commitment, time and energy for SPR.

Standards of Evidence: Criteria for Efficacy, Effectiveness and Dissemination: During the SPR Board of Directors annual retreat held in October, 2012 the SPR Board acknowledged that, given the advances in the field over the last 10 years, a review and updating of the SPR Standards of Evidence: Criteria for Efficacy, Effectiveness and Dissemination was needed. In response, the Board created the SPR Standards-Next Generation Task Force to review the Standards and to recommend revisions. The SPR Board is very pleased that Denise Gottfredson (University of Maryland) has agreed to chair the task force. Other members are Felipe Gonzalez Castro, SPR President-Elect (University of Texas at Houston), Frances Gardner (University of Oxford), George Howe, SPR Treasurer (George Washington University), Irwin Sandler (Arizona State University), and I. The task force met in April 2013 in Washington, DC. We are most appreciative that Thomas Cook (Northwestern University) attended the meeting in an advisor capacity. The goal of the task force is to submit a revised set of Standards to the Board for review at its annual retreat in October 2013.

The SPR Standards of Evidence are frequently cited when identifying effective prevention programs and policies, to justify methods used in evaluation of programs, and has been influential more generally in the policy world. Once finalized, the updated Standards will be disseminated to the membership, the prevention science community, practitioners and policy makers at the state and federal levels.

Type 2 Translational Research Task Force: The Type 2 Translational Research Task Force is supported through the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse R13 Conference Grant Supplement (5R13DA021047-08SI). The Mapping Advances in Prevention Science (MAPS) Task Forces are charged with advancing promising ideas and scientific efforts generated through the Society for Prevention Research annual meeting, in order to: (1) foster promising, emerging areas of prevention science; (2) articulate an agenda to move research forward in such emerging areas; and (3) nurture the scientific leadership and capacity required to make the advances. The MAPS advance a specific focal area in prevention science through mini-conferences, plenary sessions, roundtables, invited symposium, and preconference workshops at the SPR Annual Meeting, and journal articles and policy briefs. With the outstanding leadership of co-chairs, Richard Spoth (Iowa State University) and Luanne Rohrbach (University of Southern California) the MAPS II, Type 2 Translational Research Task Force has been working for more than four years to address a number of aims including: preparation of guidelines for the conduct of Type 2 translational research, development of training materials for new prevention researchers, recommendations for support of Type 2 translational research, and development of materials on the key elements of Type 2 translational research designed for program implementers and practitioners. The culmination of their work is the recent publication of the article Addressing Core Challenges for the Next Generation of Type 2 Translational Research and Systems: The Translation Science to Population Impact (TSci Impact) Framework in Prevention Science (Richard Spoth, Louise A. Rohrbach, Mark Greenberg, Philip Leaf, C. Hendricks Brown, Abigail Fagan, Richard R. Catalano, et al) (http://www.preventionresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Advancing-Type-2-Translation-Research-PS-SPR-Task-Force-Springer-ONLINE.pdf). The completion of the work of the task force coincides with contemporary federal initiatives that have placed a priority on supporting science based approaches through encouraging and, in some cases, mandating the use of evidence-based programs. The final work of the Type 2 TF will include a document on the “state of the science” and recommendations intended to target agency directors and practitioners (essentially a “brief” based on the work of this paper) and a resource document for training in Type2 science.

Economic Analysis in Prevention Research: During the October 2012 retreat the SPR Board also approved the creation of the Economic Analysis in Prevention Research Task Force. This task force is the third Mapping Advances in Prevention Research (MAPS) initiated by SPR and funded by the NIH R13 conference grant 1R13DA033149-01A1. The purpose of the Economic Analysis task force is to bring together prevention scientists working across diverse fields and economists working within the area of prevention science to outline elements of standards for high-quality benefit-cost studies. Through this work the goal is to inform the science and methods to aid prevention scientist as they work to integrate these data into their research. The Board is very pleased that Kenneth Dodge and D. Max Crowley (Duke University) have agreed to serve as co-chairs of the task force. Members of the task force are: Steven Barnett (NIEER/Rutgers University), Jon Baron (Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy), Phaedra Corso (University of Georgia), Sarah Duffy (National Institute on Drug Abuse), Mark Greenberg (Pennsylvania State University), Ron Haskins (Brookings Institute), Laura Griner Hill (Washington State University), Damon Jones (Pennsylvania State University), Lynn Karoly (RAND), Margaret Kuklinski (University of Washington), and Robert Plotnick (University of Washington). The task force will hold its first meeting in late summer/early fall of 2013.

NIH Office of Disease Prevention: I am very pleased to report that in September 2012 long-time SPR member David M. Murray was appointed as the NIH Associate Director for Disease Prevention and Director of the Office of Disease Prevention. One of Dr. Murray’s first activities as Director has been to lead a strategic planning process to develop a vision, mission and priorities for the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP). I was honored to be included in the strategic planning working group. On March 13, 2013, the ODP released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking comments on the draft mission, vision, and strategic priorities. This RFI is an extensive process to develop the ODP Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2013–2018. The deadline to respond to the RFI was April 30, 2013. The SPR Board prepared a response to the RFI and provided talking points to our members should they have been interested in responding as individuals (http://www.preventionresearch.org/SPR_ODP_RFI.pdf ).
Prevention Science: I am very pleased to report that Catherine Bradshaw, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor in the Department of Human Services at the Curry School of Education, (University of Virginia) has accepted the appointment as the next editor of Prevention Science effective January 1, 2014 (Click here for press release http://www.preventionresearch.org/news-release-catherine-p-bradshaw-ph-d-m-ed-named-new-editor-of-prevention-science/). The SPR Board is most appreciative of the work of the SPR Publications Committee, chaired by Margaret Ensminger, for recruiting Dr. Bradshaw to this critical role. Dr. Bradshaw will succeed Robert McMahon whose seven year term as editor will end December 2013. Dr. McMahon’s distinguished service to SPR as editor of Prevention Science will be acknowledged at the 2013 SPR Annual Awards Presentations, May 30, 2013.

I am also pleased to report that Luanne Rohrbach, Director of the MPH Program and Associate Professor of Research, Preventive Medicine (University of Southern California) has accepted the appointment as associate editor of Prevention Science and joins associate editors J. Mark Eddy (University of Washington), Stephanie Lanza (The Pennsylvania State University), David MacKinnon (Arizona State University), Hanno Petras (JBS International, Inc.), and Steven Schinke (Columbia University). Rohrbach fills the appointment formerly held by Zili Sloboda (JBS International, Inc.). We are most appreciative of the service of Zili Sloboda who served twelve distinguished years as associate editor.

2013 Annual Meeting Planning: The hard work of the 2013 SPR Program Planning Committee, chaired by Guerillmo (Willy) Prado (University of Miami), will be evident for all of those who will be attending the 21st Annual Meeting “The Science of Prevention: Building a Comprehensive National Strategy for Well-Being,” May 28 – 31, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. The committee is comprised of members of the board of directors, chairs of each of the SPR committees, as well as, representatives from the NIH, CDC, ODP, and ACYF. In addition to the program planning committee, the Early Career Preventionist Network (ECPN), the Diversity Network Committee (DNC), and the International Task Force (ITF) each plan their activities for the annual meeting. The program development would not be possible without the contributions from the 120 members who reviewed the 772 abstracts that were submitted. Each abstract is reviewed by three reviewers and the time commitment contributed by these volunteers is highly valued. If you didn’t volunteer this year, please consider participating next year!

SPR Fellows: This year the first cohort of SPR Fellows will be honored at the SPR Annual Awards Presentation. The SPR Fellows program was created to honor a select group of members who have a particularly distinguished record of contribution to the field of prevention science. Please join me in congratulating the 2013 SPR Fellows who are Gilbert J. Botvin (Weill Cornell Medical College), Patricia Chamberlain (Oregon Social Learning Center), J. David Hawkins (University of Washington), Sheppard Kellam (Johns Hopkins University), David MacKinnon (Arizona State University), David Olds (University of Colorado, Denver), Irwin Sandler (Arizona State University), Patrick Tolan (University of Virginia) and Zili Sloboda (JBS International, Inc.). We are very pleased that David M. Murray will be giving the keynote address “Developing a Strategic Plan for Prevention Research at NIH” which precedes the awards presentation.

2013 Elections: The 2013 elections have concluded and I’m very pleased to announce the new members of the SPR Board of Directors for the 2013 – 2016 term are Leslie Leve (Oregon Social Learning Center), Greta Massetti (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Irwin Sandler (Arizona State University) and Patrick Tolan (University of Virginia). The new ECPN chair-elect is Marie-Hélène Véronneau, (Université du Québec à Montréal). The chair-elect serves a two-year term before becoming chair.

It has been my honor to have served as President of the Society and work with the Board of Directors and the members to advance the field of prevention science.

I look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting in San Francisco.

Sincerely,
Deborah Gorman-Smith, PhD
President

SPR Community
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Phone: (703) 934-4850 • Fax: (703) 359-7562 • E-mail: info@preventionresearch.org • www.preventionresearch.org
 

Editor: Hanno Petras, PhD
Executive Director: Jennifer Lewis, CAE
Membership Director: DeeJay Garringo

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