Prevention Research to Optimize Health Lab

PRO Health Lab

Sarah Ackerman, M.S.

Research Project ManagerPhoto of Sarah Ackerman

sdf5013@psu.edu

Sarah Ackerman is currently a research project manager at Penn State in the Prevention Research Center. She received her B.A. in sociology in 2009 and her M.S. in human resources and employment relations in 2011, both from Penn State, and has worked in the PRO Health Lab since August 2011. She is interested in studying alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences in college populations.

Selected Publications:

Mallett, K. A., Turrisi, R., Reavy, R., Sell, N., Waldron, K., Scaglione, N., & Ackerman, S. D. (2022). What predicts willingness to experience negative consequences in college student drinkers? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 83(5), 704-711. PMCID: PMC9523755 [PubMed]

Hultgren, B. A., Turrisi, R., Mallett, K. A., Ackerman, S., Larimer, M. E., McCarthy, D., & Romano, E. (2018). A longitudinal examination of decisions to ride and decline rides with drinking drivers. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 42(9), 1748-1755. PMCID: PMC6120778 [PubMed]

Selected Presentations:

Reavy, R., Turrisi, R., Ackerman, S., & Mallett, K. A. (2021, June). Does living with a partner differentially affect parenting behaviors? Poster presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Reavy, R., Mallett, K. A., Turrisi, R. Ackerman, S., & Christman, O. (2019, June). Does experiencing specific types of consequences prompt behavior change for college students? Poster presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, Minneapolis, MN.

Katja Waldron, Ph.D.

Research Associate
Photo of Katja Waldron

kwaldron@psu.edu

Dr. Katja Waldron is currently a research associate at Penn State University in the Prevention Research Center. Dr. Waldron received her Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health and M.Ed. in Counselor Education in 2024 from Penn State University. Her research examines the daily impact of discrimination and microaggressions on Latino/a/x college student mental health and substance use. She is also interested in developing and evaluating interventions to reduce heavy drinking and high-risk consequences (e.g., assaults, blackouts, drunk driving) among adolescents and young adults from diverse backgrounds.

Awards:

  • 2021-2024, F31 Predoctoral Fellowship, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Examining associations between minority-related stressors and alcohol use among Latinx college students
  • 2020-2021, T32 Predoctoral Fellowship, Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  • 2020-2022, Hintz Graduate Education Enhancement Fellowship Award, Biobehavioral Health Department, Penn State University
  • 2021-2022, Biobehavioral Health Dissertation Research Award, Biobehavioral Health Department, Penn State University
  • 2021, Biobehavioral Health Graduate Student Scientific Achievement Award, Biobehavioral Health Department, Penn State University
  • 2020-2022, Society for Prevention Research Early Career Prevention Network Travel Award
  • 2019-2022, Research Society on Alcoholism Student Merit Award
  • 2020-2022, Student Travel Award, Prevention Research Center, Penn State University
  • 2019-2022, Student Travel Award, Biobehavioral Health Department, Penn State University
  • 2018-2019, The Pennsylvania State University Fund for Excellence in Graduate Recruitment Award

Selected Publications:

Waldron, K.A., Lewis, M.A., Fairlie, A.M., Litt, D.M., Zhou, Z., & Bryant, D. (2023). Daily-level associations between alcohol use cognitions and normative perceptions among adolescents: An intensive longitudinal study. Addictive Behaviors, 143, 107697. PMCID: PMC10122708 [PubMed]

Waldron, K.A., Wolfe, E., Plisiewicz, A., Turrisi, R.J., & Romano, E. (2022). Long-term impact of familismo and ethnic identity on Latinx college student drinking and high-risk consequences. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 23(2), 201-221 PMID: 38768079. [PubMed]

Waldron, K. A., Mallett, K., Turrisi, R., Reavy, R., Wolfe, E., & Plisiewicz, A. (2021). Motivations to combine alcohol and nicotine in college students: A validation of the Alcohol and Nicotine Motives Scale. Addictive Behaviors, 112, 106645. PMCID: PMC7572739 [PubMed]

Waldron, K. A., Turrisi, R. J., Mallett, K. A., & Romano, E. (2021). Examining parental permissiveness toward drinking and perceived ethnic discrimination as risk factors for drinking outcomes among Latinx college students. Addictive Behaviors, 118, 106900. PMCID: PMC8026724 [PubMed]

 

Location

Skip to toolbar