Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Substance Use (ITRE)
Mentoring & Service Learning Curriculum
A unique feature of the Institute is a team mentoring approach. Community partners, academic mentors and the ITRE executive committee members work together to guide scholars in the latest science of alcohol and drug abuse prevention, intervention, and sustainability with an added emphasis on translational research and evidence-based practice (EBP).
Academic Mentors
Academic mentors have been identified based on their expertise in adolescent behavioral health, alcohol and drug use, co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders, and translational research. Expand the link below to see all current and previous mentors.
Peer Mentors
Peer mentors are past Scholars who have volunteered to provide support to incoming Scholars as they engage in service-learning activities. Expand the link below to see all current and previous mentors.
View Peer Mentors
Alexandra Albizu-Jacob is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Behavioral and Community Sciences program at USF. She earned her master鈥檚 degree in public health in the Behavioral Health Concentration from USF COPH. She was in the first cohort of ITRE Scholars 2013-2014. She has provided peer mentorship to numerous cohorts of ITRE scholars. Alexandra鈥檚 experience includes technical assistance, evaluation, and clinical trial project management across a wide variety of topics including adolescent behavioral health, trauma-informed care, men鈥檚 mental health and wellbeing, father engagement in schools, and pediatric psycho-oncology. Currently, she is a graduate research associate for a 5-year, PCORI-funded randomized controlled trial that aims to reduce racial disparities in hospital readmissions and negative outcomes post hospitalization for older adult African Americans and Hispanics. Her research interests include examining community, organization, and system-level processes through implementation science research and practice.
Tracy Bales is a doctoral student in the CBCS PhD Degree program at USF. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Design from UF and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Honors from USF. In addition, Tracy earned a Master of Public Health at USF COPH and a Graduate Certificate in ITRE at USF CBCS. Her previous research focused on health decision-making, adolescent substance use prevention, and implementation fidelity in prevention programming. Her current research interests include parent-involved cyberbullying prevention, gamification in prevention programming, behavioral economics, and arts in health.
Dr. Emily Farber earned a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State University. While in her doctoral program, she also obtained a graduate certificate in Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health from the University of Southern Florida. Through her dedication to research, her peers and faculty at NAU presented her with the Outstanding Practice Scholar award during her graduation ceremony. At this time, she serves as a Practice Scholarship Apprenticeship Mentor for her alma mater as well as a principal investigator (PI) and a co-PI on two funded research projects. Her current research focuses on bridging the gap in foster care transition services. As a research assistant, she studied the effects of assisted cycling therapy on the motor and cognitive processes of adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Dr. Amanda Hunter is a citizen of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. Dr. Hunter earned her MPH (2016) and PhD (2020) in health behavior and health promotion from the University of Arizona. She currently resides in Flagstaff, Arizona and is a postdoctoral scholar at NAU鈥檚 Center for Health Equity Research under the mentorship of Dr. Julie Baldwin. Amanda鈥檚 research focuses on the relationship between cultural identity and mental and behavioral health outcomes in Indigenous youth. Since 2015, Amanda has worked with Indigenous communities in Arizona to develop, implement, and evaluate a culturally grounded after-school program called Native Spirit. Native Spirit aims to strengthen resilience, cultural identity, and self-esteem, while attenuating substance use in Indigenous youth. Dr. Hunter uses a community-grounded and mixed-methods approach to conduct evaluation of the Native Spirit program.
Tajhah Kittling earned a Master鈥檚 degree in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health from USF and has over 10 years of experience with community-based initiatives. Most of her educational and employment history focuses on behavioral health within a community. Direct engagement with children, adolescents, young adults, and adult families spurred her interest in improvement science, blending dissemination with implementation and sustainability. Her current practices actively implement evidence-based treatments on a local level with community professionals, where the focus is on providing direct services and cultivating program intrapreneurship. She aims to structure her practices and leadership around neuro-inclusion, trauma-informed management, system of care, values, principles, and equity. Her goal is to focus on the integration of new culturally responsive policies while developing employee personal and professional skills through a supervision/coaching model. Tajah has been affiliated with ITRE since 2023 as Scholar in cohort-10
Manuel 鈥淢anny鈥� Mayor is a student in the DrPH program at USF, COPH, and graduated with an MPH degree in public health administration. He has more than 13 years of public health experience, which includes research and prevention efforts in the fields of Human Immunodeficiency viruses, colorectal cancer, Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease, and tobacco cessation. He is currently working at Premier Community HealthCare to create connections with community members, collaborate with community organizations, and coordinate events aiming to improve community access and health. As the Community Engagement Manager, he manages a team that helps the community in gaining health care access, health education, and social resources. A focus of his efforts is underserved communities such as migrant seasonal agricultural workers, people experiencing homelessness, and public housing residents among others. Manny has been affiliated with ITRE since 2023 as Scholar in cohort-10
Kimberly Menendez is a doctoral candidate in Behavioral and Community Sciences at USF and is the Senior Editorial Associate for the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. She earned a master's degree in forensic psychology and is a certified prevention professional. Kimberly earned a graduate certificate from the ITRE as a Cohort 1 Scholar. She has also served as an ITRE community agency mentor for several ITRE cohorts. Prior to her acceptance into the PhD program, her career has been in child and adolescent behavioral health equipping youth with skills to avoid risky behaviors such as substance use and violence. Her current area of research focuses on adult populations with opioid use disorder and includes the exploration of opioid-related surveillance data within emergency medical services systems.
Elzbieta Wiedbusch is a doctoral student in the Behavioral and Community Sciences program at USF. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Criminal Justice/Criminology from Loyola University Chicago. Elzbieta has assisted in research projects regarding youth community violence exposure, recovery from substance misuse and addiction, and the criminal justice system's impact on marginalized communities. Her efforts resulted in poster presentations at regional and national conferences and published manuscripts on recovery from substance use disorders. Her current research focuses on the intersection of substance misuse and addiction, trauma, and attention deficit disorder among girls in the juvenile justice system. Elzbieta is also interested in diagnostic procedures and assessments used in juvenile justice systems and their validity for female and non-White youth. Her professional goal is to promote and disseminate evidence-based prevention and intervention programs for youth at risk for criminal justice involvement. She plans to work with community-based agencies to prevent local youth from justice involvement and provide them with needed behavioral health service. Elzbieta has been affiliated with ITRE since 2023 as Scholar in cohort-10.
View Past Peer Mentors
Molly Hahn-Floyd is a clinician in pediatric home health and the Colorado Ambassador for the American Occupational Therapy Political Action Committee (AOTPAC). She has previously worked as a clinical preceptor in older adult home health and in inpatient rehabilitation. She was formerly a board member for the North Carolina OT Association and the North Carolina Ambassador for AOTPAC.
Jade Heffern is a doctoral student in the combined Counseling/School Psychology PhD Degree program at Northern Arizona University. She has research experience working on studies involving personality that used the NEO-PI-R, looking at kindergarten readiness factors that are related to third grade achievement outcomes, and she helped conduct a needs assessment for a Native American community agency youth substance abuse prevention program. Her current research interests include personality, acculturation, kindergarten readiness, and Native American youth resiliency.
Sarah Sheffield is a prior Hillsborough County Child Protective Investigator/ Trainer and private practice substance abuse clinician who specializes in trauma-related service interventions for transition-age foster care youth as well as first responders. Her past research with Hillsborough County Children Services focused on program development for transition-age youth in residential foster care under the premise of translational research while her current research interests expound on this concept and concentrate on services for first responders. Sarah currently works for the USF Department of Child and Family Studies in the capacity of a graduate teaching associate, completing her PhD in Behavioral and Community Sciences while instructing undergraduates in the field of mental health.
Shaylynne Shuler is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Worcester State University. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy at the University of Connecticut. Shaylynne studies stigma processes that link minoritized groups, particularly sexual and gender minorities (SGM), to disadvantaged health. She received her PhD in Interdisciplinary Health with an emphasis in Health Equity from Northern Arizona University. In addition to her PhD, Shaylynne has a Master鈥檚 degree in Anthropology, and graduate certificates in Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies, Applied Statistics, and Translational Research: Adolescent Behavioral Health and Substance Use.
The Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Substance Use is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award number R25DA031103.