Adler University has awarded the Chicago Seed Grant to Michael Madson, Ph.D., clinical psychology professor and substance use emphasis coordinator, whose research project is focused on preventing deaths caused by alcohol.
This award highlights the innovation and scholarly contributions of Adler faculty, whose work advances mental health research and practice. The award was granted by peer committee of clinical mental health counseling faculty members, Jessica Fripp, Ph.D., Karyna Strickland, Ph.D., and Lauren Melamed, Ph.D.
Titled “Alcohol Consumption and Use Pattern in Relation to All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review,” Dr. Madson’s research project seeks to find concrete evidence from previous research that will help strengthen safe drinking guidelines.
“The Seed Grant is transformative for my research. It provides the resources to actively engage Psy.D. students in meaningful scholarship that deepens their understanding of alcohol use and its impact on health,” said Dr. Madson, who was recently appointed to the national Addiction Psychology Specialty Council – a group tasked with developing training guidelines for addiction psychology.
Julie Schumacher, Ph.D., psychologist and director of research at the Prevention Research Institute, is partnering with Dr. Madson to lead the research team and collect and analyze data pertaining to all-cause mortality, death related to alcohol. Laura Cameron, Adler’s Instruction and Public Service Librarian, and two Psy.D. students, who were hired to help with the project, thanks to the seed grant, are also working on the project.
The team will systemically review alcohol consumption levels, patterns of drinking, and other factors that contribute to all-cause mortality through previous research studies.
The goal is to finish reviewing research by the summer, so the team can then present their findings to the Prevention Research Institute and then begin to publish those results.
“Ultimately, what our goal is with this project is to find some concrete evidence throughout previous research that helps us to strengthen safe drinking guidelines for men and women and to be able to provide information as part of alcohol education,” Dr. Madson said.