Traci Toomey, PhD is the Director of the Cannabis Research Center and a professor in the School of Public Health. She is a behavioral epidemiologist and an expert in substance use control policies who has served as the principal investigator or co-investigator of nearly 40 externally-funded research studies focusing on substance use. She has been a leader on a series of studies assessing and/or changing the alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco retail environments, and on studies measuring the prevalence, strength, and effects of local and state substance-use related policies. Traci is also the Director of the Alcohol Epidemiology Program (AEP) at the University of Minnesota.

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Darin Erickson, PhD is the Associate Director of Research for the Cannabis Research Center and a professor in the School of Public Health. He is a substance use researcher who focuses on prevention through policy and is also an established methodologist with expertise in multilevel and longitudinal modeling. He has published over 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has been principal investigator or co-investigator on over 50 funded projects. Much of this work involves examining substance use policies and retail practices, e.g.; alcohol outlet density and crime, menthol tobacco bans, cannabis legalization, drunk driving policies, and developing measures of the overall alcohol policy environment. Darin earned his PhD in social psychology from the University of Missouri.

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Rhonda Jones-Webb, DrPH is the Associate Director of Equity and Engagement for the Cannabis Research Center and a professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. Rhonda’s research focuses on substance use epidemiology and policy, with a special focus on race, social class, and neighborhood influences. She has served as a principle investigator or co-investigator on nearly 40 externally funded research projects and conducted studies on a variety of topics,e.g, alcohol use in African American populations, implementation of policies related to high-alcohol-content beverages, alcohol outlet density, public policy and economic development, and cannabis use). Her current research interests focus on how substance use policies can be more equitably implemented and how communities can ensure all citizens benefit from health policies. Rhonda is also co-director of SPH’s Health Equity Work Group and a member of the Alcohol Epidemiology Program, and CTSI/ Community Engagement to Advance Research and Community Management Council.

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Kathleen Lenk (she/hers) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Cannabis Research Center. She has over 25 years of experience in substance use research, with particular expertise in alcohol and cannabis policy. Kathleen is a co-author of over 80 articles in scientific journals and has presented research findings at numerous national conferences. Her contributions to research studies are primarily in data analysis and writing/editing. Kathleen earned her MPH in 1999 from the University of Minnesota.

Julie Sanem, PhD manages the Cannabis Research Center. She has spent the past 15+ years developing and implementing strategies to understand and reduce harms associated with substance use and is excited to help the CRC answer the most important research questions related to cannabis and health. Her research interests include substance use policy, harm reduction, and college students. Julie earned her MPH in community health education and PhD in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Timothy Beebe, PhD, is James A. Hamilton Professor of Healthcare Management in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH). His primary expertise is in the field of survey methodology, where he has a 35-year track record of testing new data collection methods in both the general population and physician samples. His other research interests focus on patient-reported outcomes measurement, developing and testing health measures, health care policy, health care access for vulnerable populations, and learning health systems research, a form of health services research that is defined by its embeddedness in health systems. Before joining SPH, he held leadership positions at Mayo Clinic and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, where he was part of the development team for the Minnesota Student Survey and oversaw several large-scale statewide substance abuse and mental health treatment needs assessments.

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Dr. Birnbaum is a translational researcher studying the pharmacokinetics of neurological medications using pharmacometrics as a tool, and with an emphasis on neuropharmacology and special populations. Her research focuses on the variability of drug concentrations and response and has included investigations into topics related to the elderly, pregnant women, children, and drug addiction. Her research program includes laboratory measurement of biological specimens and investigations in the stability of drugs in vivo and in vitro; pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, including investigations of bioavailability, pharmacokinetic, pharmacogenomic, drug interaction, and efficacy studies; and the incorporation of pharmacometric modeling and simulation to answer questions in both intensive and sparse sampling settings. Her research is/has been funded by foundations, the National Institutes of Health, instrumentation companies, and the pharmaceutical industry.

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Dr. Eisenberg is a Professor in Pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health. She received her baccalaureate degree from the University of Wisconsin and her Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. Dr. Eisenberg earned her Doctor of Science degree from Harvard University School of Public Health and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Eisenberg focuses her research on social influences on health, behavior, and well-being among adolescents and young adults, and disseminates findings for real-world application. She is particularly interested in interpersonal, organizational, and structural forces that shape the experience of LGBTQ+ youth, including those with intersecting marginalized social positions.

Amy Gower (she/her), PhD, is a Researcher in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health in the Department of Pediatrics and an affiliate member of the Cannabis Research Center. Her work focuses on the ways schools and communities promote adolescent health, with an emphasis on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth. Amy received her PhD from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Lisa Harnack is Professor and Head of the Division of Epidemiology & Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. As a public health nutrition expert, she carries out research to improve the scientific evidence on which nutrition policies, programs, and practices are based. Examples include leading the first experimental trial evaluating whether putting calorie information on restaurant menus leads to the purchase and consumption of lower-calorie meals. Findings from this study have been referenced in more than 30 domestic and international policy-related documents and reports. More recently, she carried out the first experimental trials evaluating food purchase restrictions on sugary foods as a strategy for reshaping the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to improve family nutrition. In addition to her research, she directs the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC). This center developed, maintains, and supports two widely used dietary assessment tools- the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) and the NCC Food and Nutrient Database. NDSR supports research at over 100 institutions, including most major research universities that conduct nutrition research and government agencies such as the NIH and NASA.

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I specialize in outcomes research, measurement error in survey research, complex organizations and decision making, and scale development. My research in measurement development has been in diverse populations, from adults experiencing fecal incontinence to children with cancer. My work on measurement error in survey research has focused on traditionally identified sources of error with an emphasis on comparisons between mail and telephone administration.

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Eileen Delehanty, PhD, MPH, is a Research Associate with the Cannabis Research Center. Her research focuses on the effects of cannabis policy on health. Most recently, she has conducted studies on the likelihood of sale of hemp-derived THC products to pseudo-underage buyers in Minnesota and the effects of cannabis policy on workplace use. Eileen earned her MPH in Community Health Promotion and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Laura Houghtaling, PhD, MPH, is a Research Investigator with the Cannabis Research Center. She has nearly 13 years of public health and healthcare research experience in academic and consulting settings. Prior to working with the CRC, she was a Research Scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago in the Healthcare Evaluation Department. Laura earned her MPH in Epidemiology and PhD in Social & Behavioral Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Nora Johnson, MPH, is a Research Investigator with the Cannabis Research Center, specializing in qualitative and trauma-informed research methods. She has nearly 20 years of research experience in substance abuse prevention and recovery in both academic and non-profit settings. Prior to joining the CRC, she was a Research Scientist at Wilder Research. Nora holds an MPH in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Minnesota.

Colin Planalp, MPA is a staff researcher at the Cannabis Research Center. He has more than 15 years in health policy research and communications, including a decade at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. In his work, Colin focuses on helping policymakers and public officials at varying levels of government to use data and research evidence to influence policies that equitably enhance public health. His interest in cannabis research emerged from several years of research into the U.S. opioid crisis, growing levels of alcohol death rates, and other related topics. Colin holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Missouri’s Truman School of Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism.

Natalie Scholz, MPH is a Research Fellow in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She provides data management, statistical analyses and manuscript writing for the Cannabis Research Center. Natalie has more than 15 years of health research experience in academic and non-profit settings. Relating to her interest in substance use, she has been involved in studies on prolonged opioid use and alcohol policy. She holds an MPH degree in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University.

Haley Cureton Tompsett, MPH leads communications for the Cannabis Research Center. Haley is dedicated to promoting health and health equity through clear communication that informs and inspires. Prior to joining the CRC, Haley served as Director of Community Well-Being at Mount Madonna, a retreat center that hosts practitioners of spiritual traditions and social justice pursuits. Prior to that, she led communications for Interdisciplinary Research Leaders, a national program center of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focused on building a culture of health in the US. Haley holds an MPH from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, is a NAMA-certified Ayurvedic Health Counselor and lifelong Dalai Lama Fellow.

Lauren Tschida, MPH is a project coordinator with the Cannabis Research Center. Her prior research focused on social determinants of health in pediatric populations and their families. While new to cannabis research, she is interested in cannabis usage and associations amongst college students. She is also a recent MPH graduate from the Epidemiology program at the University of Minnesota.

Diana Augustin, MPH (they/them, she/hers) is the graduate research assistant for the Cannabis Research Center’s Equity and Engagement Core. As a 1st year Doctoral Student in the Epidemiology program at the University of Minnesota, Diana’s research interests include structural determinants of maternal and child health, early stages of human development, adverse childhood experiences, and geospatial determinants of maternal and child health. Right now, Diana is training alongside the world’s leading Substance Use and Health experts exploring the impact of cannabis and cannabis legislation on Minnesota communities. Her hope is to better understand the link between adverse childhood experiences and patterns of cannabis use across the life course.

Sophi Cahalan (she/her) is a graduate research assistant at the Cannabis Research Center and a first-year Master of Public Health student in the Epidemiology program with a graduate minor in Neuroscience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from St. Catherine University and anticipates graduating with her MPH in May 2028.

Sophi’s research interests lie at the intersection of epidemiology, neuroscience, and behavioral health, with a focus on how social and structural conditions shape substance use, mental health outcomes, and access to care. Her previous research includes contributing to an NIH-funded study of community- and place-based predictors of mortality among people experiencing homelessness and coauthoring published research on a positive psychology intervention aimed at strengthening well-being and resilience among college students. She is especially interested in understanding patterns of substance use and using research to improve mental health outcomes, access to care, and recovery.

Naomi Clear (she/her) is a second-year MPH student in the Community Health Promotion program. Her academic interests include sexual health and wellness, harm reduction, and community-oriented intervention design. She is passionate about bringing a health equity lens to every aspect of her academic and professional work. Naomi is excited to expand her public health knowledge into the substance use world at the CRC.

Prior to beginning her MPH, Naomi worked in state and local health departments, coordinating Covid-19 and STI prevention and control programs. She holds a BA in Environmental Justice and Spanish from Beloit College.

Jorge Loyo Lopez is a graduate research assistant at the Cannabis Research Center. As an M.S. student in the Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration program at the School of Public Health, his academic focus has been in survey methodology and health measurement, health policy analysis, and social determinants of health in migrant communities. With 8 years of experience working in health services research, the focus of Jorge’s work has been highlighting the value of qualitative and mixed methods research in understanding patient-centered quality of life, patient, staff, and physician experiences in the health care setting, and the evaluation of programs and services that value the voices of those involved. His work at the Cannabis Research Center focuses on improving the Minnesota Student Survey to better capture the knowledge and use of cannabis in underage populations across Minnesota. Jorge will soon complete his master’s degree at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health and holds a bachelor’s in Sociology and Anthropology from Luther College.

Emmy Paulson is a first-year MPH student in the Data Science program at the School of Public Health. Their research interests include responsible, equitable data collection and analysis; methods for the dissemination of health information; and community empowerment in health research. They have past work experience with substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health crisis treatment. In their position with the CRC, their current work is centered on product and retail assessment with a specific focus on youth cannabis access and substance use disorder risk mitigation.