Justin Strickland will give a virtual talk, “Behavioral Economics in Substance Use Public Policy: Across a Translational Continuum,” at 1:30 p.m. March 9. This event is free and open to the public.

Register for the Zoom link here.

Behavioral economics combines psychological and economic theory, providing a theoretical framework to address issues of public health significance, such as substance use and sexual health. Applications of behavioral economics to public health and public policy are apparent across a translational pipeline of preclinical animal research, human laboratory assessment and clinical trials. The seminar will provide an overview of this work across a translational spectrum.

These studies collectively show how choice and decision-making processes described by behavioral economic demand at the intersection of the self (e.g., genetic predisposition, reinforcement history) and setting (e.g., environmental cues, alternative reinforcers) can be used to advance basic and clinical science outcomes. Challenges for the field in methods, modeling and scalability will also be discussed.

Strickland is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on behavioral economics as a theoretical framework to address issues of public health significance to include substance use disorder and sexual health. Strickland is also interested in the behavioral mechanisms underlying psychedelic drug effects and treatment efficacy.

This talk is sponsored by the Rural Drug Addiction Research Center, and it is an installment within its Seminar Series.