Megan O’Grady, Ph.D.

Director

Dr. Megan O’Grady is a social psychologist and health services researcher who joined the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in 2020. She previously spent nine years as a Research Scientist and Associate Director of Health Services Research at Partnership to End Addiction in New York City. Her research and evaluation program aims to improve the system of care for, and prevention of, substance use disorders and focuses on three main areas: 1) implementation of integrated care and evidenced-based treatment and prevention practices, 2) development and implementation of technology tools for health and addiction care settings, and 3) quality improvement and systems-level interventions. Dr. O’Grady is the principal investigator on an NIH-funded study examining the implementation of a text messaging program for unhealthy alcohol use in emergency departments, co-investigator on 4 NIH-funded studies on substance use treatment services, and lead evaluator on several SAMHSA- and State-funded projects in partnership with New York State and the State of Connecticut. In addition, she directs the DMHAS Center for Prevention Evaluation and Statistics at UConn Health and co-chairs the Connecticut State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW). She received her PhD from Colorado State University and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the NIH-funded University     of Connecticut School of Medicine Alcohol Research Center.

Email: ogrady@uchc.edu

Jennifer Sussman, B.A., M.F.A.

CPES Coordinator

Jennifer Sussman is a Research Associate 2 with UConn Health, Department of Public Health Sciences.  Over the past 31 years with the UConn Health Center, Jennifer has worked in the areas of: health services research; substance abuse prevention and treatment evaluation and quality improvement; instrument development; training/technical assistance/capacity building; and data and research practices.  She has numerous years of experience in both project management and field research with at-risk and adjudicated youth in community and correctional settings, and has spent the majority of her career working closely with state agencies to evaluate their federally-funded initiatives. Jennifer has worked extensively with DMHAS’ prevention initiatives over the past decade, as well as with SAMHSA and DMHAS funded regional and local prevention stakeholders, building evaluation capacity on the state, regional and community levels, and supporting training and technical assistance around data-driven planning and evaluation.  She has contributed to numerous journal publications and reports.  Jennifer holds a B.A. degree in Sociology from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and an MFA in Writing from Goddard College in Plainfield, VT.

Email: sussman@uchc.edu