Janet Welsh, research professor of health and human development at Penn State, is the 2023 recipient of the Translational Science Award from the Society for Prevention Research (SPR). The peer-nominated award is given in recognition of contributions to the field of prevention science in the translation of research to practice, for intervention development or testing the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions.

Welsh is also a senior scientist in the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC) at Penn State and serves as director of Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support initiative, in which a technical assistance model is used to promote high-quality, evidence-based prevention programs throughout Pennsylvania. Additionally, she is the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on major prevention projects funded by the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

For more than 20 years, Welsh has investigated and facilitated the implementation of evidence-based interventions in communities, tailoring them to rural youth, schools, and families, the U.S. military, and Native Americans.

“Janet’s ability to develop long-term collaborations with communities, tribes, and governments is a model for scientists who strive to do high-quality translational science,” said Mark Greenberg, founding director of the PRC and a longtime colleague.

Welsh is a member of the Penn State-Iowa State team that developed and implemented the rural community-focused PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience). The PROSPER program supports the delivery of evidence-based programs for middle school students and their families. Welsh developed practical strategies for integrating the PROSPER model with the Communities That Care (CTC) model in Pennsylvania. Both have been shown to reduce risky behaviors and promote protective behaviors in adolescents. PROSPER has been implemented and sustained in communities throughout Pennsylvania.

The Society for Prevention Research is an organization dedicated to advancing scientific investigation on the etiology and prevention of social, physical and mental health and academic problems and on the translation of that information to promote health and well-being.

Other Penn State past recipients of the Translational Science Award include Diana Fishbein, senior scientist and director of translational neuroprevention research at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, senior part-time faculty member in the department of human development and family studies, and president of the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives; and Brian Bumbarger, senior distinguished fellow for juvenile justice at ChildTrends, a research organization focused on improving the lives of children and youth.