Courtney Whetzel manages the Penn State SELF (Student Engagement, Learning, and Flourishing) Study, overseeing project setup, recruitment, enrollment and data collection. The goal of this project is to provide critical insights into the biobehavioral underpinnings of substance abuse and behavior among college students, and to inform the development and delivery of university-wide resources to enhance student well-being.

Dr. Whetzel holds a Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State where her research interests included investigating the biological underpinnings of stress and understanding the delicate balance of catabolic and anabolic hormones and their relation to everyday interactions. She has been working in the research field for more than 20 years. Before she joined the PRC, she served for nearly six years as an Institutional Review Board analyst.