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Robert Turrisi

Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Prevention Research

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Robert Turrisi

Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Prevention Research

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Rob Turrisi has been engaged in research on prevention science topics for more than 35 years. His initial work looked at methods for reducing drunk driving — a subject on which he is passionate and continues to engage both with graduate fellows and his research team. His research also includes externally funded studies on brief parent interventions, substance abuse prevention, and skin cancer prevention.

The contributions of this work have been acknowledged by several organizations and national publications, including the most recent Surgeon General’s Report. Rob has also been the recipient of the Prevention Research Award from the Society for Prevention Research, the Faculty Scholar Medal from Penn State, and the Ralph Hingson Prevention Scientist Researcher of the Year Award. He serves on the Child Endangerment Expert Panel for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Rob is an active mentor and reviewer. All of his doctoral students since his joining the Penn State faculty in 2004 have received NIH F31 training fellowships. Rob has been a standing member or an ad-hoc member of NIH grant review study sections since 1988 and he regularly evaluates articles submitted to scientific journals, including Contemporary Psychology, Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, and thePsychology of Addictive Behaviors, among others. As an active researcher in drunk driving and substance abuse prevention topics, he has been interviewed on NBC Dateline, Good Morning America, and CBS Health Watch, and featured in USA Today.

Rob is also a lifetime member of Trout Unlimited and can be found fly-fishing when not in his lab or office.

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I try to make the world a better place by helping individuals achieve positive goals, whether those be health oriented, family oriented, educational, professional, or helping others.

- Robert Turrisi