LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. – Two Lincoln University students have spent the last nine months training in clinical research on addiction and program evaluation, and today they presented their findings during a virtual poster presentation.
“I decided to pursue this internship because I desired more research experience, as I plan to pursue my Ph.D. in counseling psychology in the fall of 2021,” said Lawrion Anderson, a senior from New Orleans, Louisiana, who is studying psychology and religion.
Lawrion Anderson, senior studying psychology and religion from New Orleans, Louisiana | Courtesy photo.
Anderson and fellow student research intern Kaymoni Kent, senior from Philadelphia who is studying psychology, presented the findings with members of the research team at a forum today. Their poster presentations are the culmination of the four-year research project funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Dr. Kevin Favor, professor of psychology, is Lincoln’s principal investigator, and Denise Gaither-Hardy, assistant professor of psychology, is Lincoln’s co-principal investigator.
Kaymoni Kent, senior studying psychology from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Courtesy photo.
Kent said, “I decided to pursue this internship my junior year because I knew it was time to start getting the first-hand experience within the behavioral health field to further my education.”
“I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I saw substance abuse firsthand so I had some understanding of it. However, the internship provided me with more education and a different outlook on it.”
The Public Health Management Corporation, the lead institution guiding the research, collaborated with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and Lincoln University and were awarded funding by the PA Department of Health for the project titled “Enhancing Office-based Buprenorphine Treatment: An Adaptive Psychosocial Approach.”
Favor said the relationship with Public Health Management Corporation grew out of a previous four-year PA Department of Health-funded collaborative contract among Lincoln University, the Treatment Research Institute, PHMC, the University of Pennsylvania, and Drexel University.
“Throughout the four years, eight Lincoln undergraduate students were selected for research training relative to implementing, researching, and evaluating the utility of several models of screening for a referral to substance abuse services within community health centers,” said Favor.
In addition to the research endeavor, the Public Health Management Corporation and Lincoln University established the new Undergraduate Clinical Research Training Program. Throughout this four-year, and with a $202,000 grant award, eight Lincoln University students will be selected for this training program. Two interns will be selected during each of the four years. Anderson and Kent are the first cohort of Lincoln students to participate in this clinical research program.
Anderson said she was “honored to be able to work with PHMC and make life long connections.”
“One thing I learned about substance use during this internship is that there are many programs in minority neighborhoods that are designed to reduce or stop substance abuse, and the knowledge of the opportunities are on the rise.”
Kent said after graduation, she plans to obtain a doctorate and open a practice in Philadelphia.
“I want to open community centers within black neighborhoods to help combat the mental illness stigma, drug abuse, and promote empowerment within the black community,” said Kent.
