
Inspires a love for learning in everyone.
Encourages students to think outside the box.
Alex Dopp is an assistant professor of psychological science at the University of Arkansas in the Department of Psychological Science, J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in child clinical psychology and M.A. in psychology from the University of Missouri, and his B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan. As a child clinical psychologist, Dopp has served as thesis director for multiple graduate students, including those researching cost-benefit analysis of enhanced mentoring for delinquency prevention, community- versus school-based mentoring, statewide implementation of child-adult relationship enhancement, and juvenile justice system involvement in early adulthood. He has been actively involved in university events, such as organizing LGBTQA monthly happy hours for faculty, staff, and administrators.
Dopp's academic interests center on implementation science and the economic evaluation of behavioral health services to improve youth mental health and substance use treatments. His research examines the use of research evidence in social services, particularly for rural and vulnerable youth, through human-centered design strategies, telehealth, and partnerships with juvenile justice, child welfare, Children's Advocacy Centers, primary care, and schools. In December 2018, he was named one of 10 finalists for the prestigious William T. Grant Foundation Scholars Award, which supports early-career researchers with $350,000 over five years for innovative research in social and behavioral sciences. Key publications include 'A glossary of user-centered design strategies for implementation experts' (Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2019), 'Economic evaluation in implementation science: making the business case for implementation strategies' (Psychiatry Research, 2020), 'Aligning implementation and user-centered design strategies to enhance the impact of health services: results from a concept mapping study' (Implementation Science Communications, 2020), 'Mixed-method approaches to strengthen economic evaluations in implementation research' (Implementation Science, 2019), and 'The role of peer relationships in parental bereavement during childhood and adolescence' (Death Studies, 2012). These works have advanced the integration of user-centered design and economic analysis in implementation efforts, influencing youth service systems.