Rate My Professor Kenneth Griffin

Kenneth W. Griffin, PhD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University’s College of Public Health, a position he has held since 2020. He previously served as Professor (with courtesy appointment) in the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Medical College of Cornell University from 2014 to 2019, and held various roles there including Acting Division Chief, Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior from 1997 to 2014. Earlier positions include Senior Research Scientist at National Health Promotion Associates from 2014 to 2019, Visiting Professor at Miguel Hernández University in Spain from 2009 to 2012, Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University from 1995 to 1997, and Research Associate at Stony Brook University from 1994 to 1995. Dr. Griffin earned his PhD in Social and Health Psychology (with a minor in Quantitative Methods) from Stony Brook University in 1995, MPH in Epidemiology from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in 1997, MA in Psychology from Stony Brook University in 1992, and BA in Behavioral Sciences from the University of Chicago in 1986.

Dr. Griffin’s research examines health risk behaviors among children, adolescents, and young adults, focusing on substance use (including prescription drugs and opioids), violence, sexual violence, bullying, and related behaviors. His translational work includes psychosocial etiology research on risk and protective factors like self-regulation skills, development and testing of preventive interventions via randomized controlled trials, implementation using e-learning, virtual reality, educational games, and hybrid models, and dissemination strategies for evidence-based programs domestically and internationally. He has served as Principal Investigator on 12 federal grants totaling over $10 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIDA, NCI, NIAAA, NICHD, NIMH) and the Department of Defense. Major awards include the Mona Mansell Award for outstanding contributions to the prevention of adolescent alcohol and drug abuse (2016), U.S. Distinguished International Scientist Collaboration Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2010), Early Career Award from the Society for Prevention Research (2002), and NIH Loan Repayment Program Award (2002–2007). Dr. Griffin has published over 150 peer-reviewed empirical papers and book chapters, including “Using virtual reality technology to prevent substance misuse and violence among university students: A pilot and feasibility study” (2024, Health Informatics Journal), “Long-term behavioral effects of a school-based prevention program on illicit drug use among young adults” (2023, Journal of Public Health Research), “Effectiveness of a hybrid digital substance abuse prevention approach combining e-learning and in-person class sessions” (2022, Frontiers in Digital Health), “Prevention of unwanted sexual contact among cadets at the United States Air Force Academy: A brief small-group intervention” (2021, American Journal of Public Health), and “Preventing adolescent substance use through an evidence-based program: Effects of the Italian adaptation of Life Skills Training” (2017, Prevention Science).