Rate My Professor Michael Todd

Michael Todd serves as Research Professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus. He holds a BS with Honors in Psychology from Texas A&M University (1991), MA in Psychology from ASU (1994), and PhD in Psychology from ASU (2001), with his dissertation on stress and smoking influences including daily events, nicotine dependence, and gender. His professional trajectory includes a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Alcohol Research Center (2001-2003), Associate Research Scientist at the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley (2003-2012), and progression at ASU from Associate Research Professor (2012) to Research Professor (2018). In these capacities, Todd devises quantitative data analysis strategies for research studies, interprets findings for publications and presentations, consults on designs, and mentors students.

Specializing in health psychology, physical activity, quantitative psychology, statistics, and substance abuse, Todd collaborates as a statistician on externally funded projects exploring health behaviors like physical activity, nutrition, and sleep, alongside mechanisms connecting physical and psychological well-being. Notable publications include the highly cited “A longitudinal study of children of alcoholics: predicting young adult substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression” (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1999; 670 citations), “Factors related to the high rates of food insecurity among diverse, urban college freshmen” (Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2016; 399 citations), “Maternal socialization of adolescent smoking: the intergenerational transmission of parenting and smoking” (Developmental Psychology, 1998; 330 citations), and others on violence in police families, parenting and adolescent sexual behavior, and daily coping reports. Awards encompass the Citation Paper Award from the Society for Behavioral Medicine (2015) and various academic scholarships. Todd contributes to university governance as a University Senate member since 2020 and former chair of the Research and Creative Activities Committee (2022-23).