J. Matthew Webster, PhD

Dr. J. Matthew Webster is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science, faculty member in the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, and a faculty affiliate of the Center for Health Equity Transformation. His research focuses on the health and risk behaviors of individuals who use substances and on developing and evaluating interventions to improve their health. This work focuses primarily on justice-involved individuals, most notably impaired drivers. In addition, he conducts community-engaged, translational research at the state and local level aimed at reducing the impact of substance use. Since 2016, he has served as PI/Co-I on approximately 20 funded studies, including a significant role on two NIDA-funded, multi-site criminal justice cooperative agreements. In the past six years, Dr. Webster has made significant contributions to the department’s education mission. Teaching activities have included serving as course director for Dependency Behavior (BSC 776), Fundamentals of Biostatistics for Clinical and Translational Science (BSC 625), and Methods and Technologies in Clinical and Translational Science (BSC 731). He has also frequently served as a preceptor for Introduction to Clinical Medicine I (MD 811) and Communication in the Dental Health Care Setting (BSC 824). In addition, he has mentored several graduate students and served on seven dissertation committees. His university service activities have included serving as ongoing chairperson of the department pilot grant committee and the department space committee as well as being an active member of the Clinical and Translational Science graduate program admissions and curriculum committees. Key professional service activities have included serving on the Kentucky Governor’s Impaired Driving Task Force, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Mayor’s Substance Use Disorder Advisory Council, the credentials committee of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), and the Rehabilitation Measures Expert Workgroup of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS). In addition, Dr. Webster served on eight federal (NIH and SAMHSA) grant review panels and was an ad hoc reviewer for multiple substance use research journals.