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Amy Adkins, Ph.D.

adkins

Teaching Assistant Professor
8 N Harrison St, rm 202
adkinsae@vcu.edu
(804) 828-4344

Teaching Assistant Professor
Director of Undergraduate Research, College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute

Ph.D. (2012), Virginia Commonwealth University

Websites

Research Interests

My primary research interests focus on understanding genetic and environmental risk factors underlying risky alcohol use and related problems. More globally, I am interested in the etiology of college behavioral and emotional health outcomes. Through my work with the College Behavioral and Emotional Health Institute, I seek to integrate research findings into prevention/intervention programming and university policy. I also love teaching and enjoy working with a team of undergraduate researchers each semester.

Select Publications

Adkins, A., Hack, L. M., Bigdeli, T. B., Williamson, V. S., Mamdani, M., Edwards, A., Aliev, F., Chan, R. F., Bhandari, P., Raabe, R., Alaimo, J. T., Blackwell, G. G., Moscati, A. A., Patterson, D. G., Walsh, D., Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism Consortium, Whitfield, J. B., Zhu, G., Montgomery, G. W., Henders, A. K., Martin, N. G., Heath, A. C., Madden, P. A. F., Frank, J., Ridinger, M., Wodarz, N., Soyka, M.,  Zill, P., Ising, M., Nöthen, M. M., Kiefer, F., Rietschel, M., The German Study of the Genetics of Addiction Consortium, Gelernter, J., Sherva, R., Koesterer, R., Almasy, L., Zhao, H., Kranzler, H. R., Farrer, L. A.,  Maher, B. S., Prescott, C. A.,  Dick, D. M., Bacanu, S. A., Mathies, L. D.,  Davies, A. G., Vladimirov, V. I., Grotewiel, M., Bettinger, J. C., Webb, B. T., Miles, M. F., Kendler, K. S., & Riley, B. P.  (2017). Genomewide association study of alcohol dependence in a homogeneous Irish sample identifies risk loci supported by model organism studies and convergent functional evidence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 41, 911-928. doi: 10.1111/acer.13362
Moore, A., Overstreet, C., Kendler, K. S., Dick, D. M., Amstadter, A., & Adkins, A. (2017). Potentially traumatic events, personality and risky sexual behavior in undergraduate college students. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. 9, 105-112. doi: 10.1037/tra0000168
Webb, B. T., Edwards, A. C., Wolen, A. R., Salvatore, J. E., Aliev, F., Riley, B. P., Sun, C., Williamson, V. S., Kitchens, J. N., Pederson, K., Adkins, A., Cooke, M. E., Savage, J. E., Neale, Z., Cho, S. B., Dick, D. M., & Kendler, K. S. (2017). Genetic influences on normative and problematic alcohol use in a population-based sample of college students. Frontiers Genetics, 8, 30. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00030
Dick, D. M., Adkins, A., & Kuo, S. (2016). Genetic influences on adolescent behavior. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 198-205. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.07.007
Kendler, K. S., Edwards, A., Myers, J., Cho, S. B., Adkins, A., & Dick, D. (2015). The predictive power of family history measures of alcohol and drug problems and internalizing disorders in a college population. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 168, 337-346. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32320

Recent Courses

  • The Science of Happiness, undergraduate level
  • Spit for Science: Conducting and Understanding Research, undergraduate level
  • Genes, Environment, & Human Behavior, undergraduate level

Recent Grants

Understanding Connections Between Behavioral and Emotional Health, Co-Curricular Engagement and Student Success

Role: Principal Investigator
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University Quest Innovation Programmatic Fund
Period: 6/2016 – 5/2017

Preventing Underage and Risky Drinking Among College Students

Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Dick)
Source: Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
Period: 6/2015 – 6/2016

Awards