J. Randy Koch, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor
800 W Franklin, rm 110
jrkoch@vcu.edu
(804) 828-8633
Research Associate Professor
Ph.D. (1985), Michigan State University
Research Interests
My research and professional interests span three broad areas. First, my research over the past decade has focused on the prevention of tobacco use, with a particular focus on youth and on persons with psychiatric disorders. Most recently this work has focused on adapting an evidence-based substance abuse prevention program for families of youth with psychiatric disorders. Second, I am interested in developing and testing systems for improving the quality of substance abuse services. For the past several years I have been working with the South African Medical Research Council to implement and test a system of performance measures for that country’s treatment services. Finally, I am interested in training professionals from low and middle income countries to improve the delivery of healthcare services in their home countries.
Select Publications
Kader, R., Govender, R., Seedat, S., Koch, J. R., & Parry, C. D. (2015). Understanding the impact of hazardous and harmful use of alcohol and/or other drugs on ARV adherence and disease progression. PLoS ONE, 10, e0125088. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125088
Koch, J. R., & Breland, A. B. (2015). Behavioral healthcare staff attitudes and practices regarding consumer tobacco cessation services. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s11414-015-9477-4
Myers, B., Govender, R., Koch, J. R., Manderscheid, R., Johnson, K., & Parry, C. D. (2015). Development and psychometric validation of a novel patient survey to assess perceived quality of substance abuse treatment in South Africa. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 10, 44. doi: 10.1186/s13011-015-0040-3
Breland, A. B., Nasim, A., Irons, J. G., & Koch, J. R. (2013). Tobacco use among African-American adolescents receiving behavioral health services. Journal of Behavioral Health and Services Research, 40, 88-96.
Koch, J. R., Breland, A. B., Shawver, M. N., & Cropsey, K. (2011). Assessing the utility of consumer surveys for improving the quality of behavioral healthcare services. Journal of Behavioral Health Services Research, 38, 234.
Recent Grants
Virginia Youth Tobacco Project Research Coalition Core. Co-Principal Investigator. July 2015 –June 2017. Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. Award #8521069, $435,000.
Integrating Tobacco Prevention Strategies into Behavioral Parent Training for Adolescents with ADHD. Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator, Corona). July 2015 – June 2018. Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. Award #8521067. $401,122.
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program in Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Policy. Institute of International Education. Principal Investigator. July 2016 – June 2021. 3067-VCU-SECAGD-15-CA-1017-7.1.115. $205,000/year.
Center for the Study of Tobacco Products. Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator, Eissenberg). September 2013 – August 2018. Food and Drug Administration. 1P50DA036105. $18.1 million.
Awards
- 2016 National Institute on Drug Abuse International Program Awards for Excellence in Mentoring