Michael Russell, Ph.D.
Biography
Summary Statement
My research program blends longitudinal observational and randomized intervention designs to study risk and protection for alcohol and substance use consequences and disorders in young adults’ natural settings. I have led and collaborated on numerous projects spanning observational and randomized controlled designs with intensive longitudinal data including wearable sensors (e.g., transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) sensors) and ecological momentary assessments (EMA). My work integrates these interests with advances in statistical modeling of growth, change, and within-person variability in both frequentist and Bayesian multilevel and structural equation modeling (SEM) frameworks. I take a social ecological approach to understanding the causes and consequences of substance misuse and substance use disorders in young adults and work toward the identification of malleable psychosocial mechanisms of change.
Professional Experience
Michael Russell's research is focused on understanding the connections between stress, affect, and health behaviors in the day-to-day lives of adolescents and young adults, using advanced statistical modeling (multilevel and time-varying effect modeling) and ambulatory assessment methods (daily diaries, ecological momentary assessments (EMA), and wearable biosensors).
Grants and Research Projects
Michael Russell's research is focused on understanding the connections between stress, affect, and health behaviors in the day-to-day lives of adolescents and young adults, using advanced statistical modeling (multilevel and time-varying effect modeling) and ambulatory assessment methods (daily diaries, ecological momentary assessments (EMA), and wearable biosensors).
Principal Investigator (Funder: NIAAA R01 AA031466)
A prospective examination of TAC features as predictors of consequences and alcohol use disorders
Award: $2,854,332
Funding period: 09/20/2024 – 08/31/2029
Subcontract Principal Investigator (Funder: NIAAA R21 AA031528)
PI: Richards, Veronica (The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences)
Examining alcohol-induced blackouts in young adults using alcohol sensors.
Award: $258,073
Funding period: 09/25/2024 – 08/31/2026
Co-Investigator (Funder: NIAAA R01 AA030262)
PI: Turrisi, Rob
A randomized clinical trial: Examining a brief parent-intervention to reduce college student drinking and cannabis use.
Award: $2,827,595
Funding period: 09/15/2022 – 08/31/2027
Research Interests
Interests
- ambulatory assessment
- intensive longitudinal data analysis
- alcohol abuse, misuse, and dependence
- dynamics of stress, emotion, and substance use in everyday life
Representative Publications
Russell, M. A., Richards, V. L., Turrisi, R. J., Exten, C. L., Pesigan, I. J., & Rodriguez, G. C. (2025). Profiles of alcohol intoxication and their associated risks in young adults’ natural settings: A multilevel latent profile analysis applied to daily transdermal alcohol concentration data. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 39, 173-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001022.
Richards, V. L., Turrisi, R. J., Glenn, S. D., Mallett, K. A., & Russell, M. A. (2025). Profiles of transdermal alcohol concentration and their prediction of negative and positive alcohol-related consequences in young adults’ natural settings. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 39, 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001054
Richards, V. L., Turrisi, R. J., & Russell, M. A. (2024). Subjective intoxication predicts alcohol-related consequences at equivalent alcohol concentrations in young adults using ecological momentary assessment and alcohol sensors. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 38, 334-346. doi: 10.1037/adb0000993. PMCID: PMC11065600.
Rodriguez, G. C., Courtney, J. B., Felt, J. M., & Russell, M. A. (2025). Drinking intention-behavior links vary by affect among heavy-drinking young adults: An ecological momentary assessment and transdermal sensor study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 39(2), 186–199. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0001060.
Richards, V. L., **Glenn, S. D., Turrisi, R. J., Mallett, K. A., Ackerman, S., & Russell, M. A. (2024). Transdermal alcohol concentration features predict alcohol-induced blackouts in college students. Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, 48, 880-888. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.15290.
Russell, M. A., Smyth, J. M., Turrisi, R. J., & **Rodriguez, G. C. (2024). Baseline protective behavioral strategy use predicts more moderate transdermal alcohol concentration dynamics and fewer negative consequences of drinking in young adults' natural settings. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 38, 347-359. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000941
Russell, M. A., Turrisi, R., & Smyth, J. M. (2022). Transdermal sensor features correlate with ecological momentary assessment drinking reports and predict alcohol-related consequences in young adults’ natural settings. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 46, 100-113. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14739. PMCID: PMC8830764.
Russell, M. A., Coatsworth, J. D., Brown, A., Zaharakis, N., Mennis, J., **Cruz, G., & Mason, M. J. (2022). Peer Network Counseling intervention on substance use: Testing baseline use as a moderator across three randomized trials using individual participant data meta-analysis. Prevention Science, 24, 1510-1522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01468-z.
Russell, M. A., Linden-Carmichael, A. N., Lanza, S. T., Fair, E. F., Sher, K. & Piasecki, T. (2020). Affect relative to day-level drinking initiation: Analyzing ecological momentary assessment data with multilevel spline modeling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 34, 434-446. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000550
Russell, M. A., Schlomer, G. L., Cleveland, H. H., Feinberg, M., Greenberg, M., Spoth, R., Redmond, C., & Vandenbergh, D. J. (2018). PROSPER intervention effects on adolescents’ alcohol misuse vary by GABRA2 genotype and age. Prevention Science, 19, 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0751-y
Russell, M. A., Almeida, D. M., & Maggs, J. L. (2017). Stressor-related drinking and future alcohol problems among university students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 31, 676-687. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000303
Education
- Ph.D., Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, 2014