SABA Doctoral Dissertation Grant Recipients
2010: Steven Meredith, University of Florida
Steven Meredith began taking classes and conducting research in the field of behavior analysis in 2004 at the University of Florida where he served as an undergraduate research assistant to Jesse Dallery. In Dr. Dallery's behavioral pharmacology lab, Steven worked on both basic and applied projects. He helped conduct experiments examining the effects of nicotine on the behavior of nonhuman subjects, and he investigated contingency management (CM) programs designed to promote abstinence from cigarette smoking. In 2005, he graduated with a BS in Psychology.
After earning his undergraduate degree, Steven continued his work at the University of Florida as a graduate assistant. For his master's thesis, he examined the effects of nicotine on responding maintained by conditioned reinforcers in rats. Although Steven was initially interested in behavioral pharmacology research as a means to understand basic principles of behavior, it was his work on an internet-based CM program developed by Dr. Dallery that inspired him to focus on more applied research questions. Impressed by preliminary findings that showed internet-based CM was effective at promoting smoking cessation, he began working on projects designed to improve the efficacy and acceptability of the behavioral intervention.
Steven's primary research goal is to develop powerful yet practical treatments for smoking. Currently, he is investigating the effects of group contingencies and on-line social support on smoking cessation. Following graduation, Steven hopes to continue research.
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