ADOPT Study Team

Aaron L. Begley, BPH, is the Assistant Research Coordinator for the ADOPT study. He has several years of experience working at the University of Kentucky within the Substance Use Priority Research Area, including the HEALing Communities Study. He received his BPH from the UK College of Public Health and his research interests include Health Disparities in Kentucky, Social/Behavioral Theories pertaining to behavior change, and substance use/Opioid Prescribing practices.

Mr. Begley is the primary contact for managing supply inventory and assists with invoicing, reporting, and site coordination.    

Jennifer M. Dolly Prothro, MPH, CCRP is the Project Manager for the ADOPT study and has over 10 years of experience working in research at the University of Kentucky (UK).  She received her MPH from the UK College of Public Health, with a focus on Health, Behavior & Society.  Her research interests include clinical research in substance use disorders, behavioral methodology, and implementation science. 

Ms. Dolly Prothro works closely with the project team to guide research activities conducted at the dental clinic sites, and manages research coordination, regulatory oversight, and network operations.

Enif A. Dominguez, DDS, graduated from dental school at the Central University of Venezuela (Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas-Venezuela). After nine years as a chief surgical assistant in a nationally well-recognized oral and maxillofacial surgery center (Caracas-Venezuela), she received her oral and maxillofacial surgery training at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Dominguez-Fernandez has given presentations both nationally and internationally. She has published journal articles and textbook chapters about distraction osteogenesis and zygomatic implants. Her clinical interests include dental implants, zygomatic implants, distraction osteogenesis, orthognathic surgery, oral and maxillofacial reconstruction, and sleep apnea surgery. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Dentistry at the University of Kentucky’s College of Dentistry. 

Dr. Dominguez collaborates with MPI Rojas-Ramirez to ensure harmonization of study procedures across sites and aid in recruitment of dentists and oral surgeons.

Patricia (Trish) Freeman, PhD is the Earl Platt Slone Endowed Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science and University Research Professor at the University of Kentucky’s College of Pharmacy. She has substantial experience leading and coordinating pharmacist-initiated prevention and opioid-related harm reduction efforts, including academic detailing to reduce opioid prescribing. Dr. Freeman has authored more than 100 publications.

 Dr. Freeman oversees the study’s academic detailing initiatives and aids in evaluation and dissemination.  

Hannah K. Knudsen, PhD, is a Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine. Her area of specialization is addiction health services research and implementation science. Much of her work has focused on the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs), and she has published more than 130 peer-reviewed publications. 

Dr. Knudsen oversees implementation-related design and analysis, specifically examining key implementation outcomes of the intervention. She also ensures scientific and ethical standards are met and aids in evaluation and dissemination.

Maggie Lang, MMC, MS, is a Biomedical Data Scientist within the Biostatistics Consulting and Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration Lab (Biostat CIRCL) at the University of Kentucky’s Department of Biostatistics. She leverages her extensive experience working with large-scale biomedical data to collaborate with researchers across various disciplines. 

 Ms. Lang serves as a Staff Statistician, working closely with Dr. Westgate on all required statistical analyses.

Brennan Lundie, BA, is a research coordinator of five years. He obtained his degree in psychology from Transylvania University and since has been integrally involved with the inception of two clinical research sites local to the area. Additionally, he was part of team at UK that enrolled the highest number of participants globally for J&J’s initial Covid-19 vaccine trial during the pandemic in 2020. His areas of academic interest and research include behavioral pharmacology, abnormal psychology, and cognitive neuroscience.  

Brennan works closely with the study and project teams to collect survey information, report study metrics, and maintain regulatory compliance. 

Craig S. Miller, DMD, MS, is the Alvin L. Morris Professor of Oral Health Research and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development at the University of Kentucky’s College of Dentistry. He is board certified in Oral Medicine, with 35 years of experience in the diagnosis and management of complex oral health issues and medically compromised patients. Dr. Miller has authored more than 200 publications, co-authored four internationally recognized textbooks, and has maintained funding from the National Institutes of Health for more than 30 years. 

Dr. Miller facilitates recruitment of dentists and oral surgeons, assists in ensuring protocol adherence, manages communication with clinical site providers, and aids in evaluation and dissemination of the findings.

Monica F. Roberts, PharmD, is an academic detailing pharmacist with experience providing education to physicians, pharmacists, and dentists. She developed and delivered the prescription opioid safety educational outreach program for the University of Kentucky’s HEALing Communities Study. Dr. Roberts graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in 2017 and completed the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Community Pharmacy Residency Program with the Kroger Louisville Division in 2018. She has over 6 years’ experience working in various roles in community pharmacies. Prior to her pharmacy career, she worked in journalism and publishing as a copy editor, page designer, and technical writer.

Laura K. Stinson, PharmD, is an academic detailing pharmacist in the Substance Use Priority Research Area at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Stinson graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in 2002 and completed the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Community Pharmacy Residency Program with Kroger in 2003. Her professional experience includes nearly 15 years of community pharmacy practice and experience in various areas of continuing medical education. Dr. Stinson began work as an academic detailing pharmacist as part of the HEALing Communities Study Kentucky where she provided educational outreach to pharmacists and prescribers to improve prescription opioid safety. Most recently, Dr. Stinson provided educational outreach to pharmacists in Appalachian Kentucky communities as part of the Pharmacist to Pharmacist Buprenorphine Resource Initiative for Dispensing Guidance and Education (P2P BRIDGE).

Sharon Walsh, Ph.D. is a Professor of Behavioral Science, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky and serves as Director of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research and the Substance Use Disorder Priority Research Area.   Her clinical research focuses on pharmacological and behavioral issues in opioid use disorder, including studies on the efficacy of pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder, abuse liability of psychoactive drugs and the pharmacology of widely used opioid analgesics. She has published more than 170 manuscripts and book chapters.  She is presently the Principal Investigator of the HEALing Communities Study, which is a large-scale implementation science project aimed at reducing opioid overdose deaths.

 Dr. Walsh provides scientific guidance and administrative support to this trial to ensure its integrity, successful implementation and compliance within the relevant regulatory frameworks.  She also ensures that ethical standards are met regarding clinical research and clinical trial conduct and assists in disseminating the outcomes.

Philip Westgate, PhD, is a Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Biostatistics in the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health.  His methodological areas of interest include cluster, group, or community randomized trials, longitudinal studies, and clustered data in general. Furthermore, he has applied interests in a variety of areas, including the substance use area. 

Dr. Westgate serves as the statistical lead and oversees statistical planning/design, measurement of variables, and development of study-specific data entry user guides. Dr. Westgate also oversees monthly data quality and completeness reporting as well as analysis of all outcomes.