Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Doctoral Education Renee Cunningham-Williams was awarded the Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health Award in recognition of her achievements and commitment to the St. Louis community in the mental health field.
This prestigious award, co-presented by the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund and the St. Louis American Foundation, was presented on Friday, April 27, at the 18th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Luncheon.
One of the country’s foremost experts on problem gambling, Cunningham-Williams has devoted her career to studying risk behaviors and protective factors associated with emerging adulthood, including addictions. Her research has been disseminated nationally and internationally, appeared in high-impact academic journals, and been recognized with numerous awards and honors.
At the Brown School, Cunningham-Williams infuses innovation into her research and evaluation courses, as well as in her direction of the NIDA-funded Transdisciplinary Training in Addictions Research (TranSTAR) predoctoral and postdoctoral program.
Her newest line of research focused on the university setting as both a particular risk for substance abuse and mental health disorders, as well as an opportunity for prevention and health promotion among college students, particularly students of color.
“As associate dean of doctoral education, I now get to have a front-row seat in capacity-building for future stewards of the discipline, so that they can go on and study these complex problems and situations in our world, and be positive changemakers themselves.”
Learn more about Cunningham-Williams and her accomplishments in this video.