People
James Murphy, Ph.D., Director
Dr. James Murphy has published over 120 papers and chapters related to college student drinking, addiction, brief motivational interventions, and behavioral economics. After graduating from Seton Hall University with his bachelor's degree, he completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Auburn University in 2003 and a clinical internship and NIAAA-sponsored postdoctoral research fellowship at Brown University.
Dr. Murphy's research has been funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Alcohol Research Foundation (ABMRF).
Ashley Dennhardt, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
Education and Training
Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Psychology, 2013
University of Memphis, TN
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology & Spanish, 2006
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Ashley Dennhardt received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa
in 2006 and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Memphis in 2013.
Prior to graduation, Ashley completed her clinical internship at the Memphis VA Medical
Center and conducted a randomized controlled trial as part of her dissertation titled
The Role of Affective and Behavioral Economic Factors in Predicting Response to A
Brief Intervention for Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use in College Students. She continues
to work with Dr. Murphy in the HABIT lab as a Research Assistant Professor and is
the project director of project BETA. She also teaches several online courses at the
University of Memphis. Her research interests include addictive behaviors, brief interventions
and behavioral economic and affective factors that contribute to poor response to
substance use interventions.
Kathryn Soltis, M.S., Doctoral Student
Education and Training
Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Psychology, 2015-present
University of Memphis, TN
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, 2012
College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
Biographical Sketch
Kathryn received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the College of
Charleston in 2012. She worked as a post-baccalaureate research assistant at the Medical
University of South Carolina from 2012 to 2015 and subsequently enrolled in the Clinical
Psychology doctoral program at the University of Memphis. Kathryn worked in the HABIT
lab as a research assistant and clinician on two of Dr. Murphy's brief intervention
trials to reduce heavy alcohol and cannabis use in college student young adults. Her
research interests include utilizing behavioral economic principles to better understand
the relation between negative affect and substance misuse in young adults, as well
as the development and utilization of technology, in order to improve brief interventions
for this population. As such, Kathryn's master's thesis focused on elucidating behavioral
economic mechanisms that may play a role in the relation between negative affect and
alcohol-related problems in young adults. Kathryn is currently in her 5th year and
working on her NIH (F31) funded dissertation project evaluating the feasibility and
preliminary efficacy of a text-message delivered brief intervention for reducing alcohol
misuse in young adults.
Andrew Voss, B.A., Doctoral Student
Education and Training
Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Psychology, 2016 – present
University of Memphis
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2015
Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH
Biographical Sketch
Andrew graduated from Cedarville University in December 2015 with a B.A. in Psychology.
Andrew is in his fourth year in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program and is currently
working to further develop his research interests and clinical skills in the area
of health and addiction. His current interests involve examining how principles of
motivational interviewing and behavioral economics can be used to decrease substance
misuse and increase long term goal commitment and future orientation. His other interests
include enhancing existing brief interventions by adding novel components, evaluating
the impact of social environment on substance use severity and response to treatment,
and examining co-use of multiple substances and associated potential functional impairment
Samuel Acuff, B.S., Doctoral Student
Education and Training
Master of Science, General Psychology, 2015 – present
University of Memphis
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, 2015
Harding University, Searcy, AR
Biographical Sketch
Samuel obtained his B.S. in Psychology from Harding University in 2015, and his M.S.
in General Psychology from the University of Memphis in 2017. He is currently in his
third year of the Clinical program at the University of Memphis. Samuel is working
in the HABIT lab to gain expertise in the areas of behavioral economics and addictive
behaviors. He hopes to contribute to better quantifications of the context in which
addictive behaviors occur. His research interests include: 1) understanding the emotional,
behavioral, and environmental antecedents to addictive behaviors; 2) developing a
more robust explanatory framework of comorbidity between addictive behaviors and other
forms of psychopathology; and 3) translating known malleable risk factors for both
substance use and comorbidity into effective and feasible interventions.
Kevin Campbell, M.A., Doctoral Student
Education and Training
Doctor of Philosophy, Clinical Psychology, 2018-present
University of Memphis, TN
Master of Arts, Psychology, 2017
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, 2012
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Biographical Sketch
Kevin received his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from UCLA in 2012 and
his Master's degree from San Diego State University in 2017. He is currently a second-year
student in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program in the Clinical Health research
area and a research assistant in the HABIT lab. His research interests include advanced
quantitative methods and how those methods can be used to identify and understand
trajectories of substance misuse in young adults.
Jay Withers, B.S., Doctoral Student
Education and Training
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2014
University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
Biographical Sketch
Jay received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Arkansas
at Little Rock in 2014. He is currently interested in using behavioral economics to
examine choice behavior in addiction and substance use in college students, Veterans
and African American emerging adults. More specifically, he's interested in the relationship
between psychosocial adversities (e.g. microaggressions, adverse childhood experiences),
post-traumatic stress disorder and negative alcohol related consequences and the implementation
of digital health interventions to improve population outcomes.
Ulysses Savage, B.S., B.A., Doctoral Student
Education and Training
Bachelor of Science, Physiology and Neuroscience, 2014
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2014
University of California – San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Biographical Sketch
Ulysses Savage graduated from the University of California –San Diego in December
2014 with a B.S. in Physiology and Neuroscience as well as a B.A. in Psychology. Ulysses
is a third year in in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program with interests in trauma
and addiction. His current interest includes looking at behavior economic variables
that moderate the effects of intentions (e.g., readiness to change) on changes in
drinking (e.g., consequences associated with alcohol consumption