Author: Diana Ling

HBRT Director Mary M. Velasquez has been named the inaugural Lori Holleran Steiker Endowed Faculty Chair in Substance Use and Recovery by The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. The $3.5 million gift from Revolution Recovery (formerly known as Austin Recovery) provides permanent support for excellence in research, teaching and programming in…

The HBRT team published “Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Risky Alcohol and Other Substance Use: Best Practices for the Prevention and Treatment of Substance-Exposed Pregnancy in Girls and Women of Reproductive Age,” in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Fall 2025 Practice Perspectives newsletter. The article adapts a recent literature…

The Health Behavior Research and Training Institute team and partners from NASW and NASW Foundation participated in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Impact Week in Washington, D.C. HBRT presented, “Strengthening Social Work Education to Prevent Substance-Exposed Pregnancy,” at the Impact Week poster reception and also took part in the FASD National Partner Network meeting for…

The Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) team presented at two sessions of the 2025 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) International Research Conference in Seattle. HBRT Co-Directors Drs. Mary Velasquez and Kirk von Sternberg presented “Preventing Substance Exposed Pregnancies (SEPs): Results of Two Randomized Clinical Trials,” which showcased findings from HBRT’s CHOICES Plus studies. Anna…

HBRT’s Dr. Mary Velasquez, Dr. Kirk von Sternberg, Anna Mangum and Diana Ling attended the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Partners Meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, where they presented their work with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) on the CDC grant, “Engaging Social Workers in Preventing Alcohol-…