Dr. Michele Staton is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science, and a Faculty Associate of the UK Center on Drug and Alcohol Research. Dr. Staton’s research focuses primarily on justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders in rural communities, with a specific focus on high-risk related health consequences including HIV and HCV. She currently serves as the PI on a number of NIH funded projects including the NIH/NIDA funded Kentucky hub of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN). As the only JCOIN project focused on women, the study aims to increase utilization of medication to treat opioid use disorder among women during the transition from jail to the community. Other projects focus on adapting and feasibility testing an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention for a Facebook platform for rural women re-entering the community from jail, as well as a study focused on increasing utilization and retention of treatment using extended-release naltrexone (Vivitrol®) with rural offenders transitioning from jail to community supervision.  As a social worker, Dr. Staton also works closely with a number of state treatment agencies to conduct evaluations for federally funded projects through agencies including SAMHSA and ACF. She received two new federally funded evaluations, and is the PI for six on-going evaluation projects. She also serves as the PI for a state contract with the Kentucky Department of Corrections to evaluate corrections-based substance abuse programs across the state. Dr. Staton has published in the area of women offenders, substance use disorder treatment, and availability and access to rural treatment.  She serves as a mentor for a number of doctoral students and teaches a course on interdisciplinary protocol development in the Department. She also serves on the University IRB as both a scientific member and a prisoner representative, a NIH ad-hoc grant reviewer, an appointed editorial board member of the Journal on Rural Mental Health, a review board member for the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, and recently stepped down as the Chair of the College on Problems in Drug Dependence Human Subjects Protections sub-committee. She also serves on the Research Advisory Group for the Center for Excellence in Rural Health.