Biography
Dr. Sean Grant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. He completed his doctorate in social intervention as a Clarendon Scholar at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, University of Oxford. Prior to joining FSPH, he spent several years as a Social and Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation, Faculty at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Lecturer at Loyola Marymount University. He currently is an Associate Editor for the journals Trials and Systematic Reviews, Associate Methods Editor for Campbell Systematic Reviews, Methodological Transparency Editor for Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, and an Editorial Board member for Prevention Science.
Research Interests
The ultimate goal of Dr. Grant's research is to advance evidence-based practice: i.e., the use of scientific evidence to inform decisions about public health policies and programs. In pursuit of this goal, his scholarship focuses on social and behavioral research methods used to create evidence for public health decision-making. This type of work is known as “meta-research” (or “research on research”), as it seeks to increase the quality of scientific evidence by studying how research is done and how it can be improved. He particularly focuses on where improvements can be made in three areas: open science, research synthesis methods, and stakeholder engagement. His work involves both studying how others have applied these methods, as well as applications of these methods in translational research on specific public health issues (such as substance use and mental health).
Current Projects
Research Use by Local Decision-Makers (William T. Grant Foundation)
The goal of this project is to investigate the use of research evidence in a state-level grant program for youth substance use prevention. Project activities aim to identify which aspects of capability, motivation, and opportunity serve as facilitators and barriers to use of research evidence as intended by the grant program.
Increasing Take-Up of TOP by Social Intervention Research Journals (Arnold Ventures)
The goal of this project is to examine the take-up of the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines by influential journals in core disciplines of social intervention research. Project activities aim to improve the degree to which journal policies, procedures, and practices facilitate transparent and open social intervention research.
Opioid Policy Tools and Information Center (OPTIC): Opioid Policy Components (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
The goal of this project is to develop taxonomies and standardized measures of opioid policy components for researchers and policymakers. Project activities aim to assess the ability to measure policy impact for each of three state opioid policies, based on available scientific evidence and input from expert panels.
Indiana Addictions Law and Policy Surveillance Project (IU Grand Challenges)
The goal of this project is to systematically analyze laws and policies of significance to the Indiana and national response to the opioid epidemic. Project activities aim to offer novel policy insights and new data suitable for evaluating the effects of such laws on Hoosier health.
