Alicia Sparks

Dr. Sparks has more than 10 years of experience at the nexus of policy and behavioral health research—including designing, implementing, and evaluating studies, programs, and policies—with a particular focus on systems-level change to prevent alcohol misuse and related harms. She has led the development of numerous publications intended for broad public dissemination. These include comprehensive guides on various substance use and mental health topics for community coalitions; the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health; and many peer-reviewed manuscripts with accompanying infographics to translate the research into practice. Dr. Sparks has experience conducting focus groups and in-depth interviews relevant to policy and behavioral health, engaging technical experts, leading rigorous literature and evidence reviews, and managing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method data collection and analysis. She received her Ph.D. in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.