Biography
Dr. Dvorak is a Professor in the Clinical Psychology program at UCF. He earned his BA in Sociology from Northern State University and his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of South Dakota. He completed his pre-doctoral residency at Brown University Clinical Psychology Consortium. Dr. Dvorak’s research interests include: (1) examining the role of cognitive, affective, and behavioral self-regulation in health-compromising behaviors (primarily substance use, eating pathology, and suicidal thoughts/behaviors), (2) assessing factors associated with health-compromising behaviors in real-time through experience sampling methodology, (3) and developing mobile and web-based interventions to reduce involvement in health compromising behaviors. Please check out his website (robdvorak.net) for more details on his lab, research, and mentoring style.
Publications
Klaver. S.J., Dvorak, R.D., De Leon, A.N., Burr, E.K., Leary, A.V., Hayden, E.R., Peterson, R., Allen, Q., & Gwaltney, C.J. (2023). Support for Incentive-Sensitization Theory in Adolescent Ad Libitum Smokers Using Ecological Momentary Assessment. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Burr, E. K. , Dvorak, R. D., Kramer, M. P., & Ochoa, A. (2023). Emotion Regulation Difficulties are Associated with Loss-of-Control Eating Dependent on Degree of Narcissistic Traits in College Students. Eating Behaviors.
Maynard, M., Paulson, D., Dunn, M., and Dvorak, R. D. (2023). Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Immediate, Delayed, and Working Memory Performance Among Older Adults. Cannabis.
Leary, A.V., Dvorak, R. D., Burr, E. K., Peterson, R., De Leon, A. N., Klaver, S., Maynard, M. H., & Harm Reduction Research Group. (2023). Development and Validation of the Personal Assessment of Responsible Drinking Identity (PARDI). Psychological Assessment.
De Leon, A. N., Woerner, J., Dvorak, R. D., Cox, J., Magri, T. D., Hayden, E., Ahuja, M., Haeny, A. (2023) An examination of discrimination on stress, depression, and oppression-based trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial awakening of 2020. Chronic Stress.
Active Funding
R01 MH134051-01 (National Institute of Minority Health & Health Disparities)08/03/2023 – 08/02/2028Project Title: A Strengths-Based, Intersectional Approach to Suicide Prevention Among Black Sexual and Gender Minority YouthRole: Co-Investigator (MPIs: Schrimshaw & Taliaferro); Direct costs: $3,764,549 Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research07/01/2022 – 12/31/2023Project Title: Event-Level Changes in Psychiatric and Physical Symptoms Following Medicinal Cannabis Use in Older AdultsThis project uses mobile technology to examine day-level changes in physical and psychiatric symptoms following medicinal cannabis use.Role: PI; Total Funding: $75,000 1 R15 AA026420-01A1 (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)09/05/2020 – 09/04/2024Project Title: An Adaptive Mobile Intervention to Increase Safe Drinking Strategies Using Deviance Regulation Theory.This project uses mobile technology to increase the use of safe drinking strategies.Role: Principal Investigator; Total Funding: $410,4021 R15 AA028909-01 (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)07/01/2020 – 06/30/2023Project Title: Immediate and Long-term Efficacy of the Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum on Reducing Adverse Alcohol Outcomes.This project tests expectancy challenge program using mobile technology, to reduce consumption rates and problems in college student drinkers.Role: Co-Investigator; Total Funding: $401,572 1 R01 MD015896-01 (National Institute of Minority Health & Health Disparities)09/23/2020 – 09/22/2025Project Title: Social connections preventing suicide ideation during developmental transitions among young sexual minority women.This project examines how life transition points among LGBTQ female youth are linked to suicidal thoughts/behaviors.Role: Co-Investigator (MPIs: Schrimshaw & Taliaferro); Total Funding: $2,479,820 NIH LRP-CR (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)08/01/20 – 08/31/22Project Title: An Adaptive Mobile Intervention to Increase Safe Drinking StrategiesThis is a NIH Loan Repayment Program for Clinical Research funded through NIAAA. It covers the repayment of student loans while I conduct research on safe drinking strategies for a two-year period. Role: Principal Investigator; Total Funding: $29,129 1R01MH132786 (National Institute of Mental Health)(03/2023-12/2027)Project Title: Dynamic Neural Computations Underlying Cognitive Control in Bulimia Nervosa. This project uses EMA to examine mechanisms of cognitive control and the interaction of these mechanisms with momentary affect to predict indices of eating pathology in a clinical sample with Bulimia Nervosa.Role: Consultant. (PI: Berner, L.) John Templeton Foundation08/16/2023 – 09/15/2025Project Title: The Nature, Expressions, and Functions of Divine Forgiveness in Theistic Relational SpiritualityThis project uses mobile technology to examine day-level associations between perceptions of divine forgiveness and well-being.Role: Consultant (PI: Currier, J.) R01 AA030065 (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)05/01/2023 – 02/29/2028Cyclical Deficits in Emotion Regulation as a risk factor for alcohol misuse in premenopausal females This study investigates objective and subjective emotion regulation as a mediator of alcohol misuse across the menstrual cycle in premenopausal females.Role: Consultant (PI: Pang, R.)
