Pictured above from left to right: Dr. Matthew Sutherland, Benjelene Sutherland, Odette Manresa, Julie Cristello, Brigitte Madan, Jessica Flannery, Nasreen Hidmi, and Dr. Elisa Trucco.
On March 29th, 2019, the ACE Project team was invited to provide a presentation to Florida International University’s Research Center in Minority Institutions as part of the FIU-RCMI’s Research in Progress Seminar Series. The event consisted of an overview of the project, from the steps leading to the initial launch of the study to the preliminary findings. More than 30 attendees listened as Dr. Elisa Trucco presented on the background and aims of the project and Dr. Matthew Sutherland explained the neuroimaging procedures conducted at the Center for Imaging Science. Nasreen Hidmi, program coordinator and Brigitte Madan, senior research assistant provided more details on the initial launch and community engagement while graduate students, Jessica Flannery and Julie Cristello presented on a few preliminary findings.
The ACE Project seeks to find out how certain factors, such as parenting, peers, environment and personality influence teens’ decisions to engage in substance use during the high school years, with an emphasis on knowing more about e-cigarettes. Teens and their parents complete questionnaires while some teens also participate in completing an MRI scan to explore how brain activity is linked to thoughts, feelings and actions.
The ACE Project Team has been active in the South Florida Community this spring, providing educational presentations in local high schools for both students and parents on E-cigarette use/vaping among teens, as well as actively recruiting participants. The ACE Project team looks forward to inviting more families to participate this summer!