Biography
Dr. Grant is a Research Associate Professor in the HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice. His scholarship focuses on the generation, synthesis, and use of evidence across the social, behavioral, and health sciences. He specializes in methods for summarizing research and expert opinion on the effectiveness and implementation of interventions (practices, programs, and policies). The goal of Dr. Grant's scholarship is to advance evidence-based practice: i.e., using scientific evidence to inform policy-making and programmatic decisions.
Dr. Grant provides service to the field as Methodological Transparency Editor of the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Senior Associate Editor of Systematic Reviews, Associate Methods Editor of Campbell Systematic Reviews, Associate Editor of Trials, and an editorial board member of Prevention Science. He is also an Associate Member of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, Senior Research Fellow at the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), and Adjunct Social & Behavioral Scientist with the Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center and ExpertLens Team at RAND.
Dr. Grant completed his doctorate in Social Intervention as a Clarendon Scholar at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, University of Oxford. Following his graduate studies, Dr. Grant spent several years as a Social and Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation and Faculty Member at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He then served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health, where he was subsequently promoted with tenure to Associate Professor.
Education
DPhil, 2014, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Major: Social Intervention (no corrections)
MSc, 2011, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Major: Evidence-Based Social Intervention (with distinction)
Honors B.A., 2010, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Major: Psychology (summa cum laude)
Minor: Economics
Honors B.A., 2010, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Major: Philosophy (summa cum laude)
Honors and Awards
2022 Favorite Professor, IUPUI Athletics
2019 Travel Award, MetaScience Symposium
2017 Early Career Investigator Award, Addiction Health Services Research Conference
2016 Bob Brook Award, RAND Health
2015 Leamer-Rosenthal Prize for Emerging Researchers in Open Social Science, Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences
2014 Finalist, NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, National Institutes of Health
2012 Barnett Prize, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford
2011 Teresa Smith Award, Department of Social Policy & Intervention, University of Oxford
2011 Clarendon Scholarship, University of Oxford
2010 Valedictorian, Loyola Marymount University
2006 Trustee Scholarship, Loyola Marymount University
Publications
Grant, S., Wendt, K. E., Leadbeater, B. J., Supplee, L., Mayo-Wilson, E., Gardner, F., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2022). Transparent, open, and reproducible prevention science. Prevention Science, 23(5), 701–722. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01336-w
Tanner-Smith, E. E., Grant, S., & Mayo-Wilson, E. (2022). Modern meta‐analytic methods in prevention science: Introduction to the special issue. Prevention Science, 23, 341–345. doi: 10.1007/s11121-022-01354-8
Mayo-Wilson, E., Grant, S. (co-first author), & Supplee, L. (2022). Clearinghouse standards of evidence on the transparency, openness, and reproducibility of intervention evaluations. Prevention Science, 23, 774–786. doi: 10.1007/s11121-021-01284-x
Grant, S., Azhar, G., Han, E., Booth, M., Motala, A., Larkin, J., & Hempel, S. (2021). Clinical interventions for adults with comorbid alcohol use and depressive disorders: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. PLOS Medicine, 18(10), e1003822. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003822
Grant, S., Armstrong, C., & Khodyakov, D. (2021). Online Modified-Delphi: A potential method for continuous patient engagement across stages of clinical practice guideline development. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(6), 1746-1750. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06514-6
Mayo-Wilson, E., Grant, S. (co-first author), Supplee, L., Kianersi, S., Amin, A., DeHaven, A. C., & Mellor, D. T. (2021). Evaluating implementation of the Transparency and Openness Promotion Guidelines: The TRUST Process for rating journal policies, procedures, and practices. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 6, 9. doi: 10.1186/s41073-021-00112-8
Mayo-Wilson, E., & Grant, S. (2019). Research synthesis methods: transparent reporting: registrations, protocols and final reports. In H. Cooper (Ed.), The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis: Third Edition (p. 471-488). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Grant, S., Mayo-Wilson, E., Montgomery, P., Macdonald, G., Michie, S., Hopewell, S., & Moher, D. (2018). CONSORT-SPI 2018 Explanation and Elaboration: Guidance for reporting social and psychological intervention trials. Trials, 19, 406. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-2735-z
Grant, S., Motala, A., Chrystal, J. G., Shanman, R., Zuchowski, J., Zephyrin, L., & Cordasco, K. M. (2018). Describing care coordination of gynecologic oncology in western health care settings: A rapid review. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 8(3), 409–418. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibx074
Tanner-Smith, E. E., & Grant, S. (2018). Meta-analysis of complex interventions. Annual Review of Public Health, 39, 135-151. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040617-014112
Grant, S., Hamilton, L. S., Wrabel, S. L., Gomez, C. J., Whitaker, A., Tamargo, J., Unlu, F., Chavez- Herrerias, E. R., Baker, G., Barrett, M., Harris, M., & Ramos, A. (2017). Social and emotional learning interventions under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence review. RR-2133. Santa Monica, USA: RAND Corporation.
Grant, S., Pedersen, E. R., Osilla, K. C., Kulesza, M., & D’Amico, E. J. (2016). Reviewing and interpreting the effects of brief alcohol interventions: Comment on a Cochrane review about motivational interviewing for young adults. Addiction, 111(9), 1521-1527. doi: 10.1111/add.13136
Grant, S., Parsons, A., Burton, J., Montgomery, P., Underhill, K., & Mayo-Wilson, E. (2014). Home visits for prevention of impairment and death in older adults. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 10(3), 1-85. doi:10.4073/csr.2014.3
Grant, S., Mayo-Wilson, E., Melendez-Torres, G.J., & Montgomery, P. (2013). Reporting quality of social and psychological intervention trials: A systematic review of reporting guidelines and trial publications. PLoS One, 8(5), e65442. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065442
Grant, S., Montgomery, P., Hopewell, S., Macdonald, G., Moher, D., & Mayo-Wilson, E. (2013). Developing a reporting guideline for social and psychological intervention trials. Research on Social Work Practice, 23, 595-602. doi: 10.1177/1049731513498118
Research
Dr. Grant’s research focuses on evidence-informed decision-making across various areas of health and social policy. As a methodologist, he aims to improve the ability of scientific research to identify “what works” in addressing pressing societal issues. He is specifically interested in research synthesis methods, open science practices, and online Delphi processes due to their significant influence on the credibility and utility of research evidence for policy and practice decisions. His work on these methods also involves collaborative, translational research focused on specific topics, such as substance use and mental health. Current projects include evidence syntheses for the HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice, a mixed-methods case study on the use of research evidence in a community block grant program for substance use prevention, and online Delphi processes on the effectiveness and implementability of state-level policies to address the overdose epidemic. Dr. Grant has received external support for his research program from Arnold Ventures, Education Endowment Foundation, Fetzer Franklin Fund, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, United Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council, United States Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Wallace Foundation, and William T. Grant Foundation.