Bio
Ryan E. Flinn, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Education, Health & Behavior Studies in the College of Education & Human Development at the University of North Dakota. Dr. Flinn is supported by the Rose Isabelle Kelly Fischer Endowed Professorship (2024-2027). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) also supports Dr. Flinn's research through mentored training experiences at UCLA, Brown University, Brandeis University, and the Lighthouse Institute (Chestnut Health Systems). Dr. Flinn currently serves as co-director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-funded Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer Center (HHS Region 8), one of 10 regional centers throughout the U.S. providing substance use disorder training and technical assistance to healthcare providers, peer support specialists, and others involved in SUD prevention, treatment, and recovery. Dr. Flinn is also director of a subaward (2023-2029) from the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, funded by SAMHSA, to oversee operations of Region 8's Opioid Response Network team (aka State Opioid Response [SOR]/Tribal Opioid Response [TOR]-Technical Assistance [TA] team) to rapidly respond to requests for training and technical assistance from facilities providing healthcare services in the region (e.g.. hospitals, clinics, correctional facilities) related to opioid use disorder, stimulant use disorder, and related training topics. Over the course of their career, Dr. Flinn has also been active in the American Psychological Association (APA) service. Dr. Flinn is a member of several APA Divisions (e.g., 17, 44). Dr. Flinn currently serves as Communications Officer for Division 17's Prevention Section. Additionally, Dr. Flinn serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, The Counseling Psychologist, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, and Journal of Counseling Psychology.
Dr. Flinn works with graduate and undergraduate students at UND in the Trauma, Substance, Justice, and Recovery Lab. Directed by Dr. Flinn, members of the lab are interested in promoting human health in populations that experience multiple forms of adversity, including trauma/PTSD, substance use/SUD, and legal system involvement. Dr. Flinn's training experiences in multiple settings (e.g., resource center for unhoused people in California, school-based health centers in New Mexico, Ryan White-funded HIV clinics in Georgia) also informs their research interests related to health prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for people with co-occurring/comorbid health conditions, and also among people who experience discrimination due to sexual orientation, gender identity, HIV status, income, ability status, and racial and/or ethnic identity. Please visit our website to learn more about our work (https://education.und.edu/research/tsjr-lab.html)
Primary Research Interests:
Addressing health disparities among people with lived and living experience of substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health (MH) concerns, especially those with comorbid trauma/PTSD and justice system involvement: How can recovery supporters, healthcare providers, and health systems better support these populations?
Promoting MH and SUD recovery, especially among underserved populations: What works, when, for whom, and why?
Assessing implementation equity and other diversity considerations in SUD, MH, and recovery research: How can prevention, treatment, recovery support services, and recovery communities be supported in becoming more responsive to the needs of populations with high levels of unmet need for SUD and MH services (e.g., LGBTQ, BIPOC, people with low income, people living with HIV, emerging adults)? How are recovery innovations being implemented in various populations and areas of the country? How can systems of all kinds more effectively collaborate with people with lived experience of these concerns to find and implement solutions faster and to better effect?