Modified Biosketch Form

OMB No. 0925-0046 (Approved Through 5/31/2016)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors.
Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FIVE PAGES.
NAME

POSITION TITLE

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login)
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and
residency training if applicable.)
DEGREE
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
MM/YY
FIELD OF STUDY
(if applicable)

NOTE: The Biographical Sketch may not exceed five pages. Follow the formats and instructions below.
A. Personal Statement
Briefly describe why you are well-suited for your role in the project described in this application. The relevant
factors may include aspects of your training; your previous experimental work on this specific topic or related
topics; your technical expertise; your collaborators or scientific environment; and your past performance in this
or related fields (you may mention specific contributions to science that are not included in Section C). Also,
you may identify up to four peer reviewed publications that specifically highlight your experience and
qualifications for this project, provided that those publications do not appear in Section C. If you wish to
explain impediments to your past productivity, you may include a description of factors such as family care
responsibilities, illness, disability, and active duty military service.
B. Positions and Honors
List in chronological order previous positions, concluding with the present position. List any honors. Include
present membership on any Federal Government public advisory committee.
C. Contributions to Science
Briefly describe up to five of your most significant contributions to science. For each contribution, indicate the
historical background that frames the scientific problem; the central finding(s); the influence of the finding(s) on
the progress of science or the application of those finding(s) to health or technology; and your specific role in
the described work. For each of these contributions, reference up to four peer-reviewed publications that are
relevant to that contribution. The description of each contribution should be no longer than one half page
including any figures. Please also provide a URL to a full list of your published work as found in a publicly
available digital database such as PubMed or My Bibliography which are maintained by the US National
Library of Medicine..

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one hour per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: NIH, Project Clearance Branch, 6705
Rockledge Drive, MSC 7974, Bethesda, MD 20892-7974, ATTN: PRA (0925-0046). Do not return the completed form to this
address.

D. Research Support
List both selected ongoing and completed research projects for the past three years (Federal or non-Federallysupported). Begin with the projects that are most relevant to the research proposed in the application. Briefly
indicate the overall goals of the projects and responsibilities of the key person identified on the Biographical
Sketch. Do not include number of person months or direct costs.

OMB No. 0925-0046 (Approved Through 5/31/2016)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors.
Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FOUR PAGES.
NAME

POSITION TITLE

Hunt, Morgan Casey

Associate Professor of Psychology

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login)

huntmc
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and
residency training if applicable.)
DEGREE
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
MM/YY
FIELD OF STUDY
(if applicable)

University of California, Berkeley
University of Vermont

University of California, Berkeley

B.S.

05/90

Psychology

Ph.D.

05/96

Experimental
Psychology

Postdoctoral

08/98

Public Health and
Epidemiology

A. Personal Statement
I have the expertise, leadership, training, expertise and motivation necessary to successfully carry out the
proposed research project. I have a broad background in psychology, with specific training and expertise in
ethnographic and survey research and secondary data analysis on psychological aspects of drug addiction.
My research includes neuropsychological changes associated with addiction. As PI or co-Investigator on
several university- and NIH-funded grants, I laid the groundwork for the proposed research by developing
effective measures of disability, depression, and other psychosocial factors relevant to the aging substance
abuser, and by establishing strong ties with community providers that will make it possible to recruit and track
participants over time as documented in the following publications. In addition, I successfully administered the
projects (e.g. staffing, research protections, budget), collaborated with other researchers, and produced
several peer-reviewed publications from each project. As a result of these previous experiences, I am aware
of the importance of frequent communication among project members and of constructing a realistic research
plan, timeline, and budget. The current application builds logically on my prior work. During 2005-2006 my
career was disrupted due to family obligations. However, upon returning to the field I immediately resumed my
research projects and collaborations and successfully competed for NIH support.
1. Merryle, R.J. & Hunt, M.C. (2004). Independent living, physical disability and substance abuse among the
elderly. Psychology and Aging, 23(4), 10-22.
2. Hunt, M.C., Jensen, J.L. & Crenshaw, W. (2007). Substance abuse and mental health among communitydwelling elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(9), 1124-1135.
3. Hunt, M.C., Wiechelt, S.A. & Merryle, R. (2008). Predicting the substance-abuse treatment needs of an
aging population. American Journal of Public Health, 45(2), 236-245. PMCID: PMC9162292
4. Hunt,M.C., Newlin, D.B. & Fishbein, D. (2009). Brain imaging in methamphetamine abusers across the lifespan. Gerontology, 46(3), 122-145.
B. Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment
1998-2000
Fellow, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Drug Abuse, Bethesda, MD
2000-2002
Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
2001Consultant, Coastal Psychological Services, San Francisco, CA
2002-2005
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

2007-

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Other Experience and Professional Memberships
1995Member, American Psychological Association
1998Member, Gerontological Society of America
1998Member, American Geriatrics Society
2000Associate Editor, Psychology and Aging
2003Board of Advisors, Senior Services of Eastern Missouri
2003-05
NIH Peer Review Committee: Psychobiology of Aging, ad hoc reviewer
2007-11
NIH Risk, Adult Addictions Study Section, member
Honors
2003
2004
2009

Outstanding Young Faculty Award, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Excellence in Teaching, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Award for Best in Interdisciplinary Ethnography, International Ethnographic Society

C. Contributions to Science:
1. My early publications directly addressed the fact that substance abuse is often overlooked in older adults.
However, because many older adults were raised during an era of increased drug and alcohol use there
are reasons to believe that this will become an increasing issue as the population ages. These
publications found that older adults appear in a variety of primary care settings or seek mental health
providers to deal with emerging addiction problems. These publications document this emerging problem
but guide primary care providers and geriatric mental health providers to recognize symptoms, assess the
nature of the problem and apply the necessary interventions. By providing evidence and simple clinical
approaches, this body of work has changed the standards of care for addicted older adults and will
continue to provide assistance in relevant medical settings well into the future.
a. Gryczynski, J., Shaft, B.M., Merryle, R., & Hunt, M.C. (2002). Community based participatory
research with late-life addicts. American Journal of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 15(3), 222-238.
b. Shaft, B.M., Hunt, M.C., Merryle, R., & Venturi, R. (2003). Policy implications of genetic
transmission of alcohol and drug abuse in female nonusers. International Journal of Drug Policy,
30(5), 46-58.
c. Hunt, M.C., Marks, A.E., Shaft, B.M., Merryle, R., & Jensen, J.L. (2004). Early-life family and
community characteristics and late-life substance abuse. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28(2),2637.
d. Hunt, M.C., Marks, A.E., Venturi, R., Crenshaw, W. & Ratonian, A. (2007). Community-based
intervention strategies for reducing alcohol and drug abuse in the elderly. Addiction, 104(9), 14361606. PMCID: PMC9000292
2. In addition to the contributions described above, I documented the effectiveness of various intervention
models for older substance abusers and demonstrated the effectiveness of social support networks.
These studies emphasized the contextual factors in the etiology and maintenance of addictive disorders
and the disruptive potential of networks in substance abuse treatment. This body of work also discusses
the prevalence of alcohol, amphetamine, and opioid abuse in older adults and how networking approaches
can be used to mitigate the effects of these disorders.
a. Hunt, M.C., Merryle, R. & Jensen, J.L. (2005). The effect of social support networks on morbidity
among elderly substance abusers. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57(4), 15-23.
b. Hunt, M.C., Pour, B., Marks, A.E., Merryle, R. & Jensen, J.L. (2005). Aging out of methadone
treatment. American Journal of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 15(6), 134-149.
c. Merryle, R. & Hunt, M.C. (2007). Randomized clinical trial of cotinine in older nicotine addicts. Age
and Ageing, 38(2), 9-23. PMCID: PMC9002364
3. Methadone maintenance has been used to treat narcotics addicts for many years but my research has
shown that over the long-term those in methadone treatment view themselves as “losers” and they
gradually understand that treatment is an intrusion into normal life. Elderly narcotics users were shown in
carefully constructed ethnographic studies to be especially responsive to tailored social support networks

that allow them to eventually reduce their maintenance doses and eventually move into other forms of
treatment. These studies also demonstrate the policy implications associated with these findings.
a. Hunt, M.C., Merryle, R. & Jensen, J.L. (2005). The effect of social support networks on morbidity
among elderly substance abusers. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57(4), 15-23.
b. Hunt, M.C., Pour, B., Marks, A.E., Merryle, R. & Jensen, J.L. (2005). Aging out of methadone
treatment. American Journal of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 15(6), 134-149.
c. Merryle, R. & Hunt, M.C. (2007). Randomized clinical trial of cotinine in older nicotine addicts. Age
and Ageing, 38(2), 9-23. PMCID: PMC9002364
d. Hunt, M.C., Jensen, J.L. & Merryle, R. (2008). The aging addict: ethnographic profiles of the elderly
drug user. NY, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. D. Research Support
Ongoing Research Support
R01 DA942367-03
Hunt (PI)
09/01/08-08/31/13
Health trajectories and behavioral interventions among older substance abusers
The goal of this study is to compare the effects of two substance abuse interventions on health outcomes in an
urban population of older opiate addicts.
Role: PI
R01 MH922731-05
Merryle (PI)
12/15/07-11/30/12
Physical disability, depression and substance abuse in the elderly
The goal of this study is to identify disability and depression trajectories and demographic factors associated
with substance abuse in an independently-living elderly population.
Role: Co-Investigator
Faculty Resources Grant, Washington University
08/15/09-08/14/11
Opiate Addiction Database
The goal of this project is to create an integrated database of demographic, social and biomedical information
for homeless opiate abusers in two urban Missouri locations, using a number of state and local data sources.
Completed Research Support
K02 AG442898
Hunt (PI)
02/01/02-01/31/05
Drug Abuse in the Elderly
Independent Scientist Award: to develop a drug addiction research program with a focus on substance abuse
among the elderly.
Role: PI
R21 AA998075
Hunt (PI)
01/01/02-12/31/04
Community-based intervention for alcohol abuse
The goal of this project was to assess a community-based strategy for reducing alcohol abuse among older
individuals.
Role: PI