Sterling McPherson, PhD

• Washington State University, Pullman, WA, PhD, Experimental Psychology (Applied Quantitative Methods)
• Washington State University, Pullman, WA, MS, Experimental Psychology (Applied Quantitative Methods)
• Whitworth University, Spokane, WA, BA, Psychology (with honors)
• Whitworth University, Spokane, WA, BA, Sociology (with honors)

Residency and Postgraduate Training

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Pharmacology, Washington State University, Spokane, WA
• National Institutes of Health Fellow, Summer Institute on Randomized Clinical Trials, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR)

Dr. McPherson is a Professor and Assistant Dean for Research. He is also the Director of the Program of Excellence in Addictions Research (PEAR) at the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Within PEAR, he is the Head and Principal Investigator of the Analytics and Psychopharmacology Laboratory (APPL). He has secured more than $20 million in grants and contracts as PI and another $35 million as a Co-I. Most of this funding has come from NIH (11 different institutes/centers) and 16 other agencies. He is involved in multiple research projects ranging from basic human toxicology to spatial epidemiology to the health economics of new therapeutics. He has led several therpaeutic development focused projects (e.g., Phase I/II trials) and has significant clinical research experience having successfully recruited participants with alcohol, opioid, stimulant, and tobacco use disorders. Currently, his primary area of foci is on the leveraging contingency management in combination with putative pharmacotherapies for alcohol, alcohol and tobacco combined, and methamphetamine and opioid use combined. Additionally, he is also working with three companies on advancing technology platform to improve buprenorphine/naloxone adherence, and naloxone carriage rates and use. 

He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed research articles in these domains and is a standing panel member for NIH study sections and several other sponsors. He has reviewed for more than 30 journals and either is or has been on the Editorial Boards of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, Journal of Cannabis Use Research, Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and Addiction. Currently, he is a Senior Editor and Deputy Statistical Editor at Addiciton, Associate Editor (Human Psychopharmacology) at the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and Associate Editor at Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports. He has partnered with seven different industry sponsors to pursue technology-enhanced addiction treatment platforms and advance the commercialization of novel therapeutics. Lastly, he is dedicated to international research with active collaborations across more than seven different countries.

• Visiting Professor, King's College London, Department of Addiction Sciences, 2023-present
• Elected Fellow, Society for Psychopharmacology and Drug Abuse (APA Division 28), 2023
• Elected Member, Washington State Academic of Sciences, 2020
• Elected Board Member, College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), 2022-present
• College on Problems of Drug Dependence’s (CPDD) 2020 Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award for Excellence, 2020
• Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, 2019
• Associated Students of Washington State University Spokane, Student’s Choice Award for Faculty Excellence, 2012
• Early Career Travel Award, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the American Psychological Association (APA) Divisions 28 (Psychopharmacology and Drug Abuse) and 50 (Addictions), 2012

SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS (SELECTED FROM MORE THAN 140; SEE MY NCBI FOR A COMPLETE LIST)

• McPherson SM, Burduli E, Smith C, Herron J, Oluwoye O, Hirchak K, Orr MF, McDonell MG, Roll JM A review of contingency management for the treatment of substance use disorders: Adaptation for underserved populations, use of experimental technologies, and personalized optimization strategies. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation. In Press. PubMed PMID: Not Available. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095117/
• Burduli E, Skalisky J, Hirchak K, Orr MF, Foote A, Granbois A, Ries R, Roll J, McDonell MG, Buchwald D, McPherson S. Contingency management intervention targeting co-addiction of alcohol and drugs among American Indian adults: Design, methodology, and baseline data. Clinical Trials. In press. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6218308/
• Orr MF, Smith C, Finlay M, Martin SC, Brooks O, Oluwoye O, Leickly E, McDonell M, Burduli E, Barbosa-Leiker C, Layton M, Roll JM, McPherson SM. Pilot investigation: Randomized controlled analog trial for alcohol and tobacco smoking co-addiction using contingency management. Behav Pharmacol. In press. psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-35018-010
• McPherson S, Burduli E, Lederhos C, Brooks O, Orr M, Barbosa-Leiker C, Hoesktra T, McDonell M, Murphy S, Layton M, Roll J. Predictors of tobacco and alcohol co-use from ages 15 to 32: The Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. In press. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6946685/
• McPherson S, Orr M, Lederhos C, McDonell M, Leickly E, Hirchak K, Oluwoye OA, Murphy S, Layton M, Roll J. Decreases in smoking during treatment for methamphetamine use disorders: Preliminary evidence. Behav Pharmacol. In press. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29035917/
• McPherson S, Lederhos C, Dobscha SK, Morasco BJ, Demidenko MI, Meath THA, Lovejoy TI. Changes in pain intensity following discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain. Pain. In press. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29905648/
• McPherson S, Brooks O, Barbosa-Leiker C, Lederhos C, Lamp A, Murphy S, Layton M, Roll J. Examining stimulant use and attendance as parallel treatment outcomes in two contingency management clinical trials. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2016 Feb;61:18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2015.08.008. PubMed PMID: 26456717. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26456717/
• McPherson S, Barbosa-Leiker C, Burns GL, Howell D, Roll J. Missing data in substance abuse treatment research: Current methods and modern approaches. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2012;20(3):243-50. Epub 2012/02/15. doi: 10.1037/a0027146. PubMed PMID: 22329556. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22329556/
• McPherson S, Barbosa-Leiker C, McDonell M, Howell D, Roll J. Longitudinal missing data strategies for substance use clinical trials using generalized estimating equations: an example with a buprenorphine trial. Human psychopharmacology. 2013;28(5):506-15. doi: 10.1002/hup.2339. PubMed PMID: 24014144. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24014144/
• McPherson S, Barbosa-Leiker C, Mamey MR, McDonell M, Enders CK, Roll J. A ‘Missing Not at Random’ (MNAR) and ‘Missing at Random’ (MAR) Growth Model Comparison with a Buprenorphine/Naloxone Clinical Trial. Addiction. 2014. doi: 10.1111/add.12714. PubMed PMID: 25170740. psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-56274-009

Other Program Affiliations 

Neuroscience Graduate Faculty
Prevention Science Graduate Faculty

 

Peer-Reviewed Editorial Positions

Senior Editor and Deputy Statistical Editor, Addiction

Associate Editor (Human Psychopharmacology), The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Associate Editor, Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports

 

Professional Memberships

• Society for the Study of Addiction
• Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
• College of Problems on Drug Dependence
• Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse (APA Division 28)
• Society of Addiction Psychology (APA Division 50)
• Evaluation, Measurement, Statistics (APA Division 5)
• American Society of Nephrology
• Elected Member, Washington State Academy of Sciences