Specific Pioneering Contributions
Dr. Kirk von Sternberg, Ph.D., M.S.W. has made pioneering contributions to social work knowledge, practice, and education. His NASW Social Work Pioneer nomination comes at a perfect time, as he is nearing retirement after a highly impactful 35-year career as a social work researcher and educator. Dr. von Sternberg co-directs the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work’s Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) and is a national and international expert in developing and testing behavioral health interventions. His work is fueled by a commitment to study behavior change with the overall goal of preventing substance use disorders in underserved populations. His grant funding record is outstanding having been principal, co-principal, or primary co-investigator on grants totaling roughly $25 million, funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and foundation grants. His research productivity includes the conceptualization, design, and implementation of numerous randomized clinical trials that address alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana misuse and effective contraception use to reduce substance-exposed pregnancies; alcohol and risky sexual activity to reduce HIV transmission; cocaine abuse, alcohol and drug use in trauma patients; and increasing early screening for sexually transmitted infections in adolescent women. He has also conducted studies to test screening and brief interventions (SBI) in the emergency department and adolescent trauma service. Finally, he has evaluated substance abuse treatment in criminal justice settings; studied screening and intervention procedures in community clinics; and examined mechanisms of action in successful behavior change. Of greatest importance to social work field is the translatability of these interventions to the “real world.” Community programs and health centers both nationally and internationally have successfully implemented these behavioral interventions. With CDC funding, he has worked with NASW to train social workers throughout the United States to deliver brief interventions to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and to evaluate of these trainings. This excellent work also led the CDC to supplement this work by adding $3.5 million to train social workers nationally to thoughtful discuss vaccine take up with clients. These initiatives have been instrumental in centering the nation’s 750,000-strong social work workforce as an essential player in public health practice, and the issuing of 2,000 CEUs to social workers learning about Motivational Interviewing and screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to prevent substanceexposed pregnancy. There have been more than 11,878 unique downloads of two NASW Social Work Podcast episodes on preventing FASDs and cannabis use during pregnancy from this effort, as well as research with over social workers in a national sample to assess knowledge, attitudes, practices and training needs on alcohol and other substance use during pregnancy. Dr. von Sternberg also engaged the profession in Be Well Texas, a $8 million+ effort state-level Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) initiative between 2021-25 which trained and deployed social workers and other mental health professionals in reducing morbidity and mortality related to substance use disorders (SUDs). Over 14,000 Texans received SBIRT intervention at six major adult and pediatric hospitals. His broad impact on social work research and practice is one that few social work scholars/researchers accomplish, representing truly pioneering work within the profession.
Career Highlights
Dr. von Sternberg has been principal, co-principal or primary co-investigator on grants totaling roughly $25 million, funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CHOICES Efficacy Trial (2002-2005) demonstrated that the CHOICES intervention could reduce risks for an AEP, preventing the harmful effects of FAS and FASD was awarded the 2008 Charles C. Shepard Science Award at CDC for excellence in prevention and control and is currently listed as an evidence-based practice on SAMHSA’s Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center. Dr. von Sternberg is a recognized leader at the University of Texas and nationally. In his role as Co-Director of the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT), he has been instrumental in building one of the most productive research programs in the school, guiding grant development, clinical trials, and interdisciplinary collaborations. In this role, he has mentored faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students in research design, data analysis, program evaluation, and scholarly writing, establishing himself as the intellectual hub of the Institute. Internationally, his work on mechanisms of change has influenced global research agendas, further reflecting his stature as a leader in intervention science. His record of federal and foundation funding underscores the reach and significance of his work. Internationally, his scholarship on mechanisms of change has influenced prevention science and intervention design, extending the impact of his research globally. He has served on 32 dissertation committees, mentored well over 30 doctoral students within the HBRT Institute that he co-directs and taught hundreds of doctoral and master’s students over the last 20 years. He is approachable, always willing to take the time to explain difficult methodological concepts to social work students, and deeply kind and supportive. I can speak to this as a mentee – he has been a critical mentor from the time I was a post-doctoral research fellow until today. The list of other successful mentees is long, but I would be more than happy to provide these names upon request. He has left a clear legacy with his selfless mentorship and teaching of social work doctoral students the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. Other successful mentees of Dr. von Sternberg include Qi Chen (Hunter College), Audrey Hai (Tulane), Shannon Johnson (University of Colorado), Gerald (Jerry) Cochrane (University of Utah), Paula Yuma (Colorado State University), John Moore (Florida State University), and McClain Sampson (University of Houston).
Biographical Information
Dr. von Sternberg was born on February 1, 1950, in Houston, Texas. He attended parochial schools through the 12th grade. He has been married to Lynn von Sternberg for 43 years. They have two sons, a daughter, and eight grandchildren. After a 20-year career in the restaurant industry, his wife, Lynn, suggested he return to school. Dr. von Sternberg attended the University of Houston. The first course he took was clinical psychology taught by Dr. Carlo DiClemente, the codeveloper of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). He volunteered in Dr. DiClemente’s lab and worked on Project Match, an NIH/NIAAA funded treatment study and became familiar with Dr. Bill Miller and his Motivational Enhancement Therapy, the origin of Motivational Interviewing (MI). For 35 years, Dr. von Sternberg has conceptualized, designed, and conducted as PI, Co-PI, or Co-I, clinical trials testing behavior change interventions based on the TTM and MI and other studies that employ this model and therapy method funded primarily by the CDC and NIH totaling over 25 million in funding. Dr. von Sternberg earned a Bachelor of Science (Psychology major) in 1992 and a master’s in social work from the University of Houston in 1996. He became a senior research scientist in Dr. DiClemente’s Change Assessment Research Program. His growing affinity for research led him to the University of Texas School of Public Heath where he graduated with a doctorate in Behavioral Science in 2005. From 2000 to 2006, Dr. von Sternberg was Research Faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School. In 2006 he moved to the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work where he is currently a Professor and Co-Director of the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute.
Significant Recognition and Awards
2016 - Recipient of the Lora Lee Pederson Teaching Excellence Award, University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work
2008 - CDC’s Charles C. Shepard Science Award for most outstanding publication by CDC scientist in peerreviewed journal during the previous year ("Preventing Alcohol-exposed Pregnancies: A Randomized Controlled Trial," American Journal of Preventive Medicine, January 2007)
2007 - Recipient of Diana M. DiNitto Outstanding Mentor Award, University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work
2005 - Inducted into the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society, for outstanding academic achievement, service, and promise
2005 - Recipient of the 2004-2005 Athens Award for outstanding faculty contribution to the University of Texas Family Medicine Residency Horizons Research Project
Significant Publications
Dr. von Sternberg has published over 65 scholarly articles and book chapters and is currently a methodological reviewer more than 11 journals. His contributions are detailed below with a few examples of his major contributions below: Dr. von Sternberg has provided critical methodological leadership in developing and testing interventions for preconception women to prevent substance-exposed pregnancies. The CHOICES family of studies began with an epidemiologic survey to identify: 1) sites with a high prevalence of women at risk of an alcoholexposed pregnancy and 2) characteristics associated with being at risk. The subsequent CHOICES Efficacy Trial (2002-2005) demonstrated that the CHOICES intervention could reduce risks for an AEP, preventing the harmful effects of FAS and FASD. This was followed by an efficacy trial to test CHOICES Plus; an intervention delivered in primary care settings in which the CHOICES intervention was reduced to two sessions and added tobacco as a target behavior for the prevention of alcohol- and tobacco-exposed pregnancies. Dr. von Sternberg and colleagues recently completed a NIAAA funded clinical trial, CHOICES4Health, to test the CHOICES intervention for reducing the risk of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuanaexposed pregnancy delivered on a computer tablet. He is currently MPI on a NIDA funded clinical trial testing the efficacy of the CHOICES-TEEN intervention, which was adapted for female youth receiving communitybased services within the juvenile probation system, as they are at higher risk of substance use, unplanned pregnancy and substance-exposed pregnancy (marijuana and alcohol). Seminal publications from this work include: Velasquez, M.M., von Sternberg, K., Floyd, R.L., Parrish, D., Kowalchuk, A., Stephens, N.S., Ostermeyer, B., Green, C., Seale, J.P., & Dolan-Mullen, P. (2017). Preventing alcohol- and tobacco-exposed pregnancies with CHOICES Plus in primary care clinics: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1):85-95. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2017.02.012 Parrish, D.E., von Sternberg, K., Benjamins, L.J., Duron, J., Velasquez, M.M. (2018). CHOICES-TEEN: Reducing substance-exposed pregnancy and HIV among juvenile justice adolescent females. Research on Social Work Practice, 1-10. doi.org/10.1177/1049731518779717 Velasquez, M.M, von Sternberg, K. & Parrish, D. (2013). CHOICES: An Integrated behavioral intervention to prevent alcohol exposed pregnancies among high-risk women in community settings. Social Work in Public Health, 28(3-4), 224-233. Floyd, L., Sobell, M., Velasquez, M. M., Nettleman, M., Sobell, L., Mullen, P. D., von Sternberg, K., Skarpness, B & Nagaranja, J., and the Project Choices Efficacy Study Group (2007). Preventing Alcohol Exposed Pregnancies: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(1), 1-10. Dr. von Sternberg has offered expertise and leadership in designing and conducting intricately clinical trials using the transtheoretical model (TTM) as a framework. One notable concentration of his research is on the identification of mechanisms of a behavior change process, which is essential to understanding how and why health prevention interventions work. This work has had a profound impact on building the evidence base for understand how and why health prevention and behavior change interventions work and are supported by the following seminal publications: von Sternberg, K., Parrish, D., Castro, Y., Velasquez, M.M. (2023). Processes of change in preventing alcohol-expose pregnancy: replication of a mediation analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 91(5), 301–312. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000793 von Sternberg, K., DiClemente, C.C., Velasquez, M.M. (2018). Profiles of behavior change constructs for reducing alcohol use in women at risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 32(7), 749-758. Parrish, D., von Sternberg, K., Castro, Y., & Velasquez, M.M., (2016). Processes of change in preventing alcohol exposed pregnancy: A mediation analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(9), 803- 812. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000111 Johnson, S., von Sternberg, K., & Velasquez, M.M. (2017). A comparison of profiles of transtheoretical model constructs of change among depressed and nondepressed women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. Women’s Health Issues, 27 (1), 100-107. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2016.09.013 An additional significant contribution has been Dr. von Sternberg’s leadership testing behavioral interventions targeting risky sexual behaviors to prevent sexually transmitted diseases/infections (HIV, STI’s). As a key investigator on multidisciplinary teams, he conducted large randomized controlled studies to determine the acceptability and efficacy of interventions to reduce heavy alcohol use, reduce risky sexual behavior and to promote early screening for possible infection in response to high-risk situations. A few of his seminal publications are provided below: Velasquez, M. M., von Sternberg, K., Johnson, D., Green, C., Carbonari, J.C., Parsons, J. T. (2009). Reducing sexual risk behaviors and alcohol use among HIV-positive men who have sex with men: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(4), 657-667. Chacko, M. R., Wiemann, C. M., Kozinetz, C. A., von Sternberg, K., Velasquez, M. M., Smith, P. B. & DiClemente, R. (2010). Efficacy of a motivational behavioral intervention to promote chlamydia and gonorrhea screening in young women: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46, 152- 161. A final significant focus of his research has been on screening and brief interventions (SBI) for alcohol and/or drugs in medical settings. He has been a primary co-investigator on NIH-funded clinical trials conducted in a Level 1 adult trauma service and several studies in a Level 1 pediatric trauma service to examine screening and brief interventions (SBI) for alcohol and drugs. In the adult trauma service, his team tested the efficacy of SBI for alcohol use disorders (R01AA015439) and for drug use (R01DA026088) in admitted patients. Some seminal publications include: Field, C.A., von Sternberg, K., Velasquez, M.M. (2020). Randomized Trial of Screening and Brief Intervention to Reduce Injury and Substance Abuse in an urban Level I Trauma Center. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 208(1), 1-8. doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107792 Seale, J. P., Velasquez, M. M., Johnson, J. A., Shellenberger, S., von Sternberg, K., Dodrill, C, Boltri, J. M., Takei, R., Clark, D., & Grace, D. (2012). Skills-based residency training in alcohol screening and brief intervention: Results from the Georgia-Texas “Improving Brief Intervention” project. Substance Abuse, 33(3), 261-271. doi: 10.1080/08897077.2011.640187