Michael J. Parks

Michael is a research scientist at the Butler Center for Research at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, as well as an assistant professor at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. He also has an affiliation with the Translational Science Core at the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement. Broadly, Michael's research focuses on applied health promotion, behavioral health, substance use, and health disparities. He examines these issues primarily among youth and young adults.

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Prior to joining the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, Michael was a research associate at the Institute for Translational Research in Children's Mental Health at the University of Minnesota. He was also a senior research scientist in the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division at the Minnesota Department of Health.

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After completing his PhD at Penn State, Michael worked as a senior research scientist at the Minnesota Department of Health for five years. While at the Minnesota Department of Health, he conducted research on substance use such as tobacco use, and implemented and evaluated population-based health promotion and prevention programs. He then completed a two-year fellowship (T32) in adolescent health at the University of Minnesota's Medical School in the Department of Pediatrics and Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Health (completed in 2019).