Ricky N. Bluthenthal, Ph.D. is a Social Scientist at RAND and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. He is also the Director of the Social and Behavioral Core of the Drew Center on AIDS Research, Education, and Services (Drew CARES), and Director of the Outreach and Community Core of Project Export at Drew and UCLA. Dr. Bluthenthal’s work focuses on health concerns of and outcomes for low income populations and communities of color; specific research interests include alcohol and drug use, community and structural prevention strategies, and racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes. Dr. Bluthenthal is active as an advisor to numerous community health organizations, and has an ongoing interest in the community impact / policy implications of public health research. Results from his studies have been published in journals such as The Lancet, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, and Addiction. Dr. Bluthenthal received his doctoral degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998.