Jennifer Cole, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Faculty Associate
Jennifer Cole, Ph.D. is a faculty associate at the Center on Trauma and Children. She is an assistant professor in the College of Medicine in the Department of Behavioral Science. Her research interests are in the areas of victimization, substance use, and in particular the intersection of victimization and substance use among youth and young adults. Dr. Cole is Principal Investigator of an evaluation study of publicly-funded substance abuse treatment programs for adolescents in Kentucky and a pilot study on sex trafficking of minors in Kentucky. She and Dr. Sprang conducted a Research on Human Trafficking Study funded by NIJ that examined the impact of the Safe Harbor Laws on how cases of child sex trafficking are managed in child-serving systems of care. She is also a Co-Investigator for several projects: a statewide evaluation publicly-funded substance abuse treatment for adults, an evaluation of opiate replacement treatment in Kentucky, and the Kids Now Plus Evaluation Project.