Rachel Bachrach, PhD
HSR&D Career Development Awardee, Rachel Bachrach, PhD, MS, was named one of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Stars. The APS Rising Star designation is presented to outstanding APS Members in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD. Drawing its name from an Observer editorial series that featured exemplars of the exciting work being done by the field's newest researchers, this designation recognizes researchers whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions. Dr. Bachrach, part of HSR&D’s Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP), was recognized for her work related to alcohol and other substance use, which includes her CDA award: Implementation Intervention to Improve Care for Unhealthy Alcohol Use. This project used (and is evaluating) whether evidence-based implementation strategies improved the uptake of alcohol-related care in a VA primary care clinic. Implementation strategies were chosen based on interviews with Veterans and primary care clinicians, which provided her team with a list of top barriers and facilitators to high-quality alcohol care.
In addition, Dr. Bachrach was named one of the 2023 Implementation Research Institute Fellows. Now in its third funding cycle, the IRI provides two years of training in mental health implementation science for up to 12 new fellows each year. The IRI is supported by VA, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Fellows attend two annual week-long trainings, which are provided through a rigorous curriculum, local and national mentoring, a 'learning site visit' to a federally funded implementation research project, pilot research, and grant writing.