Assistant Research Scientist
Graduated Oregon State University, 2020 (Public Health) and University of Wisconsin, 2011 (Public Health)
Specialty areas: public health–health promotion; health behavior
Dr. Ryan Singh earned a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Wisconsin, then a PhD in Public Health at Oregon State University, with a focus on health promotion and health behavior and implementation science. He has worked extensively to provide direct support for families experiencing high instability. As an Assistant Research Scientist at Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute, Dr. Singh strives to understand how evidence-based interventions (EBIs) can be effectively implemented for improved child and family health outcomes. He aims to work closely with communities to solve complex issues related to barriers to care by addressing social risk factors that impact such families. He has pursued research opportunities that involve studying the interface between those who work directly with families in child welfare and self-sufficiency systems and how these frontline workers are supported through training and supervision. Additionally, Dr. Singh has been involved in leading the research assessment team across two NIDA-funded studies (7UH3 DA050193-03 & 7R01 DA057556-02; PI Saldana) involving the implementation of an EBI providing comprehensive support to parents, including substance use prevention/treatment, mental health support, parenting skills development, and addressing unmet needs of the family. Dr. Singh is drawn to work that directly involves community partners in problem-solving strategies to improve implementation efforts. To this end, Dr. Singh was invited to participate in a local partnership formed to improve service access and delivery to families living in deep poverty in one Oregon district spanning three counties. Currently, Dr. Singh is involved in initiating a co-designed research initiative to support this important work.
Selected Publications:
Singh, R. R., Peterson, J. M., Chapman, J., & Saldana, L. (2024). Swimming Against the Current: Addressing Community Needs and Establishing Partnerships for the Prevention of Opioid and Methamphetamine use Among Parents. Prevention Science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 25(1), 193–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-023-01602-5
Singh, R. R., Dolcini, M. M., Catania, J. A., & Saldana, L. (2023). Investigating Supervision and Leadership Practices to Strengthen EBP Implementation in the Child Welfare System: A Case Study Analysis. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 104(4), 476–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894221147964
Singh, R. R., & Saldana, L. (2022). How to implement an evidence-based practice. In Practical Implementation Science: Moving Science into Action. Weiner, B. J., Lewis, C. C., & Sherr, K. (Eds). Chapter 8. Springer. 10.1891/9780826186935
Selected Grants and Contracts:
Primary Investigator (pilot subaward): The Impact of Partnerships and Team-Effectiveness in Supporting the Implementation of Preventive Interventions for Families in Community-Based Settings (PIs: Brookman-Frazee/Aarons. NIMH: 5P50 MH126231-02, 2023–2024; Subaward: 706054)
Co-Investigator: Disrupting Social Risk Factors of Health to Improve Substance Use and Mental Health Outcomes for Parents in Rural Regions (PI: Saldana. NIDA: 7R01 DA057556-02, 2022–2027)
Co-Investigator: Preventing Parental Opioid and/or Methamphetamine Addiction within DHS Involved Families: FAIR (PI: Saldana. NIDA: 7UH3 DA050193-03, 2020–2024)
Co-Investigator: Recovery Management Checkup for Primary Care (RMC-PC) vs. Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Experiment (PI: Watson. NIAAA: R01AA024440, 2020–2022)
Jaramillo, J., McCart, M., Saldana, L., Sheidow, A., Chapman, J., Drazdowski, T., Cruden, G., & Singh, R. (2024, May). Integrating evidence-based practices in juvenile justice systems through cultural exchange [Poster presentation]. Society for Prevention Research, Washington, DC, United States
Kahn, J. H., Hart, M. K., Watson, D. P., Allen, C. B., Singh, R. R., Grella, C. E., & Dennis, M. L. (2025). Recent incarceration and minoritized racial status as barriers to the effectiveness of Recovery Management Checkups. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20(53). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-025-00684-4
Kahn, J. H., Hart, M. K., Watson, D. P., Allen, C. B., Singh, R. R., Grella, C. E., & Dennis, M. L. (2025). Recent incarceration and minoritized racial status as barriers to the effectiveness of Recovery Management Checkups. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20(53). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-025-00684-4
Patel, S. V., Cance, J. D., Bonar, E. E., Carter, P. M., Dickerson, D. L., Fiellin, L. E., Fernandes, C. S. F., Palimaru, A. I., Boomer, T. M. P., Saldana, L., Singh, R. R., Tinius, E., Walton, M. A., Youn, S., Young, S., Philbrick, S.,& Lambdin, B. H.(2023). Accelerating Solutions for the Overdose Crisis: an Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Protocol for the HEAL Prevention Cooperative. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 24(Suppl 1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01465-2
Saldana, L. Chapman, J., Cruden, G., Singh, R., & Campbell, M. (2023) Preventing Parental Opioid and/or Methamphetamine Addiction with Families Involved with DHS. 4th Annual NIH HEAL Initiative Investigator Meeting. Feb. 22, 2023.
Saldana, L., Cruden, G., Peterson, J., Singh, R., Bybee, M., Jaramillo, J., & Glass, J. (2026, Feb. 4). Preventing escalation of opioid and methamphetamine use and mental health disorders in parents referred to child welfare [Guest lecture]. Mental Health Services Research, Washington University Brown School of Social Work, St. Louis, MO, United States.
Saldana, L., Singh, R., Cruden, G., & Campbell, M. (2023, December 12). A multilevel implementation strategy to support scale-up of an innovative practice for parental opioid and methamphetamine use disorders [Presentation]. Academy Health 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health, Washington, DC, United States.
Williamson, L., Singh, R. R., McClelland-Bishop, R., & Saldana, L. (2025, October 15). Understanding high retention rates in longitudinal implementation science research: Rapport-building strategies for parents at risk for opioid or methamphetamine use [Conference presentation]. Oregon Public Health Association 81st Annual Conference, Hillsboro, OR.