Dr.
Merline is a research fellow for the University of Michigan's
Addiction Research Center (UMARC). She received her Ph.D.
in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan
where her dissertation examined substance abuse and marriage.
Her research explores patterns of change over the adult
life course as they relate to social roles and substance
abuse. In 2004, Dr. Merline joined Dr. Robert Zucker's research
at UMARC on the role of alcoholism and mental health in
predicting divorce. Since 2000 she has collaborated with
Dr. John Schulenberg of Monitoring the Future on research
pertaining to patterns of drug and alcohol use across the
adult life-span. Her current interests include predicting
alcohol abuse and dependence from behaviors during adolescent
and young adulthood.
