Goings the Extra Mile

Trenette Goings is the Sandra Reeves Spear and John B. Turner Distinguished Professor within the UNC School of Social Work. She works to identify and prevent health disparities by studying the epidemiology, etiology and prevention of substance use among adolescents and emerging adults.

Endeavors caught up with Goings recently as part of their Research UNCovered series, profiling the many faces of research across North Carolina.

“As a child, I witnessed the social, health and economic consequences of substance misuse,” said Goings. “During my senior year in high school, when I happened to see a flyer with a list of majors and brief descriptions in my school’s lobby, social work’s description resonated with me. I decided in that moment that I would major in social work and use my knowledge and skills to prevent addiction and its detrimental effects.”

Goings’ interventions largely took place in-person, but due to social isolation requirements when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her lab — the INSPIRED Lab — quickly developed tools to bring interventions online.

When asked to describe her research in five words, Goings stated, “Effective prevention can eliminate addiction.”

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