Behavioral Change Research Center

Trajectories Related to ADHD in College (TRAC) Project

Dr. Lisa Weyandt

Lisa Weyandt in her ADHD labProfessor Lisa Weyandt has been involved in the study of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for over 25 years. She is recognized as a national expert and has presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Weyandt has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed refereed journals and is the author of An ADHD Primer and The Physiological Bases of Cognitive and Behavior Disorders. She recently published College Students with ADHD: Current Issues and Future Directions with her colleague Dr. George Dupaul, Lehigh University. Dr. Weyandt has published several book chapters and recently she and Bergljot Gyda Gudmundsdottir published a book chapter in Dr. Russell Barkley’s book, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Fourth Edition): A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment.

The TRAC (Trajectories Related to ADHD in College) Project is a 5-year, multi-site, NIH-funded longitudinal investigation of over 420 college students with and without ADHD. Dr. Lisa Weyandt is a Co-Principal Investigator, working in collaboration with Lead Principal Investigator Dr. Arthur Anastopoulos at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. George DuPaul at Lehigh University.

The goal of the TRAC Project is to track the educational, social, emotional, and vocational outcomes of college students with ADHD, and to inform the assessment and treatment of ADHD on college campuses. Participants in Rhode Island include students at the University of Rhode Island, Brown University, and Rhode Island College. Dr. Weyandt and her team are currently in the process of contacting and scheduling all of returning students for their second and third annual assessment, which will occur either in the fall or spring semester of the 2014-2015 academic year.

A second area of research in the lab concerns pharmacological treatment of college students with ADHD. Dr. Weyandt was the Lead Principal Investigator, along with Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. George DuPaul at Lehigh University, in conducting the first clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of Vyvanse with college students with ADHD. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, funded by SHIRE Pharmaceuticals, Vyvanse was found to significantly reduce ADHD symptomatology and improve executive functions.

A third area of research in the lab involves the study of the misuse and diversion of prescription stimulants (e.g., Adderall) by college students with and without ADHD. Dr. Weyandt and her research team, consisting of graduate and undergraduate students, have published a series of papers concerning this topic and were among the first to explore the relationship between psychological factors and prescription stimulant misuse.

A fourth area of research involves the study of executive functions in clinical and non-clinical populations.

A fifth area of research concerns the exploration of the clinical utility and limitations of neuroimaging techniques.

students in the TRAC labCurrent graduate student projects include:

  • the study of prescription stimulant misuse among Icelandic college students (Bergljot Gyda Gudmundsdottir),
  • a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of prescription stimulants (Marisa Marraccini),
  • the quality of life of expatriate children and adolescents attending international schools (Bryn Martinez Zavras)

Manuscripts in preparation concern the physiological bases of executive functions in clinical and non-clinical populations as well as a review of studies examining neuroplasticity.