Understanding Youth Substance Use and Risky Behavior with the Stanford REACH Lab

Anational leader in addressing addiction in youth and guiding them towards healthy decision making, Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is the founder and director of Stanford University’s Research and Education to Empower Adolescents and Young Adults to Choose Health (REACH) Lab.

The REACH lab studies developmental, cognitive, psychosocial, and cultural/social factors involved in adolescents’ and young adults’ health-related decision-making, perceptions of risk and vulnerability, health communication, and risk behavior. Our work particularly focuses on understanding and reducing adolescent and young adult substance use (including electronic cigarettes, cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana), risky sexual behavior, and risky driving.

The REACH lab has also developed My Healthy Futures, a self-paced alternative to suspension.

Recorded September 2025