Marybel Gonzalez, PhD

About

Biography

I am Marybel Robledo Gonzalez, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. I specialize in community-engaged research, youth alcohol and substance use and neurocognition. My research focuses on understanding how social environments shape brain health, cognitive development and substance use across the life span.

My work is grounded in the belief that research is most impactful when the people most affected by a health concern help shape the questions being asked. I partner with community organizations, families, youth and community leaders across urban, rural and Appalachian settings to co-develop research priorities, design studies that communities find acceptable and meaningful, and share findings in ways that are useful beyond academic settings. This collaborative approach informs every stage of the research process, from study design and recruitment to interpretation and dissemination of results.

My research program examines how family relationships, peer networks, neighborhoods and broader community conditions influence brain development, neurocognition and the onset and progression of substance use from adolescence through later adulthood. I use community-engaged qualitative and quantitative research methods. These include longitudinal cohort studies, epidemiological approaches, surveys, ethnography, grounded theory and secondary data analysis, and they help to identify both risk and resilience factors that affect health outcomes.

A particular focus of my work is advancing knowledge in groups that have been underrepresented in large-scale brain and behavioral research. By integrating rigorous scientific methods with community partnership, I aim to generate evidence that is both methodologically strong and directly relevant to the communities it serves. My goal is to inform prevention and intervention strategies that improve brain health and reduce substance-related harms while promoting equitable access to research participation and its benefits.

In addition to my research activities, I serve as the associate vice chair of Community Health Access and Engagement, helping strengthen partnerships between the academic medical center and the communities we serve. My experience as a researcher, instructor and mentor has reinforced the importance of collaboration, shared decision-making and community-centered approaches to advancing scientific discovery and improving health outcomes.

Credentials

Research