Thomas R. Blue, Ph.D. – Friends Research Institute

Thomas R. Blue, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist

Ph.D., Experimental Psychology, Quantitative Psychology Minor, Texas Christian University
tblue@friendsresearch.org
Phone: 410-837-3977 ext. 232
Fax: 410-752-4218

Research Interests

Drs. Blue’s research focuses on the treatment of substance use disorders and health disparities in criminal justice populations (prisoners, parolees, and probationers). While completing his degree at Texas Christian University, he worked on a NIDA funded project to test the effectiveness of a tablet-application based curriculum for reducing behavioral health risks associated with HIV and AIDS in individuals under community supervision for drug-related offenses. Currently, his research interests include the design, testing, and implementation of emerging technologies to improve the delivery of substance abuse treatment programs and reduce health disparities, specifically HIV and AIDS, within the criminal justice population. His quantitative research interests include the design and analysis of randomized controlled trials; the use of the generalized linear model, its extensions, and the analysis of such designs; and multi-level modeling.

Selected Publications

Crable E, Blue T, Mackenzie M, Rich J, Gordon MS (in press). Effect of case management on HIV outcomes for community corrections population: Results of an 18-month randomized controlled trial. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Gordon, M.S., Blue, T., Vocci, F., Mitchell, S., Wenzel, K., & Fishman, M. (2024). Buprenorphine dose induction in opioid non-tolerant individuals in jail. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 12 (September),100261.

Smith, L. R., Faragó, F., Blue, T., Witte, J. C., Gordon, M. S., & Taxman, F. S. (2024). Are operations backed by best practices in American problem-solving courts? Journal of Substance Use, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2024.2403080.

Blue, T. R., Fletcher, J. B., Monico, L. B., Gordon, M. S., Schwartz, R. P., & Mitchell, S. G. (2023). Jail and treatment staff attitudes regarding MOUDs before and after an implementation intervention. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 62 (7), 411-426. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2023.2246446.

Smith, L. R., Faragó, F., Blue, T., Witte, J. C., Gordon, M. S., & Taxman, F. S. (2023). Viewing Then Doing?: Problem-Solving Court Coordinators’ Perceptions of Medications for Opioid Use Disorders from a Nationally Representative Survey in the United States. Subst Use Misuse, 58 (13), 1780-1788. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2023.2247076.

Ludwig, A., Monico, L. B., Blue, T., Gordon, M. S., Schwartz, R. P., & Mitchell, S. G. (2022). Development and use of a checklist for the implementation of medication for opioid use disorder in jails. Implementation Research and Practice, 3 , 26334895221101214. Doi: 10.1177/26334895221101214.

Crable, E. L., Blue, T. R., McKenzie, M., Rich, J. D., & Gordon, M. S. (2021). Effect of case management on HIV outcomes for community corrections population: Results of an 18-month randomized controlled trial. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 87 (1), 755-762.

Gordon, M. S., Mitchell, S. G., Blue, T. R., Vocci, F. J., Fishman, M. J., Murphy, S. M., Couvillion, K., Maher, K., Ryan, D., Wenzel, K., Danner, M. L., & Jarvis, D. K. (2021). A clinical protocol of a comparative effectiveness trial of extended-release naltrexone versus extended-release buprenorphine with individuals leaving jail. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 128, 108241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108241.

Gordon MS, Mitchell SG, Blue TR, Vocci FJ, Fishman MJ, Murphy SM, CouvillionK, Maher K, Ryan D, Wenzel K, Danner ML, Jarvis DK (2020). A clinical protocol of a comparative effectiveness trial of extended-release naltrexone versus extended-release buprenorphine with individuals leaving jail. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 108241.

Blue TR, Gordon MS, Schwartz RP, Couvillion K, Vocci FJ, Fitzgerald TT, O’Grady KE (2019). Longitudinal analysis of HIV-risk behaviors of participants in a randomized trial of prison-initiated buprenorphine Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 14(1):45. doi: 10.1186/s13722-019-0172-2. PMID:31787108.

Gordon MS, Vocci FJ, Taxman F, Fishman M, Sharma B, Blue TR, O’Grady KE (2019). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Buprenorphine for Probationers and Parolees: Bridging the Gap into Treatment Contemporary Clinical Trials 79:21-27. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2019.02.009. Epub 2019 Feb 20. PMID: 30797042.

Knight DK, Blue TR, Flynn PM, Knight K (2019). The TCU Drug Screen 5: Identifying justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 57(8): 525-537.

Krawczyk N, Buresh M, Gordon MS, Blue TR, Fingerhood MI, Agus D (2019). Expanding low-threshold buprenorphine to justice-involved individuals through mobile treatment: Addressing a critical care gap Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 103:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2019.05.002. Epub 2019 May 9. PMID: 31229187.

Wiese AL, Blue TR, Knight DK, Knight K (2019). The validity of TCU Drug Screen 5 for identifying substance use disorders among justice-involved youth Federal Probation 83: 65-70.

Gordon MS, Blue TR, Couvillion K, Schwartz RP, O’Grady KE, Fitzgerald TT, Vocci FJ (2018). Initiating buprenorphine treatment prior to versus after release from prison: Arrest outcomes Drug and Alcohol Dependence 188:232-238. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.04.010. Epub 2018 May 12. PMID: 29783095.

Blue T, Pankow J, Rowan G, and Lehman W (2017). Staying safe in the community: A table computer app for improving decision-making and reducing health risk behaviors for probationers Texas Probation V(2), 11-17.

Lehman WEK, Pankow J, Blue TR, and Rowan GA (2016). StaySafe: A tablet computer app for helping probationers make better decisions regarding health risk behaviors Offender Programs Report 19 (6), 81, 90-95.