Dr. Shirley is a Program Director in the Division of Treatment and Recovery, Health Services, and Recovery Branch (THSRB), at the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). She also serves as Co-Chair of the NIAAA Centers and Training Working Group, which provides trans-divisional programmatic and policy oversight of Institute activities related to the Alcohol Research Centers, the NRSA Institutional Training Programs, Individual NRSA Fellowship and Career Development Awards, and NIAAA-supported diversity supplements at the individual and curriculum (R25) programmatic levels. Dr. Shirley earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University. She is a fellow of the Society of Addiction Psychology (Division 50) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and in 2012 received the APA Meritorious Research Service Commendation Award. Her research expertise areas include screening and behavioral interventions, underage/college drinking, psychiatric comorbidity, and behavioral medicine. In DTRR she oversees a research portfolio that includes AUD in youth and older populations, translational research, innovative technologies, and comorbidity.

Tanner-Smith, E. E., Cronce, J. M., Patrick, M. E., & Shirley, M. C. (2022). Brief alcohol interventions for young adults: Strengthening effects, disentangling mechanisms, and scaling up for impact. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 36(6), 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000865.

Czajkowski, S.M., Lynch, M.R., Hall, K.L., Stipelman, B., Haverkos, L., Perl, H., Scott, M.S., & Shirley, M.C. (2016). Transdisciplinary translational behavioral (TDTB) research: opportunities, barriers, and innovations. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 6, 32–43.

White, A., Castle, I-J, Chen, C., Shirley, M.C., Roach, D., & Hingson, R. (2015). Converging Patterns of Alcohol Use and Related Outcomes Among Females and Males in the United States, 2002-2012. Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 39(9), 1712-26.

Shirley, M.C., & Sirocco, K.Y. (2014). Introduction to special section: ADHD, impulsivity, and alcohol abuse. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol, 22(2), 97-99.

Chassin, L., Collins, R. L., Ritter, J., Shirley, M.C., Zvolensky, M. J., & Kashdan, T. B. (2010). Vulnerability to substance use disorders across the lifespan. In R. E. Ingram, & J. M. Price (Eds.), Vulnerability to psychopathology: Risk across the lifespan, 2nd Edition (pp. 176-185). New York: Guilford Press.