Research Success Driven by Collaboration

When Richard Grucza, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Department of Health Outcomes Research, arrived at Saint Louis University in 2020, he was drawn to the School of Medicine’s ambitious goals. But, it is the school’s collaborative nature that distinctly impacts his research efforts.

“SLU School of Medicine researchers are a highly collaborative group,” Grucza said. “We have a strong sense of our shared mission to put ourselves on the map and improve connections amongst ourselves and the whole University.”

As a researcher in substance use disorders, Grucza seeks to improve policies and treatments for substance and opioid use. His work is among the top five percent of researchers in the U.S. — amassing an impressive h-index of 64, which is calculated by counting the number of publications an author has been cited by other authors at least that same number of times. Yet, he explained his h-index would not be where it is without collaboration.

“I’m going on 25 years in this research, and today, many of my research questions are driven by the younger colleagues who I am mentoring,” he said.

Grucza has mentored students and junior faculty members throughout his career. Most recently, his efforts have focused on the Building Integrated Learning and Coaching Networks for Research (BILCNResearch) Program. Led by the Office of Vice President for Research, it offers junior faculty members mentorship to help them grow into grantfunded researchers.

This has spurred additional alliances between his current mentees at SLU and prior mentees at Washington University in St. Louis. Grucza has connected two of his mentees, Jennifer Bello-Kottenstette, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at SLU School of Medicine and Kevin Xu, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, based on their mutual interest in increasing access to high-quality treatment for pregnant women with substance use disorder.

“It’s turned into a very fruitful collaboration that is yielding a lot of publications,” Grucza said. “It’s a great example of interdisciplinary cross-university collaboration.”

As Grucza looks ahead, he aims to continue providing crucial research to aid individuals suffering from substance use disorder and to foster further collaborations at SLU and beyond.