Sean Esteban McCabe, PhD

Sean Estaban McCabe

Professor
Carol J. Boyd Collegiate Professor
Director, Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health
Department of Health Behavior and Clinical Sciences
Room 2241A NURS1

University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482

ORCID

Telephone: (734) 764-4580
Sean McCabe is accepting new PhD students.

In the news

Interests

  • Substance use disorder
  • Controlled substances
  • Impact of addiction and overdose on children
  • Survey methodology

Dr. McCabe is an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of epidemiology of substance use disorders, prescription medication use and misuse, and survey methodology. He has clinical experience treating adolescents, young adults, and adults with substance use disorders. He is the Director of the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health (DASH Center) in the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. Dr. McCabe was the Associate Editor for an addiction journal and regularly reviews grant applications for several organizations including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, and William T. Grant Foundation. He previously directed the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center and Office of Student Conflict Resolution. He has been the recipient of three NIH research awards and earned the prestigious 2024 Betty Ford Award for his significant impact on the field of addiction and recovery. He has been a principal investigator of 15 FDA- and NIH-funded projects, participating investigator on a number of NIH-funded projects and authored or co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. McCabe is a grateful person in recovery from alcohol and opioid use disorder. He works diligently to help others struggling with addiction and strives to be a resource for those seeking recovery. A highlight for him each year is watching students in recovery from addiction walk across graduation stages.

Current Research Grants and Programs

  • A Mosaic Approach for Understanding Stimulant and Opioid Use and Use Disorder Trajectories and Associated Consequences in US Adults, US Food and Drug Administration (PI: McCabe), 2024-2028
  • R01 Trajectories of Nonmedical Prescription Drug Misuse, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health (PI: McCabe), 2024-2028
  • R01 E-Cigarette Use Among US Adolescents and Young Adults: Longitudinal Associations with Tobacco Use and Health and Dimensions of Risk and Protection, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (PI: Evans-Polce, Co-I: McCabe), 2022-2026

Teaching

Dr. McCabe has served as a faculty mentor on five NIH-funded substance use research training programs and he regularly mentors undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty.  He regularly lectures and serves on dissertation committees at the University of Michigan and other universities. Dr. McCabe was the recipient of the University of Michigan Research Faculty Recognition Award and his approach to teaching/mentoring is that of a facilitator. He believes that the mentor-mentee relationship is collaborative, learner-centered, and is most often transformative for all involved. His philosophy reflects a life-long commitment to “lift as we climb,” using combined strengths to meet learning needs and to actively engage the learner (whether student or peer). His most significant teaching and mentoring contributions include teaching graduate seminars, conducting interdisciplinary research, mentoring over 50 high school students, undergraduate students, graduate students as well as post-doctoral fellows, providing over 50 invited guest lectures and presentations, and completing over 400 peer-reviewed articles or presentations with student and/or mentee co-authors. Dr. McCabe takes a great deal of pride in mentoring his student mentees to take active roles in conducting and disseminating research. 

Affiliations / Service

  • Facilitator, Children’s Bereavement Support Group, Ele’s Place, Michigan, 2024-present
  • Member, Substance Use Researchers with Lived Experience (SURLE), 2023-present
  • Core Member, Health Behavior and Outcomes Program, Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2020-present
  • Access Improvement Work Team Member, Student Mental Health Committee and Implementation Team, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2021-present
  • Moderator, Hispanic Heritage Month Health Equity Series, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2020-present
  • Faculty Associate, Youth and Social Issues Program (YSI), Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2019-present
  • Executive Committee Member, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2019-present
  • Reviewer, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 2007-present

Notable Awards / Honors

  • Betty Ford Award, AMERSA, 2024
  • Mentor, CPDD Early Career Investigator Award (Pasman), 2024
  • National Hispanic Science Network Travel Award, National Hispanic Science Network, 2019
  • Underserved Population Award Winner, American Society on Addiction Medicine, 2019
  • Research Faculty Recognition Award, University of Michigan, 2007
  • Michigan Leadership Award, Organization of Latino Social Workers, 1996

Education

  • Health Policy Fellowship, Center for Health Research and Transformation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2025
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship, National Institute on Drug Abuse, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2002
  • PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2000
  • MA, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1998
  • MSW, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1995
  • BA, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, 1992

Publication Highlights

  • McCabe SE, McCabe VV, Schepis TS. (2025). US children living with a parent with substance use disorder. JAMA Pediatrics, e250828. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.0828. PMCID: PMC12070274.

  • He S, McCabe SE, Conti RM, Chua KP. (2025). Changes in stimulant dispensing to US children associated with the stimulant shortage. Pediatrics, 155(6), e2025070777. doi:10.1542/peds.2025-070777.

  • McCabe SE, Pasman E, Wilens TE, Schepis TS, McCabe VV, Ford JA, Jardine J, Veliz PT. (2025). Trends in prescription stimulant, opioid, and benzodiazepine use and diversion in U.S. adolescents. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 182(7). doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20240674.

  • Schepis TS, Veliz PT, McCabe VV, Werner KS, Pasman E, Wilens TE, McCabe SE. (2025). Severity of stimulant use disorder by psychostimulant type and polystimulant use pattern. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 33(3), 275-284. doi:10.1037/pha0000761. PMCID: PMC12097928. Selected as Editor’s Choice.

  • McCabe SE, Pasman E, Wilens T, Schepis TS, McCabe V, Ford J, Veliz P. (2024). Adolescent use, diversion sources, and perceived procurement difficulty of prescription medications. JAMA, 332(7), 587-589. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.12030. PMCID: PMC11270238.

  • McCabe SE, Schulenberg JE, Wilens TE, Schepis TS, Werner KS, McCabe VV, Veliz PT. (2024). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder stimulant therapy and prescription drug misuse during transition to young adulthood. Psychiatric Services, 75(7), 622-629. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.20230418. PMCID: PMC11315353.

  • McCabe SE, Figueroa O, McCabe VV, Schepis TS, Schulenberg JE, Veliz PT, Werner KS, Wilens TE. (2024). Is age of onset and duration of stimulant therapy for ADHD associated with cocaine, methamphetamine, and prescription stimulant misuse? The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 65(1), 100-111. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13807. PMCID: PMC10852992.

  • McCabe SE, Schulenberg JE, Wilens TE, Schepis TS, McCabe VV, Veliz PT. (2023). Prescription stimulant medical and nonmedical use among US secondary school students, 2005 to 2020. JAMA Network Open, 6(4), e238707. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.8707. PMCID: PMC10114020.

  • Schepis TS, Werner KS, Figueroa O, McCabe VV, Schulenberg JE, Veliz PT, Wilens TS, McCabe SE. (2023). Type of medication therapy for ADHD and stimulant misuse during adolescence: A cross-sectional multi-cohort national study. eClinicalMedicine, 16(58), 101902. doi: 101016/j.eclinm.2023.101902. PMCID: PMC10036501.

  • Veliz PT, Wilens TE, Schepis TS, McCabe VV, McCabe SE. (2023). Trends in diversion sources for prescription stimulant misuse in US adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. S0749-3797(23)00160-5. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2023.03.018.

  • McCabe SE, Schulenberg JE, Schepis TS, McCabe VV, Veliz PT. (2022). Longitudinal analysis of substance use disorder symptom severity at age 18 years and substance use disorder in adulthood. JAMA Network Open, 5(4), e225324. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.5324. PMCID: PMC8976240.

  • McCabe SE, Schulenberg JE, Schepis TS, Evans-Polce RJ, Wilens TE, McCabe VV, Veliz PT. (2022). Trajectories of prescription drug misuse among US adults from ages 18 to 50 years. JAMA Network Open, 5(1), e2141995. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.41995. PMCID: PMC8728613.

  • Veliz PT, McCabe SE, Eckner JT, Schulenberg JE. (2021). Trends in the prevalence of concussion reported by US adolescents, 2016-2020. JAMA, 325(17), 1789-1791. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1538. PMCID: PMC8097492.

  • McCabe SE, Arterberry BJ, Dickinson K, Evans-Polce RJ, Ford J, Ryan J, Schepis TS. (2021). Assessment of changes in alcohol and marijuana abstinence, co-use, and use disorders among US young adults from: 2002-2018. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(1),64-72. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3352. PMCID: PMC7551219.

  • Additional published work.