Dr. Sloboda was trained in medical sociology, in mental health and epidemiology. Her research has focused on substance use epidemiology, services research, and the evaluation of treatment and prevention programs. Her current focus is on workforce development in the area of prevention and the relationship between training and the implementation of evidence-based prevention interventions and policies.
She has served on the faculties of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and until 2009, The University of Akron. Prior to this last position, Dr. Sloboda worked for twelve years at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in several capacities, finally as the Director of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research.
She was a founder of the U.S. and E.U. Societies for Prevention Research and is well-published in the area of drug abuse epidemiology and substance use prevention.