MIRECC / CoE

Meet a SC MIRECC Researcher: Brandon Griffin, Ph.D.

Q. Please tell us a bit about your educational and career background.

I joined the SC MIRECC as an affiliate investigator in 2019, coinciding with my start as a staff psychologist at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS). In 2024, I took on the role of SCMIRECC Assistant Director for Research, where I am responsible for overseeing the Center’s pilot program that provides start-up funding to affiliated investigators opening new lines of research. Prior to my current position, I completed an independent post-doctoral fellowship at the San Francisco VA Healthcare System and a pre-doctoral internship at the Salt Lake City VA Healthcare System. I earned my PhD in clinical psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2017.

Q. What do you like about doing research with Veterans?

The opportunity to work with Veterans appeals to me due to the unique synergy between research and clinical practice within the VA system. As a scientist-practitioner specializing in PTSD, I greatly appreciate the evidence-based treatments that have enabled more Veterans than ever to access treatments for psychological trauma. Concurrently, my experience as a frontline clinician has highlighted the necessity for supplemental treatments in response to exposure to warzone atrocities and killing. This realization has motivated me to focus one of my primary research areas on moral injury.

Q. Do you have any ongoing or upcoming projects that you want to highlight?

For the past several years, I have served as a subject matter expert on moral injury for the National Center for PTSD. We recently released multiple resources, including a docuseries featuring Veterans sharing their personal experiences with moral injury as part of the ABOUTFACE webpage, and the Moral Injury and Distress Scale, designed to identify Veterans at risk of negative health outcomes due to moral injury. Additionally, I am involved in multiple hybrid effectiveness-implementation trials testing emerging treatments for moral injury at VA medical centers across the U.S. These efforts include collaborations with SCMIRECC colleagues Jeff Pyne and Katy Grubbs in Little Rock, Chelsea Ennis in New Orleans, and a partnership with Ellen Teng from the Center for Innovative Treatment of Anxiety & Stress in Houston. I am proud that the VA is at the forefront of addressing moral injury relative to healthcare systems worldwide, with VISN 16 leading the way thanks to the dedicated efforts of SCMIRECC investigators and their partners.

Q. Who are the people who have played important roles in your professional development that you would like to mention?

Dr. Shira Maguen of the San Francisco VA Healthcare System and Dr. Everett L. Worthington, Jr., of Virginia Commonwealth University each played a pivotal role in my professional development. They encouraged me to explore topics that were often discussed publicly but remained largely understudied. Their guidance helped me to establish myself as an early career VA investigator, providing me with the expertise to develop a robust research program and secure the resources needed to support our team.

Q. How has your SC MIRECC affiliation helped grow your research career?

Science is a team sport. When I started in my current position, I had no local research colleagues. Thankfully, the SCMIRECC paired me with a senior investigator mentor, Jeff Pyne. Soon after, Marci Weber and Katy Grubbs, both former SCMIRECC fellows, joined our team of researchers embedded in the CAVHS Outpatient PTSD clinic. In 2021, we established the Trauma, Resilience, and Community Collaboration (TRECC) Lab.

Since then, my connections to SCMIRECC investigators at other anchor sites have been expanding, including multiple funded projects. Each new connection has enriched my professional life and expanded opportunities for rural Veterans to participate in research that improves VA care.

Q. What would your dream research study be if funding weren’t an issue?

Our team's research indicates that approximately 1 in 2 Veterans have been exposed to a potentially morally injurious event during military service, and 1 in 20 Veterans report experiencing problems in their day-to-day lives attributed to moral injury upon returning to civilian life. Furthermore, Veterans with probable moral injury are approximately three times more likely to report thinking about suicide in the past two weeks and six times more likely to attempt suicide in their lifetime. While treatments for moral injury are beginning to be disseminated, primarily in specialty mental health settings such as outpatient PTSD clinics, many Veterans at risk of negative health outcomes due to moral injury still lack access to targeted treatment. My dream project would help bridge this gap by developing and testing a web or mobile application that provides high-reach, low-intensity moral injury treatment, creating a stepped approach to comprehensive moral injury care.

Q. How can people get in touch with you if they have questions?

I can be reached at Brandon.Griffin2@va.gov.

Last updated: July 21, 2025