Ashley Sprowls

M.A. Survey Research 2015

Clinical Research Associate, Department of Veterans Affairs

Ashley Sprowls graduated from the GPSR program in May 2015. She currently is a Clinical Research Associate within the Prime Research Center in West Haven, VA, where she specializes in the study of chronic pain conditions and behavioral health factors. Ashley has collaborated with several research clinicians to develop and implement interventions that have addressed chronic pain and its impact on the veteran population. Her roles and responsibilities as an associate include administering surveys and collecting data using various methods such as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and usability testing to identify trends and patterns of patients in each study. She develops several recruiting strategies for clinical trials and implementation projects to improve data quality. Prior to working with the Department of Veteran Affairs Ashley served in the United States Navy as a Master at Arms Military Police Officer.

Ashley earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. Ashley’s interest in the GPSR program derived from her need of having a flexible, advanced program due to her work schedule and commuting distance. “UConn is a nationally respected institution and known for its superb academic curriculum. It is a veteran friendly institution, and there are many programs tailored for veterans which supported me throughout my studies.” While serving on active duty, Ashley was assigned to various assessment teams which involved developing surveys and assessments to implement new standards for the military command. Ashley acquired adoration for designing research methods by taking the Principles and Methods of Survey Research from Dr. Thomas Cramer. Ashley applies the skills she learned in the Qualitative Methods in Public Policy course taught by Dr. Jennifer Dineen and Special Topics in Project Management daily when conducting projects that require successful methods to enrich data. Ashley stated that the GPSR program assisted her in developing pertinent skills to incorporate methods and concepts together in her position as a Research Associate. Ashley found joining a professional organization useful in networking. “There are many ways to network and gain knowledge about different professions in the industry from your peers and instructors.”

Ashley resides in Hamden, CT and her hobbies include swimming, volunteering with different organizations, and singing. Her personal aspirations include developing a social outreach program within her community to address various socio-economic conditions.