What is Voice Up - Connect to Purpose ?

Voice Up - Connect to Purpose manages 5 data types including assessments. Helps you organize, track, and share your work in 1 place for teams and solo users.

NIH BIOSKETCH

Art Fuller, MPH/DHSc (Dual Degree, In Progress), MEd

A. Personal Statement

My scientific focus is the study of purpose as an upstream psychosocial determinant of health, using exploratory, mixed-methods, practice-based research designs in non-clinical populations. My work bridges behavioral science, education, and population health, with particular emphasis on how individuals articulate, refine, and align purpose with talents, educational pathways, and emerging career trajectories across developmental and cultural contexts.

I am the founder and principal investigator of Voice Up, an observational research initiative designed to capture purpose-centered narrative and structured data in ecologically valid, non-clinical settings. Over a 13-month period, Voice Up has supported large-scale, voluntary participation across the United States and internationally, generating a diverse dataset suitable for descriptive, longitudinal, and hypothesis-generating analyses. This work directly aligns with NIH priorities in prevention science, population health, and upstream psychosocial determinants of well-being.

I am currently completing a coordinated dual-degree program in Public Health (MPH) and Health Sciences (DHSc), with both degrees awarded concurrently and doctoral completion anticipated in May 2026. My dissertation, Perceptions with Impact: A Qualitative Study of African American College Students and Their Perceptions of Possible Careers in Behavioral Health, analyzes 11 semi-structured interviews spanning 10 states, 10 universities, and 11 academic majors (freshman through senior standing), yielding four primary themes and seven cross-theme constructs converging to reveal the Naming Gap as the central finding — the systematic absence of environmental mechanisms that name, recognize, and translate students' existing behavioral health experiences into visible career pathways across three interconnected environments (home/community, institutional, and organizational). All 11 participants (100%) demonstrated an immediate, uniform interpretive shift following a CMS definitional intervention — a catalytic activation of latent career interest consistent with Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., 2000), narrative career theory (Savickas, 2011), contextual perspectives on work (Blustein, 2013), and career landscape navigation (Hirschi, 2018). This work provides advanced training in qualitative methodology, narrative analysis, and ethical engagement with underrepresented populations, and directly informs the methodological framework of the proposed exploratory R21.

My training is complemented by a Master of Education (MEd) and an undergraduate background in Neuroscience & Behavior. I have served as Principal Investigator on federally funded projects (including awards from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Education) and have extensive experience building early-stage research infrastructure, managing federal compliance, and leading interdisciplinary teams. This background positions me well to lead the proposed NIH R21, which emphasizes feasibility, construct refinement, and methodological rigor rather than intervention testing or causal inference.

B. Positions and Honors

Founder & Principal Investigator

Voice Up Research Initiative | United States | 2024–Present

Senior Policy and Research Consultant

State-Level Budget, Education, and Behavioral Health Systems | 2019–Present

Adjunct Faculty / Trainer

Graduate and Professional Education Programs | 2018–Present

Principal Investigator (Federal Awards)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
U.S. Department of Education, Charter Schools Program

Selected Honors

Federal Principal Investigator on Multiple Awards
State-Level Recognition for Behavioral Health and Education Systems Analysis

C. Contributions to Science

1. Purpose as a Developmental and Psychosocial Construct

I have contributed to exploratory, practice-based research examining purpose as a developmental psychosocial construct, with emphasis on how individuals articulate and refine purpose over time and align it with talents and educational or career pathways. This contribution is grounded in real-world narrative data rather than clinical or intervention-based samples.