Old Dominion University's popular Science Pubs series continues Thursday, Oct. 26, with a topic familiar to many in the Hampton Roads community: military mental health.

Associate professor of community and environmental health Robert Cramer will kick off the series with his presentation, "Healing our Heroes: The Science of Risk and Resilience for Military Mental Health." The event, which is being held in conjunction with the inaugural Mentally Healthy Norfolk Month, will be held at the Smartmouth Brewery Co., 1309 Raleigh Ave., in Norfolk. Networking begins at 6 p.m.; trivia and discussion starts at 6:30 p.m.

Cramer, whose professional interests include suicide assessment, intervention and prevention, and vulnerable populations/health disparities, will discuss his research and provide an overview of s current best practices in the community. He'll also talk about the Veterans Administration health care system and their support of military service member mental health.

Cramer will highlight evidence-based examples of local mental health services led by members of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. He'll discuss previous suicide-prevention work with the VA health care system, and suicide-prevention research with the naval hospital.

Cramer earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Alabama, and received back-to-back teaching fellowships in 2016 and 2017. He also received an Old Dominion Outstanding Faculty award in 2014.

Science Pubs offers community members a way to connect with Old Dominion researchers in a fun atmosphere to learn about a broad range of research initiatives at the University. Next month Carol Considine, assistant dean of outreach for the Batten College of Engineering and Technology, will discuss how "going green" can help reduce area flooding.