The National Institute on Abuse and Alcoholism has awarded Wayne State University psychology Professor Paul Toro a $2.5 million grant to study adolescent homelessness in Detroit.

Toro is one of the nation's foremost experts on adolescent homelessness. He is currently tracking the lives of a group of 251 homeless teenagers who live in shelters throughout metro Detroit. He is also comparing data on the homeless group of teenagers he's researching to a group of 150 teenagers that aren't homeless, but live in the same neighborhoods where the homeless teenagers once resided.

The grant will allow Toro to continue his research on the long-term consequences of teenage homelessness. The teenagers being studied range in age from 13to 17, although the study will track the teenagers to adulthood. Toro's grant, which was awarded on April 1, is slated for five years.

Toro, who has been at Wayne State since 1992, has B.A. in psychology Summa Cum Laude from State University of New York at New Paltz, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from University of Rochester.