Dr. Grant was born in Denver, Colorado, where she met her husband Harry Edward Grant. In 1973, they moved to the Pacific Northwest, where she earned a Master's degree in Education at the University of Oregon, and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of Washington.

Her strong interests in teratology and in the challenges of community public health intervention began in 1987, when cocaine abuse during pregnancy became an alarming public health problem. She collaborated with Dr. Ann Streissguth to study neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal exposure on infants. Over the course of that study she observed first-hand the complex problems of families affected by alcohol and drug abuse. For her, a compelling challenge evolved: To develop an intervention for high-risk mothers in order to prevent future alcohol and drug exposed births.

To that end, in 1991 she collaborated with Dr. Streissguth to obtain federal funding for the Seattle Parent-Child Assistance Program (PCAP) research demonstration project. Dr. Grant has directed PCAP since that time. Research findings demonstrated the model's efficacy, and PCAP is now an award-winning program funded by state legislative appropriation with sites in six Washington State counties (King, Pierce, Yakima, Grant, Spokane, Cowlitz) and the capacity to serve 450 families. The PCAP model has been replicated at numerous other sites in the United States and Canada.

Therese has used the PCAP model as a platform from which to further examine research questions on prevention and intervention, with a particular focus on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. For example, she was recently principal investigator for "FAS/ARBD Prevention: Research to Practice," a federally-funded grant screening over 3,000 postpartum women at UW Medical Center and Tacoma General Hospitals. Data from that project has now given us the opportunity to examine trends in self-reported alcohol use during pregnancy in Washington State over 17 years (1987-2004). In 2001 the March of Dimes funded Dr. Grant to examine quality of life and psychosocial profiles among young women who themselves have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and to test a PCAP-based community intervention to improve access to services for these women.

Dr. Grant works closely with state and community leaders to advance programs and policies that address problems of families affected by substance abuse. She has published research on numerous aspects of perinatal substance abuse and intervention, including perinatal exposure measurement, prevalence of alcohol and drug use, social intervention with women who themselves have fetal alcohol syndrome, and risk factors for depression among substance-abusing mothers. In 2005 PCAP collaborated with Community Psychiatric Clinic to build and operate a new transitional housing facility in Seattle ("The Willows") for PCAP mothers who have co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, and their children.

As the new director of the Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit, she is honored to work with a talented and dedicated team of researchers and clinicians. Together, their goals are to advance our understanding of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, to intervene effectively with individuals and families affected by substance abuse, and to work with communities to develop policies and programs that address problems associated with alcohol and drug abuse.

When she's not at work Therese enjoys bicycling and hiking with her husband and three children, from the Washington Cascades to Chilean Patagonia.