phd in addiction medicine

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Addiction Neuroscience - Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Addiction Neuroscience Ph.D.

The Ph.D. in Addiction Neuroscience is offered in the Department of Psychology.

The program is intended for students interested in the behavioral and brain sciences who seek research-based careers in behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology. The graduate training is designed to promote a comprehensive understanding of the neural bases of behavior, with an emphasis on the behavioral neurobiology of drugs of abuse.

You will gain expertise in integrative neuroscience and learn to apply current methods of cellular and systems neuroscience to key problems of drug abuse and addiction. You’ll be prepared for a career in academia, medical neuroscience research, the pharmaceutical industry, or government research.

You’ll work closely with a faculty mentor, often in collaboration with other faculty on campus. Your studies will focus on the actions and effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse on brain function and brain development, as well as on brain mechanisms of addictive behavior. Our faculty are experts in:

• psychopharmacology and neurochemistry of alcohol and drugs of abuse
• genetic determinants of alcohol abuse
• mechanisms of alcohol-related behavior
• behavioral and neurobiological consequences of developmental exposure to drugs of abuse

Understanding your course requirements *denotes a required course

Core in Addiction Neuroscience (12 credit hours required)

• *PSY 615 - Behavioral Neuroscience (3 credits)
• *PSY-I 545 - Psychopharmacology (3 credits)
• *PSY-I 570 - Drugs of Abuse (3 credits)
• PSY-I 544 - Psychobiology of Motivation & Reward (3 credits)
• PSY 590 - Behavior Genetics & Animal Models (3 credits)

Core in Neurobiology (6 credit hours required)

• ANAT D527 - Neuroanatomy (3 credits)
• BIOL 571 - Developmental Neurobiology (3 credits)
• ANAT D526 - Methods in Cell and Neurobiology (4 credits)
• BIOC B835 - Neurochemistry (3 credits)
• PHAR F809 - Neuropharmacology (3 credits)
• ANAT D876 - Neurotransmitter/Neuroendocrine Cytology & Anatomy (3 credits)
• ANAT D888 - Developmental & Molecular Neurobiology (3 credits)
• BIOC B500 - (3 credits)
• ORCHEM 533 - Biochemistry (3 credits)

Core in Psychology

Quantitative Methods (6 credit hours required) 

• *PSY 600 - Statistical Inference (3 credits)
• *PSY 601 - Correlation & Experiment Design (3 credits)

Learning, Memory, & Cognition (6 credit hours required) 

• PSY 518 - Memory & Cognition (3 credits)
• PSY 622 - Animal Learning (3 credits)
• PSY 624 - Human Learning & Memory (3 credits)
• PSY 628 - Perceptual Processes (3 credits)
• PSY 655 - Cognitive Development (3 credits)
• PSY-I 675 - Human Neuropsychology (3 credits)

Clinical, Social, Developmental, and I/O (6 credit hours required)

• PSY-I 535 - Clinical Neuroscience (3 credits)
• PSY 570 - Industrial Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY 572 - Organizational Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY-I 591 - Psychopathology (3 credits)
• PSY 640 - Survey of Social Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY-I 670 - Ethical Issues in Psychology (3 credits)

Seminars & Professional Training (8, 1-hour seminar credit hours of 590 required)

• *590 - Addictions Seminar (1 credit per semester)
• N801 - Seminar-Topics in Medical Neuroscience (1 credit)
• N802 - Tech. of Effective Grant Writing (3 credits)
• G504 - Introduction to Research Ethics (2 credits)
• G556 - Humane Animal Experimentation (1 credit)
• *I595 - Seminar in Teaching Psychology (0-3 credits)

Every student is expected to serve in some teaching capacity for at least two semesters, either as a teaching assistant or as an instructor for an undergraduate psychology course.

Requirements

Read the requirements in the academic bulletin. Choose the bulletin year corresponding to your first term.

• 2022–2023
• 2021–2022
• 2020–2021
• 2019–2020
• 2018–2019

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University of Lynchburg

Addiction Medicine Concentration

The University of Lynchburg Doctor of Medical Science addiction medicine concentration is specifically tailored for PAs engaged in addiction medicine as well as those operating in other medical fields. This comprehensive program entails 37 credit hours, inclusive of crucial courses such as evidence-based medicine and the doctoral project, allowing full-time students to complete the degree within four terms or 12 months.

Our curriculum places a strong emphasis on key areas related to addiction and mental health disorders. It delves into understanding the contributing factors to these disorders and explores the future trajectory of addiction medicine. As part of this program, students will hone critical thinking and clinical skills.

Tailored to accommodate both professionals already engaged in the addiction field and those venturing from other specialties, the concentration offers personalized levels of study. This approach is designed to challenge and enrich the knowledge of students, ensuring a well-rounded preparation in addiction medicine.

Graduates from this concentration are well-prepared to work in addiction medicine, both in executive and clinical roles, and to serve as advocates for addiction issues and policy. The program aims to equip PAs with the skills and knowledge necessary to make a meaningful impact in the dynamic and evolving field of addiction medicine.

“I am excited to be able to participate in the initiation of two new concentrations within the DMSc program at the University of Lynchburg. The Behavioral Medicine and Addiction Medicine concentrations are being implemented to help address the shortage of healthcare providers within those specialties. Mental health related services have been identified as one of the areas of greatest need currently and over the next decade. Our concentrations will prepare graduates who are working in psychiatry or addiction medicine and those who are not currently working in those areas to increase their knowledge of mental health and addiction disorders.” – James R. Kilgore, DMSc, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this program, graduates will be able to:

• Medical knowledge
• Patient care
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• Systems-based practice
• Practice-based learning and improvement
• Professionalism and leadership in the addiction medicine field
• Design, develop, and execute clinical care that improves outcomes for patients seeking care for addiction and related disorders
• Develop professional medical writing skills to advance the PA profession.

Addiction Medicine Plan of Study

October and march enrollment, term 1 (10 credits):, term 2 (10 credits), term 3 (7 credits):, term 4 (7 credits):, term 5 (3 credits):.

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Best Online PhDs in Addiction Studies

Are you ready to discover your college program?

Ph.D. in Addiction Counseling

Earning a Ph.D. in addiction and recovery online can open up career pathways in counseling, research, academia, or public policy. Amid the current opioid epidemic, it is essential to help individuals who struggle with addiction. The Bureau of Labor Services (BLS) projects employment for substance abuse counselor jobs to grow by 18% from 2022-2032. If you want to contribute to the fight against addiction as a counselor, researcher, or educator, consider earning a Ph.D. in addiction counseling online.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts on addiction treatment have become an important asset. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 13% of Americans admitted to starting or increasing use of addictive substances in the pandemic’s early stages. Substance abuse counselors have taken to online platforms to help counsel people struggling with these issues during the pandemic.

Read on for our alphabetically sorted rankings of counseling and psychology doctoral programs that fall under the umbrella of addiction and recovery doctoral degrees.

Featured Addiction & Recovery Programs

Best online doctoral addiction and recovery programs, national university.

• In-State $11,064
• Out-of-state $11,064
• Retention Rate 0%
• Acceptance Rate 0%
• Students Enrolled 12,471
• Institution Type Private
• Percent Online Enrollment 0%
• Accreditation Yes

Regent University

• Campus + Online
• In-State $17,220
• Out-of-state $17,220
• Retention Rate 77%
• Acceptance Rate 50%
• Students Enrolled 10,483
• Percent Online Enrollment 93%

How We Chose These Schools

At TheBestSchools, we pride ourselves on our proprietary ranking methodology to help prospective students like you find the best fit. Our ranking system uses data from the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate schools without bias while accounting for key factors like academic quality, online offerings, and affordability.

This ranking is from 2023. Learn more about how our formula works on our ranking methodology page .

What Is an Online Ph.D. in Addiction and Recovery?

Schools typically offer online Ph.D. in addiction and recovery programs as specialized counseling degrees, focused on helping individuals with addiction and substance challenges. However, this degree often includes a non-clinical focus on addiction psychology.

A full-time student usually completes this program in 3-4 years. An online Ph.D. in addiction and recovery suits individuals looking to become addiction counselors. However, the degree also attracts psychiatrists and non-clinical psychologists who are looking to specialize. The degree prepares learners to enter the workforce as specialized addictions counselors or as psychologists dedicated to furthering our understanding of addiction.

Enrollees can expect to take coursework in addiction treatment, family studies, and pharmacology of addiction. Doctoral students also learn cultural sensitivity, empathy, personal ethics, and integrity.

Choosing an Online Ph.D. in Addiction and Recovery Program

When selecting an online doctorate in addiction and recovery, individuals should carefully consider cost, eligibility for in-state tuition, and program length.

Prospective students should also make sure that the program aligns with their professional goals. Check if the program culminates with a residency requirement, and research what kind of practicum or field experience accompanies the curriculum. Learners should also know if the program or concentration is tailored toward addiction counseling or non-clinical addiction psychology.

Accreditation for Online Addiction and Recovery Degree Programs

Candidates should always check the regional accreditation status of prospective schools and programs. Accreditation is a form of quality assurance that demonstrates academic rigor.

Prospective online addiction and recovery online doctoral programs should also have programmatic accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) or the American Psychology Association (APA). CACREP accredits programs in addiction counseling, while APA accredits non-clinical addiction psychology degrees.

What Else Can I Expect From a Ph.D. in Addiction and Recovery Program?

Ph.D. in addiction and recovery online programs differ widely in their course offerings. Some focus on the traditional counseling path, while others emphasize research into addiction and substance abuse. However, most programs cover similar addiction treatment, counseling, and intervention strategies. They also typically investigate the pharmacology of addiction and the family dynamics and cultural issues that contribute to addiction.

Many doctoral programs in addiction and recovery prepare students for their dissertations by exploring quantitative and qualitative research methods. Other programs incorporate field study or residencies into the course of study.

Common Courses in Addiction and Recovery Programs

• Addiction Intervention: This course examines intervention-based strategies for helping people with addiction. Students learn how counseling professionals guide family interventions for the benefit of patients and their loved ones.
• Addictive Behaviors and Substance Abuse: Learners learn about the behaviors and thought patterns that can lead to substance abuse challenges.
• Counseling Skills and Techniques: This course covers the practice theory and techniques used to counsel individuals with addiction and substance abuse challenges, such as the 12-step process, family systems, and addiction treatment.
• Diversity and Social Justice: This course investigates how gender, race, and socioeconomic status influence addiction and substance abuse treatment. Learners learn to apply cultural sensitivity training to the counseling practice.
• Group Counseling: Students explore group-centric strategies for counseling individuals with substance abuse and other challenges. Topics include support groups, cognitive-behavioral groups, and interpersonal processing groups.
• Professional Growth and Wellbeing: This course covers how addiction and substance abuse counselors can develop healthy personal characteristics for effective practice. Coursework covers self-assessment and the importance of healthy counseling relationships.

How Long Does It Take to Complete an Online Doctorate in Addiction and Recovery Program?

Earning a Ph.D. in addiction counseling online usually takes 3-4 years. Program length depends on several factors, including course load, research topics, and ability to secure funding. A part-time enrollee may take up to seven years to earn their online doctorate.

Some programs feature residency requirements that can lengthen the process. Conversely, accelerated programs allow enrollees to earn their doctorates in 2-3 years. Taking online courses in an asynchronous format rather than synchronous can also shorten degree timelines.

Addiction and Recovery Jobs

Most graduates with doctoral degrees in addiction and recovery work as counselors or clinical psychologists specializing in addiction and substance abuse counseling. However, this degree provides a strong footing for other jobs in academia, research, and non-clinical psychology, some which require additional study or credentialing. For instance, psychiatrists need to complete medical school to become board certified.

Common career choices for addiction and recovery majors include:

Psychiatrists

Psychiatrists treat patients for mental health issues, such as addiction and substance abuse, by administering treatment and medication. They sometimes complete advanced degrees in other fields, such as addictions and recovery.

A psychiatrist must go to medical school, earn an MD, complete a psychiatry residency, and gain board certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Psychiatrists need licensure to practice, which must be renewed every 1-3 years by completing continuing education credits.

Psychologists

Psychologists study how humans relate to themselves and others through various emotional and cognitive processes. Clinical psychologists provide counseling to help people overcome challenges like addiction, while non-clinical psychologists research human psychology.

A psychologist must possess a master’s or doctoral degree in psychology. Most states require psychologists to earn state licensure and complete continuing education credits to maintain and renew their credentials.

Postsecondary Teacher

Postsecondary teachers instruct at the college level. These professionals usually need doctoral degrees to work at colleges or universities, though a master’s will often suffice for two-year institutions. Postsecondary teachers can also conduct and publish their own research.

A graduate with an online doctorate in addiction and recovery can work as a postsecondary teacher on addiction and substance abuse issues.

Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors

Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors help people overcome various mental and behavioral challenges, such as addiction and drug abuse.

These counselors usually hold master’s degrees in counseling or related disciplines, such as addiction and recovery. A substance abuse counselor must typically possess a master’s in addiction studies or substance abuse counseling, accrue 2,000-4,000 hours of clinical experience, and pass their state board exam.

Paying for Your Online Doctorate in Addiction and Recovery

Prepare to use all available resources to pay for your online doctorate in addiction and recovery. Begin by filling out your FAFSA form to develop a sense of your financial need. Next, determine whether you’d like to pursue federal grants, school or private scholarships, or work-study programs.

You can also consider taking out a student loan , which may offer subsidies, debt relief, or flexible repayment plans.

Addiction & Recovery Degree Questions

What kind of degree do you need to be a substance abuse counselor.

You typically need at least a master’s degree to work as a licensed substance abuse counselor.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Degree in Addiction Counseling?

It can take 2-4 years to earn a degree in addiction counseling. If you still need to complete a bachelor’s degree, add an additional 2-4 years to your expected timeline.

Do Counselors Need Ph.D. Degrees?

A counselor often needs a minimum of a master’s degree to practice, but individuals looking to work in private practice commonly earn Ph.D. degrees.

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Addictions Specialization

100% online phd-psy.

Complete your studies on your own time.

NEW START DATE EVERY MONDAY

Start your first course when it’s convenient for you.

46 MONTHS TO YOUR PhD-PSY

Finish your PhD-PSY in just 20 courses.

This specialization prepares mental health practitioners to develop knowledge and expertise in the area of substance abuse, addictions and addictive behaviors. You will explore the dynamics of substance abuse and dependence including drugs, alcohol, and marijuana, with an emphasis on assessment and treatment planning. You will also examine research related to addictions and compulsive behaviors, as well as co-occurring disorders.

Note on Licensure:  The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology program is not a licensure program and does not prepare an individual to become a licensed psychology or counseling professional.

Unmatched Flexibility

NU offers weekly course starts, no scheduled lecture hours, no group assignments, weekly assignments, and the ability to schedule courses around your personal and professional obligations.

100% Doctoral Faculty

No matter the degree level you pursue, you can rest assured that you will be mentored by doctors in your field of study.

One to One Engagement

You won’t have to fight for facetime as one of many within a classroom. At NU, you’ll have the opportunity to interact one to one with your professor, receiving personalized mentoring.

Course Details

Credit Hours : 60

Courses: 20

Estimated Time to Complete: 48 months

*Credit hours and courses reflect new students meeting credit requirements and utilizing no transfer credits. Est. Time of Completion reflects new students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for the program.

Course Name

Students in this course will be prepared for success in the psychology doctoral program at the University. Students are introduced to relevant academic communities, professional standards, and doctoral-level expectations. Essential skills needed to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology are emphasized, including critical thinking, comprehending complex scholarly texts and research articles, and effective written communications. Students will identify and begin to explore potential research topics for use in their doctoral studies and complete the course with a roadmap to navigate their way to degree completion.

This course focuses on scholarly and academic writing with an overarching goal of critically analyzing and thoughtfully synthesizing research findings while adhering to APA style and the principles of Academic Integrity. The emphases in this course are on how to (a) conduct effective literature searches; (b) critically review and summarize research studies; (c) write comprehensive, critical, and synthesized reviews of research literature; (d) formulate ideas and convey them in an ethical fashion; and (e) use feedback to revise and improve one’s work.

This doctoral-level course focuses on the fundamentals of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to psychological research. Students gain an understanding of the strengths and limitations of each approach, and how these methods apply to a research topic. The concepts of critical evaluating, published research, research ethics, and developing a research proposal will also be explored and practiced. In addition, it provides a foundation for subsequent research courses in preparation for successfully completing a dissertation at the University.

This course provides an introductory exploration of statistics for the graduate student. It includes instruction on the calculation, use, and interpretation of descriptive statistics, and introduces inferential statistical analysis. The emphasis of this course is on providing a working knowledge of basic statistical concepts to help the student understand statistical methodology used in psychology, and also more generally, developing a working knowledge of statistical usage in everyday life.

This doctoral course in tests and measurements provides the student conceptual as well as practical guidelines in test and scale construction. This course will expose the students to concepts and theories including: the nature of psychological constructs and concepts, measurements and measurement error, item construction and analysis, Classical Test Theory, and the different approaches to establishing instrument reliability and validity. Students will have the opportunity to apply the skills and concepts to a construct relevant to their own research interests.

This doctoral-level course will introduce the student to psychological test construction, administration and interpretation as well as current research in the area. Commonly used tests to assess cognition and personality will be studied.

This course will provide a foundation for knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods used in the social sciences, including psychology. Knowledge of research methods is essential both for successful completion of the dissertation and for being a skilled consumer and creator of scholarly knowledge in your field. Topics explored will include the purposes of the two basic research methods (quantitative and qualitative), the nature of multiple research designs within each method, analytic strategies used within each method, factors in quality research within each method, and ethical issues in research methods. Scholarly writing and appropriate use of the scholarly literature will also be reinforced through all topics. This course is intended to provide a broad understanding of research methods to support deeper exploration and application using more refined resources in future courses.

The purpose of this course is to acquire deeper knowledge of the quantitative and qualitative designs. The focus is on active learning to develop applied research skills that will help you in design development, data collection, and data analysis reporting phases. During the course, you will also examine how your research reflections and analysis are grounded in the empirical literature.

This course focuses on how to conduct effective literature searches, specifically in preparation for the dissertation, develop a plan for writing comprehensive, critical, and synthesized reviews of research literature, and critically review and write about underlying theoretical frameworks that lay the foundation for future research. The overarching goal of this course is for students to conduct an extensive search of the peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical literature in their topic area and identify potential areas of inquiry for their dissertation.

The Pre-Candidacy Prospectus is intended to ensure students have mastered knowledge of their discipline prior to candidacy status and demonstrated the ability to design empirical research as an investigator before moving on to the dissertation research coursework. Students will demonstrate the ability to synthesize empirical, peer-reviewed research to support all assignments in this course. The Pre-Candidacy Prospectus is completed only after all foundation, specialization, and research courses have been completed.

Students in this course will be required to complete Chapter 1 of their dissertation proposal including a review of literature with substantiating evidence of the problem, the research purpose and questions, the intended methodological design and approach, and the significance of the study. A completed, committee approved (against the minimum rubric standards) Chapter 1 is required to pass this course successfully. Students who do not receive approval of Chapter 1 to minimum standards will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of Chapter 1.

Students in this course will be required to work on completing Chapters 1-3 of their dissertation proposal and receive committee approval for the Dissertation Proposal (DP) in order to pass the class. Chapter 2 consists of the literature review. Chapter 3 covers the research methodology method and design and to includes population, sample, measurement instruments, data collection and analysis, limitations, and ethical considerations. In this course, a completed, committee-approved Chapters 2 and 3 are required and, by the end of the course, a final approved dissertation proposal (against the minimum rubric standards). Students who do not receive approval of the dissertation proposal will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of these requirements.

Students in this course will be required to prepare, submit, and obtain approval of their IRB application, collect data, and submit a final study closure form to the IRB. Students still in data collection at the end of the 12-week course will be able to take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to complete data collection and file an IRB study closure form.

In this dissertation course students work on completing Chapters 4 and 5 and the final Dissertation Manuscript. Specifically, students will complete their data analysis, prepare their study results, and present their findings in an Oral Defense and a completed manuscript. A completed, Committee approved (against the minimum rubric standards) Dissertation Manuscript and successful Oral Defense are required to complete the course and graduate. Students who do not receive approval for either or both their Dissertation Manuscript or defense can take up to three supplementary 8-week courses to finalize and gain approval of either or both items as needed.

*The Elective course in the PhD in Psychology degree can be satisfied by any 8000-level course in the Department of Psychology.

Specialization Courses

Substance-related and addictive disorders remain a public health concern with all ages. Looking on current data on the staggering demand for treatment for substance use and addictive disorders, the demand for professionals who understand the theoretical underpinnings and are able to conduct research in this field becomes clear. The purpose of the substance-related and addictive disorders specialization is to provide mental health professionals, providers and researchers knowledge and expertise in the area of substance related and addictive disorders. Dynamics of substance-use and addictive disorders, with an emphasis on assessment and treatment planning will be explored. Coursework also examines research and theories related to substance use and addictive disorders, as well as co-occurring disorders.

In this course you will explore substance-related and addictive disorders from theoretical, socio-cultural, biological, and legal/ethical perspectives. Topics covered include: classification and pharmacological properties of major abused substances, recognizing signs and symptoms of substance abuse and addiction, physiological and psychological processes of use and dependence, theoretical explanations of use and abuse, prevention of substance abuse, treatment approaches to substance abuse and addictive disorders, and the impact of substance abuse and addictive disorders on individuals, families and society.

In this course you will evaluate strategies for developing groups for substance abuse and explore how to assess goodness of fit and readiness for group therapy. While therapeutic substance abuse groups will be explored most directly in the course, you will also explore other approaches to substance abuse treatment such as support groups and alcoholics anonymous among other approaches. Additionally, you will compare different theoretical approaches to care. A discussion of client needs across settings such as inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers will be covered, as well as an examination of managed care and possible barriers to treatment. You will also have an opportunity to discuss factors related to long-term success and relapse prevention.

In this course you will acquire essential knowledge for effective integration of treatment services and ancillary support to individuals with co-occurring substance-related and other addictive disorders and other mental conditions. Specific focus will be placed on leadership responsibility in accurate assessment, treatment planning, and follow up services. Attention will be placed on developing a balanced treatment approach to adequately address the unique needs of the individuals receiving services.

This course connects the issues of substance-related and addictive disorders with family systems dynamics. You will use foundational knowledge regarding substance-related and addictive disorders to understand addictive behaviors. You will also learn about family systems, including family roles, rules, and patterns. Understanding the connection of family relationships and generational patterns of addiction is key to facilitating successful recovery. You will review major theoretical frameworks for successful intervention with family systems as well as with individual who demonstrates addictive behaviors.

This course provides an overview of substance-related and addictive disorder assessment and treatment planning. One overarching goal of the course is to give you exposure to various screening and assessment measures used in the process of assessment of substance-related and addictive disorders. A second overarching goal is to develop skills related to treatment planning for substance-related and addictive disorders including clinical interview, knowledge of addictive processes, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Finally, you will use the results of the assessment measures to inform diagnostic considerations and decision making around treatment goals and interventions.

This course provides an overview of research and theory in the field of substance-related and addictive disorders. You will examine theories of disorder development, maintenance, treatment and relapse. You will learn about research methods for studying disorders and treatment efficacy across diverse populations You will select appropriate research designs to address specific issues related to substance abuse and addiction. Considerations for incorporating research into treatment will be explored. You will also examine potential ethical issues that can arise in research and how to address them.

Learning Outcomes

• Integrate relevant research to inform the practice of marriage and family therapy (SLO #5).
• Formulate a decision-making process for ethical dilemmas congruent with the AAMFT Code of Ethics. (SLO #4)
• Examine family systems theory oriented models of therapy (SLO #3)
• Students/graduates** will evaluate family systems oriented clinical skills across a variety of contexts. (SLO #2)
• Employ competence in working with diverse populations in clinical settings. (SLO #1)

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Successful completion and attainment of National University degrees do not lead to automatic or immediate licensure, employment, or certification in any state/country. The University cannot guarantee that any professional organization or business will accept a graduate’s application to sit for any certification, licensure, or related exam for the purpose of professional certification.

Program availability varies by state. Many disciplines, professions, and jobs require disclosure of an individual’s criminal history, and a variety of states require background checks to apply to, or be eligible for, certain certificates, registrations, and licenses. Existence of a criminal history may also subject an individual to denial of an initial application for a certificate, registration, or license and/or result in the revocation or suspension of an existing certificate, registration, or license. Requirements can vary by state, occupation, and/or licensing authority.

NU graduates will be subject to additional requirements on a program, certification/licensure, employment, and state-by-state basis that can include one or more of the following items: internships, practicum experience, additional coursework, exams, tests, drug testing, earning an additional degree, and/or other training/education requirements.

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National University degrees do not guarantee employment or salary of any kind. Prospective students are strongly encouraged to review desired job positions to review degrees, education, and/or training required to apply for desired positions. Prospective students should monitor these positions as requirements, salary, and other relevant factors can change over time.

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The USC Institute for Addiction Science is the nation’s first university-wide transdisciplinary addiction science institute.

A complex problem.

Addiction is not a simple disease that will be cured by one miracle treatment. It is a complex problem caused by the intersection of genetics, neurochemical changes, trauma and stress, social injustices, commercial interests, ineffective treatments, and suboptimal public policies. To combat addiciton epidemics and their diverse causes, academic siloes that have historically separated addiction scholars from distinct disciplines must come down.  Scholars from all areas of academia must come together to develop solutions.

To shift the paradigm of how academia approaches addiction, IAS pioneered an application of a non-traditional model in academia called the “matrixed unit.”  IAS and other matrixed units do not operate as standalone academic departments or schools, which naturally divide scholars by discipline. Instead, IAS scholars hold dual complementary roles in the Institute and in their home department, which fosters cross-discipline interaction and overcomes traditional siloes inherent to academia.  IAS provides the infrastructure and resources for transdisciplinary research, education, clinical services, and community engagement to reduce addiction.

A Collaborative Solution

Ias is a multi-school academic unit involving 80 faculty from 10 different schools across the university., why addiction science.

Addiction problems are extremely complicated puzzles, which requires comprehensive and innovative solutions. The multidisciplinary nature of IAS is vital to generate such solutions. IAS provides an intellectual space where such solutions can be initiated, discussed, and tested to eradicate or at least substantially reduce disparities in addiction problems.

Olivia Lee, PhD Co-Lead, IAS Priority Populations and Health Equity Research Program USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

USC Scholars working from very different perspectives are contributing to addiction science. Getting those researchers talking and collaborating can lead to breakthroughs. IAS provides a mechanism for doing this, and it has been amazingly effective. For me it has led to new close collaborations with scientists in Pharmacology and in Population & Public Health. The institute is growing and continuing to find new ways to facilitate the work of our members.

John Monterosso, PhD IAS Mechanisms and Treatment Development Research Group USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

IAS brings together a large number of USC faculty across many different units with the common goal of advancing our understanding of alcohol and substance use disorders. From preclinical wet bench discovery to working in the community IAS is on board for advancing addiction science.

The benefits include large number of faculty that have large spectrum of addiction science expertise. Allows for critical discussions and collaborations that have a common goal of advancing human health as it relates to the terrible consequences of drug and alcohol addiction.

Daryl Davies, PhD Director of Basic Translational Science USC Mann School of Pharmacy

Addiction touches us all - every single one of us. Training in addition science from a human perspective - incorporating all different facets of addiction - is essential to helping address and solve the addiction crisis. This program gives students an opportunity to learn about addiction science from instructors in different departments and schools across the university, preparing them to incorporate their training in addiction science into whatever career they are in, or plan to go into.

Jessica Barrington-Trimis, PhD IAS Training Consortium Co-Lead USC Department of Population and Public Health Sciences

IAS has been an innovative effort to bring together a wide array of interdisciplinary researchers across USC. I am particularly excited about the many new initiatives. For instance, we have now integrated community based stakeholders into IAS activities that will serve to strengthen our commitment to translating our research to serve the needs of our community.

Alice Cepeda, PhD IAS Community Engagement and Dissemination Committee Co-Lead USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

• MyU : For Students, Faculty, and Staff

Training the next generation of Neuroscientists

• Graduate Program in Neuroscience

• Neuroscience of Drug Abuse and Addiction

Addictive disease is a pervasive and growing problem in U.S. society. It contributes to the dissemination of AIDS and other diseases through drug use practices, and costs the nation more than $116 billion per year for health care, lost work productivity, and early death. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (20150, abuse of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco cost society $700 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and health care. While it has always been considered to be an insidious social problem, addictive disease is now known to have strong neurological underpinnings. Within the Graduate Program in Neuroscience one-fourth of faculty members are actively engaged in the basic and clinical research on addiction. Graduate students who perform research in these laboratories are supported by individual research grants and NIH-sponsored training programs including a large training grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Through these initiatives, students receive training in addictive disease biology at molecular, cellular, organismal, behavioral, and clinical levels.

Collectively they study the effects of alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, and opiates on the immune and nervous systems, and the neurobiological underpinnings of drug addiction, overeating, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Areas of research focus include: effect of sex hormones on addiction and drug abuse behavior; approaches to reduce drug use with therapeutic drugs and behavioral modification; role of anxiety on drug seeking behavior; development of novel pharmacotherapies to reduce drug use; basic mechanisms behind alcohol and nicotine addiction; brain imaging approaches to understanding cocaine dependence; neuromodulation interventions to reduce substance abuse; drug design of potential analgesics at opioid receptors; role of endocannabinoids in neuroprotection, synaptic transmission, and neurotoxicity; and understanding the mechanisms that control experience-dependent brain plasticity associated with drug exposure.

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Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies

Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) is an internationally-renowned research center in the field of addiction.

The Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) is dedicated to advancing research and training that improves the well-being of people and communities impacted by substance use and addiction. 

EXPLORE CAAS

Areas of research, postdoctoral training.

A Rich History of Research

Professor Peter M. Monti, former director of CAAS, provides perspective on Brown's decades of work in the addiction and substance use space

Recent Announcements

Dr. haass-koffler awarded brown biomedical innovation to impact (bbii) award, humans in public health: a psychedelic pathway toward ptsd recovery, shifting to smoking: adapting policy to changing patterns of substance use, caas affiliated centers, alcohol research center on hiv, center for addiction and disease risk exacerbation (cadre).

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About the Addiction Medicine Subspecialty

What is it.

Addiction Medicine (ADM) is now a recognized physician subspecialty of the American Board of Medical Specialties ( ABMS ). Credentialed ADM subspecialists serve as clinical experts, faculty, teachers, researchers and change agents. They provide prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment services for patients with unhealthy substance use or substance-related health conditions. ADM physicians also help family members who are affected by a loved one’s substance use or addiction.

Why is the Field of Addiction Medicine Important?

Unhealthy substance use and addiction is the nation’s largest preventable health problem, yet only about 10% of patients receive treatment for it. This new subspecialty is important in helping eliminate the personal and public health consequences and the stigma associated with addiction by reinforcing that it is a preventable, treatable disease, and by providing patients with access to credentialed physicians. It also provides unique, rewarding career opportunities for interested physicians, recognizes their expertise, and provides accessibility to science-driven prevention and treatment for patients, families and communities.

Careers in Addiction Medicine

The American Board of Preventive Medicine ( ABPM ) now offers physicians who are certified in any primary specialty by a Member Board of the ABMS the opportunity to become certified in the subspecialty of ADM. Through 2021, ABMS board-certified physicians may qualify to take the ADM exam by meeting time-in-practice and other eligibility requirements—without having to complete a fellowship.

The list below provides links to additional resources on the ADM subspecialty and the pathways to obtaining the ADM certification.

• The American College of Academic Addiction Medicine’s  mission is to shepherd changes that help ensure physicians are trained in Addiction Medicine by supporting the establishment of high quality, sustainable addiction medicine fellowships accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
• The American Society of Addiction Medicine’s ADM Paths to Certification page offers information about the ADM exam and mechanisms in place to obtain certification.
• The American Board of Preventive Medicine is sponsoring the ADM subspecialty. Visit their site to learn more about the ADM subspecialty, taking the exam, and the process for obtaining certification.

For Addiction Medicine Fellows

The Addiction Medicine Toolkit for Health Care Providers in Training was designed as a prep tool for new ADM fellows. Developed around the NIDAMED web portal on opioids, this tool features up-to-date news, research, education, and clinical guidance on topics related to substance use and addiction to prepare fellows for the next phase of their career. 

Journal of Addiction Medicine

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Journal logo, current issue.

July/August 2024 - Volume 18 - Issue 4

• Editor-in-Chief: David A. Fiellin, MD, FASAM
• ISSN: 1932-0620
• Online ISSN: 1935-3227
• Frequency: 6 issues / year
• Ranking: Substance Abuse: 5/55
• Impact Factor: 4.2

Featured Supplement (s)

May/June 2020 - Volume 14 - 3S

Published May/June 2020

March/April 2020 - Volume 14 - 2S

Published March/April 2020

May/June 2017 - Volume 11 -

Published May/June 2017

JAM Accepting Applications for Editorial Fellowships (2025-2026)

Three Fellows will be accepted to serve two years as JAM Editorial Fellows. Fellows will obtain extensive experience in manuscript review and scientific peer-reviewed publishing in addiction medicine. Download the full job description and application link here . ​

Application Deadline: October 14, 2024

Journal of Addiction Medicine Seeks Co-Editor

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Editor's Picks

High-dose buprenorphine initiation: a scoping review.

Journal of Addiction Medicine. 18(4):349-359, July/August 2024.

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Piloting a Hospital-Based Rapid Methadone Initiation Protocol for Fentanyl

Journal of Addiction Medicine. 18(4):458-462, July/August 2024.

Reductions in World Health Organization Risk Drinking Level Are Associated With Reductions in Alcohol Use Disorder Diagnosis and Criteria: Evidence From an Alcohol Pharmacotherapy Trial

Journal of Addiction Medicine. 18(4):418-424, July/August 2024.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline Development Methodology

Journal of Addiction Medicine. 18(4):366-372, July/August 2024.

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This course is designed specifically for physicians and healthcare professionals seeking an advanced level of knowledge about breakthroughs in the field and includes presentations focused on scientific advances and emerging evidence in addiction medicine, Sessions organized around key topics that will also be translated into clinically useful knowledge, and presentations delving into understanding, preventing, diagnosing, and treating addiction and co-occurring medical and psychiatric disorders.

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Home   /  Education   /  Addiction Medicine Fellowship  /  Program Leadership and Faculty

Program Leadership and Faculty

Addiction Medicine Fellowship

Zenia Cardoza has been working in the addiction treatment field for over 15 years primarily in Santa Clara County after entering recovery, nearly 20 years ago. Zenia works as a Substance Use Navigator (SUN) in the Emergency Department, a role that was started in partnership with the CA Bridge Program. Zenia’s work has paved the way for Stanford’s Emergency Dept to provide low barrier access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), real-time linkage to substance use treatment programs and harm reduction interventions such as take-home naloxone. She provides compassionate and non-judgmental care to all patients and families visiting the emergency department. Zenia is a strong advocate for improving care for individuals living with substance use disorders. She was awarded the CD Role Outpatient Counselor for Professionalism by SJCC ADS Advisory Board in 2018 and the Community Hero Award by Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Board in 2022.

Jayme Frihart, LCSW, is Clinical Social Worker in the Stanford Outpatient Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Her role is focused on helping patients and their loved ones connect to the community resources that allow patients to build and sustain long term remission from substance use and improve their quality of mental health. She has worked with dual diagnosis populations since 2015 when she began working with Caminar in their residential homes. From there she worked for San Francisco’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing in crisis management. 

Ashley Hartoch is a licensed clinical social worker and accredited case manager. She earned her Master of Social Work from San Jose State University and a bachelor’s in psychology at UC Santa Cruz. Ashley specializes in addiction treatment and is passionate about improving access to care. She has facilitated conference presentations focusing on creative interventions in the acute care setting for high-risk patients. Ashley was the recipient of the Social Work Leadership in Health Care’s Eleanor Clark Award for Innovative Programs in Patient Care in 2017. Prior to working with the Addiction Inpatient Medicine team, Ashley worked on Stanford’s inpatient psychiatry units, psychiatric emergency room, and psychiatric consult liaison service.

Charlie Porzio is a volunteer peer support specialist with the Addiction Inpatient Medicine Service at Stanford Health Care. Charlie started as a peer mentor with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and began volunteering at Stanford Health Care as a peer support specialist in March 2021. Charlie utilizes his lived experience of mental illness and addiction to support patients on their journey of recovery. While meeting patients in the hospital and supporting them after discharge, Charlie also volunteers, bringing AA meetings in to jails and institutions. He is active in the recovery community and is a devoted advocate for sobriety and wellness. Charlie has been substance free since March 1,1986.

About the Program

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Substance Use & Addiction Research at the UW

Interested in learning more about substance use and addiction research at the UW? We host annual Open Houses (virtual) that bring together different departments and programs at the UW to talk about the work they’re doing in the field and how you can get involved! Our latest one was in November 2023; watch the recording , download the slides , and view the contact list ! To get notified about our next Open House, you can follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our News & Events blog .

The University of Washington is a world leader in addiction research ranging in scope from molecular pharmacology, to prevention, treatment strategies, impacts on individuals and communities, to social policy. Sponsored research from NIH and other funders brings in tens of millions of dollars annually to support the work of collaborative centers, independent researchers, and graduate and postdoctoral education in addiction at the University.

UW Substance Use & Addiction Research Centers:

Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI) Director: Susan M. Ferguson, PhD ADAI (formerly the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute) was established in 1973 as an independent, multidisciplinary research center at the UW. Its mission is to advance research, policy, and practice in order to improve the lives of individuals and communities affected by alcohol and drug use and addiction. Areas of special emphasis include: testing new addiction treatment options in community settings; opioid use and overdose prevention; cannabis research and education; alcohol and drug use by pregnant and parenting women; and workforce development for substance use disorder treatment and recovery professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Addiction Psychiatry Residency Program Director: Jonathan Buchholz, MD Major goals of Addiction Psychiatry Residency Program training include developing clinical excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with substance use disorders, broadening scientific knowledge in Addiction Psychiatry, furthering research skills relevant to Addiction Psychiatry, and expanding expertise in teaching Addiction Psychiatry. Close work with a range of interdisciplinary treatment teams is a core aspect of the residency. The faculty consists of a diverse group of psychiatrists and psychologists who have many years of clinical and research experience in addictions.

Center for Cannabis Research (CCR) Chair: Nephi Stella, PhD The CCR was created in 2017 to represent a coordinated and centralized effort for cannabis research across disciplines. The CCR Board of Directors represent the School of Medicine; Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute; School of Social Work; School of Public Health; School of Law; and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry (NTAP) Directors: Nathan Sackett, MD, MS, and Darron T. Smith, PhD, PA-C. The mission of the UW Center for Novel Therapeutics in Addiction Psychiatry is to create powerful new ways of treating people struggling with alcohol, opioid, tobacco and other addictions by combining psychedelic compounds with evidence-based behavioral interventions.

Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors (CSHRB) Director: Mary Larimer, PhD CSHRB is dedicated to cutting-edge, culturally-sensitive research and dissemination in which health and risk behaviors interact. It is focused on the etiology of risky behaviors and the development of empirically-based prevention and treatment for risk reduction.

Center of Excellence in Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion (NAPE) Director: Charles Chavkin, PhD The NAPE Center addresses the challenging interplay of chronic pain, drug addiction and depression, scientists in the UW departments of Pharmacology, Anesthesiology and Psychiatry are working together to understand how the nervous system processes sensory information and how that transmission is affected by chronic pain and mood disorders.

Chavkin Lab Director: Charles Chavkin, PhD Dr. Chavkin’s work focuses on the molecular basis of drug addiction.

Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit (FADU) Director: Susan Stoner, PhD FADU conducts research and disseminates information on fetal alcohol and drug effects, provides consultation for persons thought to be affected by prenatal exposure, and provides training in human behavioral teratology. Since 2013 FADU has been a unit within the Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute .

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Diagnostic and Prevention Networ k (FAS DPN) Director: Susan Astley, PhD FAS DPN is a network of five WA State community-based clinics linked by the core clinical/research/training clinic at the UW Center on Human Development and Disability. Its mission is FASD prevention through screening, diagnosis, intervention, research, and training.

Harm Reduction Research and Treatment Center (HaRRT Center) Directors: Susan E. Collins, PhD and Seema L. Clifasefi, PhD, MSW The HaRRT Center works collaboratively with substance users, community members and organizations to develop, conduct, evaluate and disseminate evidence-based interventions that help to reduce substance-related harm, improve quality of life, and promote social justice and racial equity for affected individuals and their communities.

Innovative Programs Research Group (IPRG) Director: Denise Walker, PhD IPRG conducts studies designed to achieve a greater knowledge of the characteristics and needs of underserved populations. Their projects assess the effectiveness of innovative means for reducing barriers to the delivery of effective social and mental health services.

Neumaier Lab Director: John Neumaier, MD, PhD This lab investigates the interface of pharmacology, molecular neuroscience, and behavior. It uses strategies that span several levels of organization from RNA regulation, protein translation, cellular plasticity, and neural circuit level analysis of complex behaviors relating to stress and addiction models. It uses rat and mouse behavioral models as well as in vitro cultures of cell lines and primary neurons to study components of intracellular signaling pathways.

Neuroscience of Addiction Director: Susan M. Ferguson, PhD This research lab at Seattle Children’s Center for Integrative Brain Research uses a multi-level approach, combining molecular biology, circuit-mapping and behavioral neuroscience, to understand the development of behaviors associated with drug reward and addiction, as well as in the processes that underlie decision-making, motivation and impulsivity. They also examine how environmental factors such as extended exposure to sensory stimulation during childhood and adolescence modulate the development of these behaviors.

Social Development Research Group (SDRG) Director: Margaret Kuklinski, PhD SDRG’s research seeks to promote achievement and success as well as prevent and treat health and behavior problems among young people. Drug use, delinquency, risky sexual behavior, violence, and school dropout are among the problems addressed.

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The opioid crisis has captured much recent public attention in the U.S., but the abuse of substances (licit and illicit) and broader manifestations of mental health have long been central to health policy and to research within HPM. These behaviors are sometimes assessed as markers for population well-being (outgrowths of stigma, discrimination, insecurity or deprivation), sometimes measures of health system performance, yet other times the focus of interventions to improve the quality or equity of that system. Research exploring these issues ranges from efforts to more effectively integrate behavioral health care into primary care, strategies for limiting the harms of abuse, and more foundational studies of the causes or impacts of inadequately treated substance abuse or mental illness.

The use of behavioral health economics to develop programs to encourage people to change health behaviors that lead to substance abuse and mental health issues is at the forefront of HPM’s work. The economics of substance abuse, including alcoholism, illicit drugs such as opioids, smoking and e-cigarettes, as well as obesity, incorporate include lost productivity, cost-effectiveness of treatments, social costs and policy, and drivers behind key disparities.

Related Faculty

Professor of Public Health (Health Policy) and Professor in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies

• Health Care Economics and Organizations
• Health Services Research
• Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation

Professor of Medicine (General Medicine), of Emergency Medicine, and of Public Health; Vice Chief of Faculty Affairs, General Internal Medicine; Director, Program in Addiction Medicine

• Buprenorphine
• Health Policy
• Internal Medicine
• Opioid-Related Disorders
• Public Health
• Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
• Tobacco Use Disorder
• Substance Abuse Detection
• Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
• Clinical Trial
• Multicenter Study
• Meta-Analysis
• Cocaine-Related Disorders
• Alcohol-Related Disorders
• Drug Overdose
• Observational Study
• Addiction Medicine
• Marijuana Use
• Implementation Science
• Systematic Review

Associate Professor of Public Health (Health Policy); Faculty Director of Online and Non-Degree Programs

Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Department Chair and Professor of Public Health (Health Policy)

Professor Emeritus of Public Health; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health; Research Associate, NBER

• Health Behavior
• Smoking Cessation
• Substance-Related Disorders
• Social Determinants of Health
• Health Care

Assistant Professor of Public Health (Health Policy)

• Anxiety Disorders
• Chronic Disease
• Computer Simulation
• Depressive Disorder
• Lung Diseases
• Tobacco Products
• Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
• Smoking Prevention

Centers and other resources

• Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) CIRA provides HIV-related resources, skills, services, training, and professional networking opportunities to HIV researchers and practitioners who can contribute to advances in HIV prevention and treatment.
• The CT Opioid Response (CORE) Initiative
• Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science

BU’s Transformative Training Program in Addiction Science

The  Transformative Training Program in Addiction Science or TTPAS, supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, prepares doctoral students to apply diverse approaches to  addiction research using tools from:

• bench science
• population studies
• computational biology
• behavioral neuroscience
• public health & policy
• social work

This program is for doctoral level training in addiction science for  students enrolled and at an early stage in a BU  doctoral programs participating in TTPAS .

Boston University is ranked among the top three in the nation in the impact of it substance abuse research. The TTPAS program’s faculty members, who are the leaders in this large and important research portfolio, come from the School of Medicine (MED), Public Health (SPH) and Social Work (SSW) in addition to the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).

The  program offers  cross-disciplinary and  co-mentoring training of scientists that will bridge the gaps present in the varying addiction research disciplines as well as public health.

Please visit the   TTPAS Trainees web page.

For more information on the program contact Program Administrator : Vidriana Catanzaro email: [email protected] phone: 617-358-3945

Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Department of Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases offers a one-year, ACGME-accredited fellowship in Addiction Medicine to provide a well-rounded educational and clinical training program in the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of people with substance use disorders (SUD); of those with substance-related health conditions; and of people who show unhealthy use of substances including nicotine, alcohol, prescription medications and other licit and illicit drugs.

The goal of the fellowship is to train the next generation of national leaders in clinical and academic addiction medicine, and to prepare graduates for the addiction medicine certification examination offered by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

Intensive academic training experience

The fellowship program is designed to provide a 12-month intensive academic and training experience for applicants who are board certified in any relevant clinical specialty, or who have recently become board-eligible. Following completion of training, each fellow will be able to:

• Provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the promotion of health and the identification of common medical and psychiatric problems related to addiction.
• Apply knowledge in the biomedical, clinical, epidemiological sciences and social-behavioral sciences to their care of patients.
• Pursue a career focused on clinical care, research or teaching, health care leadership, and as a scholarly practitioner.

Improving evidence-based SUD care

Fellows contribute to SUD-focused education for medical trainees and clinicians in the community, and they will improve and personalize evidence-based SUD care for individuals and communities in the Midsouth through mentored scholarship and research.

Consistent with the program’s goals, our fellows deliver the highest quality SUD care across VUMC and in collaboration with our community partners, meeting the needs of diverse populations and those with significant social determinants of health burdens.

Fellows have protected scholarly time, equal to 10% FTE, with faculty support for board preparation, teaching, research and academic writing. This curriculum is integrated with our allied Addiction Psychiatry fellowship , creating a shared learning space for fellows across these programs. 

Faculty Supervision:

• Clinical site: Daily supervision with faculty for outpatient cases; daily rounding for inpatient/consult services, with weekly case conferences
• Psychotherapy: Training in individual and group therapy as well as monthly motivational interviewing sessions that are recorded for fellow review and feedback
• Program Director: Biweekly individual mentorship and career development

Scholarly Work:

• QI curriculum: VUMC-sponsored, GME-wide QI curriculum with the ability to scale a project to meet fellows’ interests
• Scholarly project: One publication-quality project per year; potential projects include a literature review, book chapter, or data-based project, leveraging VUMC resources for data analysis and faculty mentorship
• Writing workshop: Fellows present scholarly projects to faculty round table for feedback, aimed toward submission to a scholarly journal or national meeting
• Observed lectures: Fellows prepare and deliver lectures for a Tele-ECHO educational conference and for the clerkship or residency programs, with feedback from learners and faculty
• Journal club: Fellows present major findings and criticisms of an SUD-focused paper, alternating between landmark and new emerging-evidence literature
• Mentored quality improvement project in partnership with community-based residental treatment center

Clinical Training

Fellows' clinical training sites span the SUD levels-of-care spectrum to develop well-rounded clinicians with experience across diverse patient populations and degrees of acuity. The Addiction Medicine fellowship works closely with Vanderbilt’s Addiction Psychiatry fellowship training program to provide core clinical experiences within Vanderbilt's Integrated Services for the Treatment of Addiction (VISTA) and community partners with Vanderbilt faculty support. Our training program incorporates individualized experiences designed to develop each fellow’s specialized interests within addiction medicine. Training experiences include:

• Addiction consultation to general medical and surgical inpatient services at Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital (VUAH)
• Medically-supervised withdrawal and inpatient psychiatric stabilization on the specialized Co-Occurring Disorders Unit at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital (VPH)
• High-acuity outpatient stabilization in the low-barrier, multi-specialty VISTA Bridge Clinic
• Evidence-based group therapy for substance use disorder in the VISTA intensive outpatient program
• Maintenance SUD care in the outpatient interdisciplinary VISTA recovery clinic
• Outpatient SUD treatment for pregnant and postpartum individuals at the VUMC Firefly program
• Outpatient SUD treatment for people living with HIV at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic 
• Targeted clinical experiences in inpatient and outpatient chronic pain management
• Elective-based quarter with opportunities for training in the Tobacco Treatment Service at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, supervised individual psychotherapy cases using the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) modality, clinical toxicology, and structured assessment of SUDs in professional populations, and LGBTQ health

Training Sites

Our faculty are comprised of individuals across multiple clinical and academic domains, including Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases, Addiction Psychiatry, OB/Gynecology, Pain Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and research partnerships with faculty in the Department of Health Policy. Fellows in our program deliver specialty SUD care within an interdisciplinary and multispecialty team that includes training faculty, advanced practice nursing, psychology, case management, social work and recovery coaching.

VUMC is situated on Vanderbilt University campus located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, and includes VUAH, a tertiary care Level 1 Trauma Center with over 1,000 inpatient medical and surgical beds. Our Addiction Consult Service fields more than 1,100 SUD-specific consultations each year across VUAH, with demonstrated reduction in post-consult acute care utilization and marked increases in initiation of agonist medication for opioid use disorder.

VPH is an inpatient psychiatric facility on VUMC’s campus with over 100 beds in subspecialized units. The VISTA Bridge and Recovery Clinics are adjacent to VUMC’s campus in the Hillsboro Village neighborhood, with clinical spaces tailored to SUD population needs.

Populations served at these sites draw from a 65,000-square-mile catchment area stretching across Middle Tennessee, from southern Kentucky to northern Alabama. Fellows care for individuals living in urban and rural settings, medically underserved areas, and racially- and culturally-diverse communities.

Click here for a video tour of the VUMC campus.

Conferences

Weekly lectures with a board-preparation focus are augmented by additional specialty topics from active clinical services and research within the Division of Addiction Psychiatry, Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research and Addiction Medicine faculty. The curriculum emphasizes identification, assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment of the spectrum of substance-related and addictive disorders, alongside their medical and psychiatric comorbidities.

Application Information

We accept applicants who have successfully completed training in any American Board of Medical Specialties residency or fellowship program . Completion of an accredited residency program by the start of the fellowship is required for matriculation to this PGY5 fellowship position.

The Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program is designed to meet and exceed the defined ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Addiction Medicine. The program received initial accreditation in 2018 and re-accreditation in 2021. Physicians who complete our fellowship program are eligible to sit for board examination in addiction medicine through the American Board of Preventative Medicine.

Our program uses ERAS for application submission and the NRMP Match for candidate selection. Our program invites candidates for virtual interviews after applications are reviewed. Interviews are typically held August to September of the application cycle.

Information about the ERAS application process is here

Information about the NRMP Match process is here

Application materials submitted through ERAS should include the following:

Personal statement describing interests, achievements and career goals within Addiction Medicine

• Standardized data from the applicant’s curriculum vitae
• Current headshot photograph
• USMLE I, II and III scores (or COMLEX equivalents)
• Any applicable information for IMG credentialing (e.g., ECFMG certificate, visa)
• Four (4) letters of recommendation are required; one letter must be from the applicant’s residency Program Director 

If you have questions and are interested in learning more about our program, please contact our Program Coordinator. We want to provide all necessary information as you make the exciting decisions regarding where you will train in Addiction Medicine.

Jasmyne Mitchell Addiction Medicine Fellowship Training Program Coordinator [email protected]

For more information about living and working in Nashville, click here .

Core Faculty

Rebecca Donald, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine  Pain Medicine, Multiscpecialty Anesthesiology

A.J. Reid Finlayson, MD, MMHC

Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences  Director, Vanderbilt Comprehensive Assessment Program

Kristopher Kast, MD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Division Director (Interim), Division of Addiction Psychiatry Program Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Clinical Director, VUH Addiction Consult Service

Mariah Smith, MD

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Director, Executive Wellness and Concierge Medicine-Behavioral Health Practice Physician-lead, Dual Diagnosis Intensive Outpatient Program

Rachel Wolf, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program

Jessica Young, MD

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology  Director, Firefly Maternal Addiction and Recovery Clinic

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• Get Involved
• Addiction Recovery Clinic
• Central Medical Unit, APT Foundation
• ED-Initiated Buprenorphine Program
• VA Opioid Reassessment Clinic
• Substance Abuse Treatment Unit (SATU)
• Smilow Tobacco Treatment Program
• Transitions Clinic
• Yale Addiction Medicine Consult Service
• New London CARES Project
• Nathan Smith Clinic
• New Haven Primary Care Consortium
• Pediatric Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Services
• Addiction Medicine Physician Fellowship
• Finding Solutions Speaker Series
• Yale – University of Jordan Joint Training Program in Addiction Medicine
• Pain, Opioids, & Worker Wellness
• Pain CME Trainings

INFORMATION FOR

• Residents & Fellows
• Researchers

Summary details of ongoing federally funded research led by core faculty in the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine are provided below.

Project COMMIT

An ethno-epidemiological study, emergency department-initiated medications for alcohol use disorder, project enhance, evaluating and optimizing care, project athena, prazosin for alcohol use disorder with withdrawal symptoms, promoting hiv risk reduction among people who inject drugs, promoting retention in opioid treatment among women experiencing intimate partner violence, standard v. high dose buprenorphine induction, using system dynamics modeling to foster real-time connections to care.

Affiliated Faculty : Sandra Springer, MD ; Kevin Knight, PhD; Elisabeth Ank Nijhawan, MD Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : U01 Period : 2020-2025

Improving HIV and opioid use disorder (OUD) management and implementation for criminal justice (CJ)- involved individuals requires effective approaches to screening, linkage and adherence to integrated services across community agencies and service providers. Addressing risk through Community Treatment for Infectious disease and Opioid use disorder Now (ACTION) among justice-involved populations is a 5-year Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness- Implementation RCT that compares two models [Patient Navigation or Mobile Health Unit service delivery] of linking individuals recently released from prison and jail to the continuum of community-based HIV and OUD prevention and treatment services.

• $11.5M Grant Supports Study of Linkage to Community-Based Opioid Addiction and HIV Prevention and Treatment Services for Persons Released from Prison
• Yale ACTION Study Enrolling Patients

Affiliated Faculty: Jaimie Meyer, MD, MS Funder: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Mechanism: Grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals Period: 2019-2024

Comprehensive Housing and Addiction Management Network for Greater New Haven (CHANGE) aims to expand and enhance community infrastructure integrating housing, behavioral health, and addiction treatment services for highly vulnerable populations at risk for or living with HIV with a history of incarceration. By creating a “Patient-Centered Medical Home” enrolling up to fifty participants per year, CHANGE aims to improve reintegration post-incarceration and reduce recidivism. This will be achieved by 1) creating and enhancing sustainable partnerships with co-location of services for HIV, HCV, substance use and behavioral health treatment using the Community Healthcare Van (a mobile medical clinic); the city's largest HUD provider who will provide harm reduction services, HIV prevention, housing coordination and navigation services; and the Connecticut Department of Correction; 2) fully engaging and retaining individuals experiencing homelessness in quality primary care, mental health and substance use treatment; and 3) facilitating increased access to stable/permanent housing for people at-risk for or living with HIV who are transitioning from jail or prison.

• Experience Delivering an Integrated Service Model to People with Criminal Justice System Involvement and Housing Insecurity (BMC Public Health 2023)
• Project CHANGE Website

Affiliated Faculty : Sandra Springer, MD ; Kathleen T. Brady, MD, PhD; Frances Rudnick Levin, MD; Edward V. Nunes, MD Funder : National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Mechanism : U01 Period : 2019-2024

Hospitalization presents a critical time to intervene among individuals with co-occurring opioid use disorder (OUD) and related infections such as HCV, HIV, bacteremia, and endocarditis. An injectable long-acting monthly formulation of buprenorphine (LAB) has a potential advantage for initiating MOUD treatment within hospital settings and bridging to treatment after discharge. Coordinated Medical Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease (Project COMMIT) is a multi-site RCT comparing two models of care for patients admitted with OUD and confirmed or suspected infection: addiction treatment standard of care versus LAB initiated while inpatient.

• InSTRIDE/Springer Lab

Affiliated Faculty : Thomas Kerr, PhD; Ryan McNeil, PhD Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : R01 Period : 2017-2028

While fentanyl is a critical driver of North America’s overdose epidemic, rising fentanyl-stimulant polysubstance use and ongoing drug supply changes are worsening the situation and pose challenges to overdose prevention and addiction treatment approaches. Based in Vancouver, Canada, this study employs an innovative ethno-epidemiological approach to characterize how evolving drug use patterns and supply changes impact overdose vulnerability and intersect with social, structural, and environmental influences to impact the effectiveness of overdose prevention interventions. The study additionally explores social, structural, and environmental influences on treatment outcomes for existing and emerging opioid agonist treatment approaches among fentanyl-stimulant polysubstance- using and novel psychoactive substances exposed people who use drugs.

Affiliated Faculty: Kathryn Hawk, MD, MHS Funder: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Mechanism: R01 Period: 2023-2028

The emergency department (ED) encounter presents a unique opportunity to screen, enhance motivation, initiate medications, and refer to continuation care patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who both seek and do not seek alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment. This open label RCT will evaluate two ED-based intervention models to increase AUD treatment provision and patient engagement: (1) Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), and (2) SBIRT with ED-initiated medications for AUD. Medications offered will include gabapentin and extended release or oral naltrexone.

Affiliated Faculty : Sandra A. Springer, MD Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : DP1 Period : 2022-2027

Funded under the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award Program, this project aims to: 1) train people who live in communities affected by overdose to be community health workers (CHWs) and provide HIV testing and rapid diagnosis of OUD; 2) create mobile hubs that are pharmacies and clinics on wheels, to dispense pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), antiretroviral therapy (ART), and medications for OUD (MOUD) anywhere; 3) develop mobile rapid response teams, comprised of CHWs and pharmacists with 24-hour support from online clinicians, that can bring medications to people with OUD where they ‘live’; and 4) collaborate with researchers to prioritize intervention where outbreaks of HIV are most likely to occur and provide a collaboration hub for others working in the fields of HIV and substance use disorders.

Affiliated Faculty: E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS ; Brian Kiluk, PhD ; Melissa Weimer, DO, MCR Funder : National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Mechanism : R01 Period : 2021-2026

Enhancing Hospital-initiated Alcohol TreatmeNT to InCrease Engagement (Project ENHANCE) is an RCT that will evaluate different treatment strategies to promote post-hospital discharge treatment engagement and alcohol reduction among individuals with untreated AUD. Patients eligible include those hospitalized for any reason, with alcohol use disorder, who were not receiving treatment prior to hospitalization, and who speak English or Spanish. Participants will be randomized to three treatments: brief counseling with referral to treatment, brief counseling with referral to treatment + facilitated initiation of medications for alcohol use disorder (MAUD), or brief counseling with referral to treatment + facilitated initiation of MAUD + ability to complete computerized sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT4CBT).

• Faculty in Addiction Medicine and Psychiatry to Expand Access to Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder for Patients During and After Hospitalization
• Bringing CBT4CBT to the Hospital Setting to Reach a Diverse Sample of Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder: Project ENHANCE (Yale Addiction Medicine Grand Rounds)

Affiliated Faculty : Haidong Lu, PhD Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : K99 Period : 2023-2025

Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), access to these medications is still insufficient, with most patients remaining untreated. Enhancing knowledge about real-world effectiveness and guiding optimal use of MOUD in the clinical care of patients is of critical importance. This study, by leveraging electronic medical records from the Veterans Affairs, state-of-the-art data models, machine learning algorithms and causal inference methods, aims to provide a timely and unique opportunity to close these knowledge gaps and answer a set of timely questions centering around OUD care.

Affiliated Faculty : Emily Caterina Williams, MD; E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS Funder : National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Mechanism : R34 Period : 2022-2025

Informing and Promoting Shared Decision-making or HIV Prevention and Alcohol Reduction: Engaging Diverse Veterans to Refine and Pilot a Decision Aid (SHARE) employs sequential mixed methods guided by socioecological theory, the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Science, and the Discover/Design/Build/Test (DDBT) process to understand the impact of unhealthy alcohol use on the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) care continuum and then refine an existing decision aid to increase PrEP initiation in primary care at the point of alcohol-related care in the VA.

Affiliated Faculty : Jaimie Meyer, MD, MS Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : R01 Period : 2023-2027

There is urgent need to reach women involved in criminal justice (WICJ) for lifesaving, evidence-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), using innovative healthcare delivery models that surmount existing social and structural barriers to engagement. This study aims to test innovative interventions to reduce stigma and improve the PrEP and opioid use disorder (OUD) care continua in women involved in the criminal legal system (WICJ). A validated decision aid and eHealth will remotely deliver integrated PrEP and MOUD to community based-WICJ with OUD in New Haven, Connecticut and Birmingham, Alabama.

Affiliated Faculty: Rajita Sinha, PhD ; David Fiellin, MD Funder : National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Mechanism : R01 Period : 2021-2026

Withdrawal symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD) are associated with greater treatment failure risk and higher rates of relapse and alcohol intake. Efficacy of current approved medications in AUD are modest, and none have been shown to be efficacious in those with alcohol withdrawal (AW). This study will evaluate the medication Prazosin in individuals with AUD + AW to improve alcohol outcomes, craving, and reduce associated anxiety and depression symptoms and improve physical health.

Affiliated Faculty: E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism: R01 Period: 2020-2026 NIH RePORTER Profile: https://reporter.nih.gov/search/4grImDyr3ES4EWB8bHBUDQ/project-details/10405633

Affiliated Faculty: Tami P. Sullivan, PhD ; E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS ; Dawn M. Johnson, PhD Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism: R61 Period: 2023-2025 NIH RePORTER Profile: https://reporter.nih.gov/search/4grImDyr3ES4EWB8bHBUDQ/project-details/10812139

Affiliated Faculty : E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHS Funder : National Cancer Institute Mechanism : R01 Period : 2019-2025

Smoking is the leading threat to health of patients living with HIV (PLWH). A SMART Approach to Treating Tobacco Use Disorder in Persons Living with HIV (SMARTTT) is a two-arm, two-stage RCT aiming to (1) study the effectiveness of a dynamic treatment approach to reduce prevalence of smoking among PLWH and to identify the optimal approach; (2), study the effectiveness of various dynamic regimens on CD4 count, HIV viral suppression, and VACS index (validated measure of morbidity and mortality risk); and (3) identify barriers and facilitators to intervention delivery. Participants will be randomized to either combination nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or combination NRT + contingency management (CM). At 12 weeks, responders in both arms will receive 12 more weeks of the same treatment. Non-responders will be re-randomized to 12 weeks of treatment, with varenicline or varenicline + CM. The intervention will be delivered by trained clinical pharmacists.

• A SMARTTT Approach to Treating Tobacco Use Disorder in Persons with HIV (SMARTTT): Rationale and Design for a Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness-Implementation Study (Contemporary Clinical Trials 2021)
• Practices, Attitudes, and Confidence Related to Tobacco Treatment Interventions in HIV Clinics: A Multisite Cross-Sectional Survey (Translational Behavioral Medicine 2022)

Affiliated Faculty: Gail D’Onofrio, MD, MS ; Kathryn Hawk, MD, MHS Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : UG1 Period : 2023-2025

Narrowing the OUD treatment gap by expanding access to treatment beyond specialized drug treatment settings is a public health priority, and the Emergency Department (ED), offering access 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, is a logical point of intervention. This multi-site randomized, double-blind, double-dummy clinical trial of emergency department (ED) patients with moderate to severe OUD will compare standard ED buprenorphine induction with high dose buprenorphine induction to evaluate engagement in continued OUD treatment and differences in outcomes of craving, tolerability, withdrawal symptoms, and use of illicit drugs.

Affiliated Faculty : Rebekah Heckmann, MD, MPA ; Nasim S. Sabounchi, PhD Funder : National Institute on Drug Abuse Mechanism : R61 Period : 2022-2024

This HD2A Innovation Project aims to (1) implement a novel, scalable, evidence-based intervention that links people who have overdosed with access to medication for opioid use disorder, harm reduction services, and recovery supports, and (2) to collect high-quality data about the processes and outcomes associated with deployment of this platform that can be integrated with an existing system dynamics (SD) model to determine if, where, when, and what interventions should be implemented in the future.

Addiction Medicine

Home » Our Research » Addiction Medicine

Key Researcher

Clinical Profile

Gavin Bart, MD, PhD, is Director of the Division of Addiction Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare. He completed his internal medicine residency at HCMC  and specialty training in addiction medicine at The Rockefeller University in New York. His research has focused on the neurobiology and genetics of addictions.

Drug addiction is an enormous public health concern. It is the number one preventable cause of death in the adult American population. The indirect costs to society associated with drug addiction are estimated to be around $500 billion dollars annually. Addiction often leads to a downward spiral in health and self-care, exacerbating concurrent chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Drug use can also be a primary cause of disease, as seen in alcohol-induced liver cirrhosis or the spread of HIV and viral hepatitis through contaminated intravenous needles.

Understanding how drug addiction develops is crucial if we are to develop improved addiction treatments. Research has shown that environment, the effect of drugs on the brain, and genes play a role in the development of addiction, so each must be addressed for a treatment program to be successful.

Gavin Bart, MD, PhD, is Director of the Division of Addiction Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare. He argues that efforts to treat addiction need to look beyond the short term detoxification of patients, to providing ongoing addiction treatment, which can help prevent future relapses.

He is conducting research on the physiological and genetic factors that play into the development of addiction and affect treatment outcomes. An individual’s stress response appears to plays an important role in addiction. People who have a specific, abnormal stress response have a predisposition to developing an addiction and are more likely to relapse after treatment. For example, the nearly 80 percent relapse rate seen in heroin addicts may be related to ongoing abnormalities in stress response. Appropriate use of medications such as methadone or buprenorphine can return stress response to normal and patients receiving these medications have a relapse rate of only 30 – 40 percent, similar to relapse rates seen in patients treated for hypertension or diabetes.

Understanding the biology involved in addiction and relapse is just the first step in advancing drug addiction treatment methods. Dr. Bart hopes that his research will be used by others to develop pharmacological treatments that correct the biological factors that predispose people to developing addiction and relapsing into drug use.

Dr. Bart is conducting research to tease out which genes influence the formation of drug addiction and impact the effectiveness of addiction treatments. In his clinical work, he treats people from many different ethnic backgrounds. Research has shown that one group in particular, the Hmong, responds particularly well to opiate addiction treatment methods compared to persons from other ethnic groups. While receiving exactly the same treatment, people of Hmong background require a lower dose of methadone and have a lower treatment drop-out rate.

The Hmong remain a relatively homogenous and isolated population in America, and only a very small percentage of that population is addicted to opiates. Dr. Bart hopes that by studying this population’s unique response to treatment that he can discover which genes are contributing to their improved response to opiate addiction treatment. Hopefully, this information can then be used to improve treatment options for the general population or other ethnic groups.

Despite our improved understanding of the role that genes play in drug addiction, Dr. Bart insists that the answer to treating addiction does not simply lie in a pill. There are many biological and environmental factors that contribute to the development of drug addiction and the likelihood that one will relapse. Physiological effects on the mind/body, genetic predispositions, and a person’s environment must all be addressed if drug addiction is to be overcome.

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SUPRA Rising Stars Symposium to spotlight early-career addiction research

September 06, 2024.

The University of Kentucky’s Substance Use Priority Research Area (SUPRA) is sponsoring the inaugural Rising Stars Symposium to showcase innovative research and new perspectives on addiction research.

The symposium will be 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Gatton Student Center. Registration is open online.

It will feature three early-career addiction researchers from across the country who will share their findings:

• Karen Ra, PhD, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, whose research focuses on tobacco cessation using mobile health technologies.  
• Jonas Dora, PhD, University of Washington, who uses a unique combination of expertise in experimental, ecologically valid and computational methods to study alcohol use.  
• Jamie Parnes, PhD, Brown University School of Public Health, a clinical researcher who focuses on psychosocial influences on cannabis use, with an emphasis on health promotion among sexual and gender minority populations.

“We are excited to welcome Drs. Ra, Dora and Parnes to UK for the Rising Stars Symposium,” said William W. Stoops, PhD, SUPRA associate director for clinical research. “Bringing new research perspectives, opening the door for new collaborations, and learning about innovative approaches are essential to addressing the complex challenges of substance use. This will pave the way for more effective, compassionate solutions that can truly transform lives.”

SUPRA leadership will also introduce Ra, Dora, and Parnes to various addiction research programs at UK including research at the College of Medicine through the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research and the department of behavioral science, as well as the department of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences .

You can find the full schedule and more information about the event online .

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.   

This article by Lindsay Travis originally appeared in UK Now on Sept. 6. 

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