Center for Addiction Medicine

Faculty and Staff

The Center for Addiction Medicine maintains a highly collaborative team with backgrounds in behavioral interventions, neuroimaging, and cognitive neuroscience. Faculty, post-docs, and staff all provide the complementary skills and expertise needed to study the underlying causes and risk factors of addictive behavior and to test new treatments for addictive disorders. The faculty and fellows have appointments at both Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

 

A. Eden Evins, M.D., M.P.H., Center for Addiction Medicine Director, Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical SchoolA. Eden Evins, M.D., M.P.H.

Founding Director and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Cox Family Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Addiction Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Evins is the Cox Family Professor of Psychiatry in the field of addiction medicine at Harvard Medical School and the founder and director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH. Dr. Evins completed her residency in adult psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and the Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program. In addition, she completed…more

 

John F. Kelly, Ph.D., ABPP

Associate Director, Center for Addiction Medicine; Program Director, Addiction Recovery Management Service; Founder and Director, Recovery Research Institute; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at MGH. The American Psychological Association (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, and is also a Fellow of APA. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies…more

 

Jodi GilmanJodi Gilman, Ph.D.

Director of Neuroscience and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Gilman received her BS from Tufts University in 2004, and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Brown University in 2008, where she used neuroimaging techniques to study the acute and long-term functional and structural effects of alcohol on brain regions involved in motivation and emotion. She came to CAM in January 2013 to study the…more

 

Randi SchusterRandi Schuster, Ph.D.

Director of Neuropsychology and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Schuster is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her BA from the University of Maryland, College Park and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2014. In graduate school, she was funded by a NIDA National Research Service Award to study the cognitive effects of cannabis and tobacco use among…more

 

Gladys Pachas, M.D., Program Director Center for Addiction Medicine, Assistant in Research Psychiatry, Instructor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical SchoolGladys Pachas, M.D.

Program Director, Center for Addiction Medicine; Assistant in Research Psychiatry and Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Pachas received her medical degree from San Martin de Porres University and received health services management and public health training from the National University Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru. She also completed an Addiction Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Her research interests are the development of behavioral treatments and evidence-based novel treatments for smoking cessation and relapse prevention in people with…more

 

Cori Cather, Ph.D., Director Psychology Services MGH Schizophrenia Program, Assistant in Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Professor of Psychology Harvard Medical SchoolCori Cather, Ph.D.

Director, MGH Center of Excellence for Psychosocial and Systemic Research; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Corinne Cather earned her undergraduate degree in biopsychology at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and her doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University where she received specialized training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral medicine. She completed an internship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (formerly Rutgers) and joined…more

 

Bettina Hoeppner, Ph.D., Director of Biostatistics, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical SchoolBettina Hoeppner, Ph.D.

Director of Biostatistics and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Hoeppner is a health psychologist with expertise in fine-grained longitudinal methodology, which she uses to explicate the mechanisms underlying behavioral change. During her graduate training (Univ. of RI, MA in psychology in 2003, M.S. in statistics in 2005, Ph.D. in psychology in 2007), Dr. Hoeppner collaborated on numerous health behavior change projects, which used…more

 

Paola Pedrelli, Ph.D., Director of Dual Diagnoses Studies at the Depression Clinical Research Program, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor in Psychology-Harvard Medical SchoolPaola Pedrelli, Ph.D.

Director of Dual Diagnoses Studies at the Depression Clinical Research Program; Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Pedrelli is a clinical psychologist with expertise in comorbid disorders. She received her Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from the Joint Doctoral Program at the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University and completed her post-doctoral work at MGH. Her program of research focuses on explicating the etiology of co-occurring Mood Disorders and…more

 

Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D.Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D., Research Scientist

Associate Director, Research Recovery Institute; Instructor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Bergman is a research scientist in the Recovery Research Institute (RRI) within CAM, and a licensed staff psychologist in the hospital’s Addiction Recovery Management Service (ARMS), where he treats adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders (SUD). He also serves nationally as the secretary for Division 50 of the American Psychological Association (Addiction…more

Corrie L. Vilsaint, Ph.D.

Research Fellow

Dr. Vilsaint is a community psychologist. She is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator at the Recovery Research Institute and Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research has focused on racial health equality and recovery from addiction…more

 

David_EddieDavid Eddie, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

Dr. David Eddie is a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Addiction Medicine and Recovery Research Institute, a clinical psychologist in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. His current NIAAA-supported research is seeking to better understand affective and psychophysiological factors that heighten addiction relapse… more

 

 

Kevin Potter, Ph.D.

Research Fellow/Statistician

Dr. Kevin Potter graduated from Grinnell College with a B.A. in Psychology and received his Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from Ohio State University. He began working for the Center for Addiction Medicine in August of 2018 as a statistician. His research involves applying modern statistical…more

 

Brenden Tervo-Clemmens, Ph.D.

Clinical and Research Fellow

Dr. Brenden Tervo-Clemmens is a post-doctoral fellow at Massachusetts GeneralHospital/Harvard Medical School in the MGH/NIDA K12 Career Development Program in Substance Use and Addiction Medicine. Brenden received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2021 from the University of Pittsburgh, with secondary training in…more

 

Caroline Gray, M.S.W.

Project Manager, iDECIDE

Caroline Gray received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech and her M.S.W. from the University of South Carolina. Caroline joined CAM in July 2021 and works primarily on the iDECIDE project, under Dr. Randi Schuster. Prior to her time at CAM, she was at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, where she was a project manager…more

 

Julia Jashinski, M.S.W., LCSW

Associate Program Manager

Julia Jashinski graduated from Ohio State University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health and received her M.S.W. from Boston University in 2021. At CAM, she works together with principal investigators to support ongoing projects and manage grants, and is the project coordinator for Dr. Gilman and Dr. Evins’ multi-site study looking at the effects of cannabis and a group behavioral intervention on pain and opioid utilization. Her professional interests include harm reduction, substance use policy, and health equity.

Meghan Costello, M.A

Pre-Doctoral Candidate

Meghan Costello is a pre-doctoral clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Track. She is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology at the University of Virginia, where she also received her undergraduate and master’s degrees. Her research focuses on characterizing and leveraging positive peer relational processes to promote adolescent well-being. She is also interested in near-peer and paraprofessional intervention and prevention efforts as a promising avenue for improving access to supportive care for young people.

 

Sarah Knoll, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator III

Sarah Knoll graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. At CAM, she works primarily with Dr. Schuster on two studies, one examining the effects of cannabis abstinence on cognition and the other examining the effect of acute cannabis abstinence on suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Her research interests include accessibility, scalability, and effectiveness of mental health interventions and treatments for underserved youth populations.

 

Vanessa Iroegbulem, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Vanessa Iroegbulem graduated from Augustana College with a Bachelor of Arts in neuroscience and women, gender, and sexuality studies with a minor in philosophy. At CAM, she works primarily with Dr. Evins and Dr. Schuster on two studies, one that investigates the efficacy of a pharmacological and behavioral intervention for vaping cessation in adolescent and young adults who have a willingness to quit vaping, and another that focuses on the development and evaluation of a new drug education curriculum, which seeks to create a more equitable response to school-based substance use infractions. Her research interests include harm reduction, health equity, and accessibility and effectiveness of early interventions and treatments for substance use in marginalized and underserved populations.

 

Jason Dufour, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Jason graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Fordham University in 2020. Jason’s past work has examined qualitative elements of developmental milestones, such as individuals entering the college environment and the associated risks/benefits involved in that phase of life. At CAM, Jason works primarily with Dr. Evins and Dr. Schuster on a study that investigates vaping cessation in adolescents and young adults who have a willingness to quit vaping. Jason’s research interests broadly include targeting at-risk youth and subsequent implementation of early intervention modules for substance use and comorbid psychopathology.

 

Aarushi Rohila, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Aarushi Rohila graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2022 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in biological sciences. At CAM, she works with Dr. Evins and Dr. Cather on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded study investigating pharmacotherapeutic and behavioral tobacco cessation treatments for adult smokers with serious mental illness. She also works with Dr. Evins, Dr. Cather, and Dr. Schuster on a study evaluating the efficacy of varenicline and behavioral support on vaped nicotine cessation for adolescents and young adults. Her research interests include accessible, effective, and representative medical and psychiatric care for individuals from underrepresented populations as well as improved treatment adherence via targeted education and support.

 

Bryn Evohr, B.S.

Programmer/Clinical Research Coordinator II

Bryn Evohr graduated from Emory University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and minors in quantitative science and Spanish. At CAM, she works primarily with Dr. Gilman on the prescription opioid tapering study, which looks at the effect of medical marijuana and behavioral interventions on pain and opioid dose. She also works with Dr. Tervo-Clemmens on a study assessing real-world day-to-day associations between impulsivity and cannabis use. Her research interests include behavioral support and treatment interventions for populations with physical disabilities and chronic illnesses, as well as health equity and mental health treatment relating to these populations.

 

Brooklyn Deming, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Brooklyn Deming graduated from Knox College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Secondary Education. At CAM, they works primarily with Dr. Schuster on the development and evaluation of a new drug education curriculum, which seeks to create a more equitable and educational response to substance-use infractions in schools. Their research interests include substance use and abuse, adolescent development, harm reduction, and intervention using EMA.

 

Juliana Holcomb, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Juliana Holcomb graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Deaf Studies. She is currently a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Suffolk University, studying shared decision-making in youth psychotherapy in Dr. David Langer’s CHOICEs Lab. At CAM, she works with Dr. Schuster and her team on numerous studies including one about the effectiveness of a drug education and diversion program for middle and high school students as well as ones related to cannabis abstinence and mental health.

 

Jason Zhao, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Jason Zhao graduated from Boston College in 2022 with a B.S. in Psychology. At CAM, he works with Dr. Schuster and Dr. Evins in a study that examines the efficacy of varenicline and behavioral support for vaping cessation in adolescents. He is also currently working on a study with Dr. Husain and Dr. Evins that investigates the effects of cannabidiol on social anxiety disorder. His research interests include health equity, mental health interventions, and developmental psychopathology.

 

Alec Bodolay, B.S.

Programmer

Alec Bodolay graduated from University of California Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology. At the center, he acts primarily as a data manager for a variety of ongoing studies with a focus on a new drug education program implemented across middle and high schools in Massachusetts. This study provides each one with an intervention that can be used as an alternative to punishment substance use infractions in school grounds. Alec is mainly interested in drug development and discovery, and hopes to research more sustainable ways to treat mental disorders and neurological diseases in his growing career.

Jasmeen Kaur, MPH, BDS

Programmer

Jasmeen Kaur received a Master of Public Health from Boston University and her Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. At CAM, she works primarily with Dr. Gilman on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, looking at the substance use patterns in coordination with Dr. Tervo-Clemmens and Dr. Potter. Her research interests include opioid addiction, substance dependence, equitable and affordable access to health resources as well as effects of social determinants on mental health.

 

 

Liam Arteaga, M.A., B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator II / Programmer

Liam Arteaga graduated from the University College Dublin with a Masters in Psychological Sciences in 2021, as well as having received a B.S in Neuroscience and B.A in Psychology from Emmanuel College in 2020. At CAM, he works with Dr. Randi Schuster on a study examining the efficacy of a drug education and diversion program for adolescent students. Liam’s interests include research furthering our understanding of substance use disorders through a biological perspective, as well as research that aims to evaluate, improve, and expand overall treatment options for substance use disorders.

 

Kelly Casottana, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Kelly Casottana graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in behavior and health and a minor in biology. Her previous research experience in opioid and substance use disorders in pregnancy and early childhood has brought her to CAM. At the Center, she works with Dr. Schuster and Dr. Evins on a study which investigates the efficacy of varenicline and behavioral support on vaping cessation in adolescents and young adults. Her research interests include child and adolescent development, preventative medicine and intervention methods, and reducing the stigma around substance use disorders in healthcare settings. Kelly plans to continue her career by attending medical school.

Matteo Torquati, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Matteo Torquati graduated from Boston College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in public health. At CAM, he works with Dr. Schuster on two studies, one that examines the effect of acute cannabis abstinence on suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescents and another that explores school-based interventions for alcohol use, which seeks to learn about ways to best support youth and to improve access to substance use prevention in schools. His research interests include child and adolescent development, preventative healthcare, health equity, and substance use and abuse. Matteo plans to continue his career by attending medical school

Kendall Roberts, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Kendall Roberts graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology and Child Study and Human Development. At CAM, she works with Dr. Schuster on the effectiveness of a new drug education curriculum as an alternative intervention for adolescents with substance use infractions. Her research interests include the development and implementation of community-based mental health interventions and the treatment of comorbid psychopathology. Kendall hopes to attend graduate school to pursue a degree in clinical psychology.

 

Hannah Drew, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Hannah Drew graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in History & Literature, and a minor in Global Health and Health Policy. At CAM, Hannah works with Dr. Schuster on two projects: one project focuses on the development of a drug education curriculum for middle and high school students, and the second project evaluates the effectiveness of school-based interventions in addressing youth substance use. Her research interests include substance use disorders, young adult mental health, global and rural health delivery, and health equity. She hopes to attend medical school in the future!

 

Elizabeth Oxendine, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Elizabeth Oxendine graduated from Tufts University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology and Community Health. At CAM, she works with Dr. Schuster evaluating the effectiveness of using nonclinical peer support workers to deliver school-based substance use screenings and brief interventions. Her research interests include Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), mood disorder prevention programs for young children, and community-based participatory research (CBPR). Fun fact, she was an intern at CAM before she became a clinical research coordinator!

Lauren Greenspan, B.S., B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

Lauren Greenspan graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and a minor in the History of Medicine and Health. At CAM, she works with Dr. Schuster on a project evaluating the effectiveness of school-based interventions in improving the screening and treatment of youth substance use. Her research interests include adolescent mental health, depression and anxiety prevention, health equity, and improving access to care through community-based interventions.

Kevin Potter, Ph.D.
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Research Fellow/Statistician

Dr. Kevin Potter graduated from Grinnell College with a B.A. in Psychology and received his Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from Ohio State University. He began working for the Center for Addiction Medicine in August of 2018 as a statistician. His research involves applying modern statistical and cognitive modeling approaches to diverse clinical data sets, and developing approachable statistical tools for applied practitioners.

Caroline Gray, M.S.W.
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Project Manager, iDECIDE

Caroline Gray received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech and her M.S.W. from the University of South Carolina. Caroline joined CAM in July 2021 and works primarily on the iDECIDE project, under Dr. Randi Schuster. Prior to her time at CAM, she was at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, where she was a project manager of the SAMHSA funded initiative, the Opioid Response Network, as well as at the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center. Prior to her work in project management, she was a staff therapist at South Bay Community Services, where she provided community-based behavioral health services in the Southcoast region of Massachusetts. Her professional interests include increasing access to culturally responsive prevention, treatment, and recovery resources and services for substance use disorders.

Brenden Tervo-Clemmens, Ph.D.
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Clinical and Research Fellow

Dr. Brenden Tervo-Clemmens is a post-doctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in the MGH/NIDA K12 Career Development Program in Substance Use and Addiction Medicine. Brenden received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2021 from the University of Pittsburgh, with secondary training in Cognitive Neuroscience from Carnegie Mellon University, and completed his pre-doctoral clinical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on the neurodevelopment of externalizing psychopathology (impulsivity, risk-taking) and substance use during adolescence. He is also engaged in methodological research that aims to evaluate and improve the utility of large-scale functional neuroimaging (fMRI) and smartphone assessment in these areas.

A. Eden Evins, M.D., M.P.H. Director, Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
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A. Eden Evins, M.D., M.P.H., Ceneter for Addiction Medicine Director, Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Founding Director and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Cox Family Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Addiction Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Evins is the Cox Family Professor of Psychiatry in the field of addiction medicine at Harvard Medical School and the founder and director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH. Dr. Evins completed her residency in adult psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and the Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program. In addition, she completed a fellowship in molecular biology at the Mailman Research Center of McLean Hospital, a fellowship in clinical research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005.

Dr. Evins has 17 years of consecutive NIDA funding to conduct, as PI, studies of the efficacy of pharmacotherapeutic cessation aids in smokers with and without serious mental illness, and of the effect of nicotine on cognitive performance in those with and without schizophrenia. She has also conducted NIDA-funded studies of behavioral, physiologic, and fMRI-ascertained assessments of impulsivity, risk-taking, reactivity to drug-related cues, and the relationship between cue reactivity and relapse to drug use. A newer line of investigation explores the effect of cannabis on psychiatric symptoms, cognitive function, and addictive behaviors. She has conducted a series of studies that have changed clinical practice guidelines for smoking cessation for those with serious mental illness. Cochrane Reviews on smoking cessation in schizophrenia are based largely on this work (Tsoi et al.; 2010, 2013 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews). Dr. Evins has extensive ties with Community Health Centers that have made it possible to conduct large clinical studies. She has been PI of a 10-site multi-center study conducted in community mental health centers across 6 US states.

She has mentored over 35 junior investigators, many with K awards, and has authored over 100 publications, including 42 publications with a mentee as first author.

John F. Kelly, Ph.D., ABPP Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine, Program Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service, Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
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Associate Director, Center for Addiction Medicine; Program Director, Addiction Recovery Management Service; Founder and Director, Recovery Research Institute; Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in the field of Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is also the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine (CAM) at MGH, and the Program Director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service (ARMS). Dr. Kelly is a former President of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, and is a Fellow of the APA and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and non-federal institutions, as well as foreign governments and the United Nations. Dr. Kelly has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, chapters, and books in the field of addiction medicine, and was an author on the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. His clinical and research work has focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, which has included the effectiveness of mutual-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the translation and implementation of evidence-based practice, addiction and criminal justice, addiction treatment theories and mechanisms of action, and reducing stigma associated with addiction.

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Cori Cather, Ph.D. Director Psychology Services MGH Schizophrenia Program, Assistant in Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School
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Cori Cather, Ph.D., Director Psychology Services MGH Schizophrenia Program, Assistant in Psychiatry Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Professor of Psychology Harvard Medical School

Director of Psychological Services, MGH Schizophrenia Program; Psychologist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Corinne Cather earned her undergraduate degree in biopsychology at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and her doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University where she received specialized training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral medicine. She completed an internship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (formerly Rutgers) and joined the Schizophrenia Clinical and Research Program in 1999 as a fellow. She has extensive experience as a clinician-researcher with first episode/early psychosis as well as with chronic schizophrenia and she has developed an international reputation as one of the few practitioners in the US skilled in cognitive behavioral therapy in schizophrenia. She has participated in a number of trials that investigate the efficacy of combined behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments for nicotine dependence in smokers with severe mental illness and has manualized treatments for enhancing motivation to quit smoking, smoking cessation, and relapse prevention for this population of smokers.

Paola Pedrelli, Ph.D. Director of Dual Diagnoses Studies at the Depression Clinical Research Program, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School
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Paola Pedrelli, Ph.D., Director of Dual Diagnoses Studies at the Depression Clinical Research Program, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor in Psychology-Harvard Medical School

Director of Dual Diagnoses Studies at the Depression Clinical Research Program; Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Pedrelli is a clinical psychologist with expertise in comorbid disorders. She received her Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from the Joint Doctoral Program at the University of California San Diego and San Diego State University and completed her post-doctoral work at MGH. Her program of research focuses on explicating the etiology of co-occurring Mood Disorders and Alcohol Use Disorders and on developing psychosocial treatments for these conditions. She has been awarded funding from Harvard Medical School, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research. Her current work includes a study examining the effectiveness of a novel psychosocial intervention for heavy drinking and depressive symptoms in college students, and a multi-method study investigating positive and negative reinforcement processes at the bases of binge drinking. She has published and presented extensively on the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and substance use among college students. She is an expert in the delivery of CBT and developed several CBT-based treatment manuals for patients with co-occurring disorders.

Bettina Hoeppner, Ph.D. Director of Biostatistics, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
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Bettina Hoeppner, Ph.D., Director of Biostatistics, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Director of Biostatistics and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Hoeppner is a health psychologist with expertise in fine-grained longitudinal methodology, which she uses to explicate the mechanisms underlying behavioral change. During her graduate training (Univ. of RI, MA in psychology in 2003, MS in statistics in 2005, Ph.D. in psychology in 2007), Dr. Hoeppner collaborated on numerous health behavior change projects, which used computer-delivered expert systems based on the Transtheoretical Model to provide participants with tailored intervention materials. Thereafter, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center of Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University that focused on addictive behaviors, particularly alcohol and tobacco use in adolescents and young adults. Dr. Hoeppner joined the Center for Addiction Medicine in 2010. Her K01 research project uses Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to delineate the temporal ordering of changes in smoking outcome expectancies relative to smoking cessation by collecting fine-grained, real-time data on college student smokers undergoing smoking cessation treatment. As such, her five-year K01 training and research plan builds upon her existing strengths of advanced statistical training and experience with theory-driven health behavior interventions to enable her to take full advantage of modern technology to delineate the causal mechanisms underlying the process of smoking cessation.

Gladys Pachas, M.D. Program Director Center for Addiction Medicine, Assistant in Research Psychiatry, Instructor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School
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Gladys Pachas, M.D., Program Director Center for Addiction Medicine, Assistant in Research Psychiatry, Instructor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School

Program Director, Center for Addiction Medicine; Assistant in Research Psychiatry and Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Pachas received her medical degree from San Martin de Porres University and received health services management and public health training from the National University Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru. She also completed an Addiction Fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Her research interests are the development of behavioral treatments and evidence-based novel treatments for smoking cessation and relapse prevention in people with and without serious mental illness. Dr. Pachas is the recipient of the NIMH-NCDEU Young Investigator Award, the MGH Clinical Research Day Departmental Award in Psychiatry, the NIH-NIDA Interdisciplinary Research Training Institute on Hispanic Drug Abuse Fellowship, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Fellowship, and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Health Disparities Fellowship. Dr. Pachas is involved in the clinical component of complex Phase II trials of novel pharmacologic agents, all of which are being tested as treatments for smoking cessation and relapse prevention.

Jodi Gilman, Ph.D. Neuroscientist, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
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Neuroscientist, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Director of Neuroscience and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Gilman received her BS from Tufts University in 2004, and her PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University in 2008, where she used neuroimaging techniques to study the acute and long-term functional and structural effects of alcohol on brain regions involved in motivation and emotion. She came to CAM in January 2013 to study the effects of cannabis on the brains of young adult users. She is the recipient of the Norman Zinberg Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry from Harvard Medical School, as well as a Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse entitled “Neurobehavioral Characterization of Social Influence in Drug Addiction.” Dr. Gilman’s work has been featured in media outlets throughout the world, including Reuters, NPR’s Science Friday broadcast, and the BBC. More information on her work can be found at http://scholar.harvard.edu/jodigilman/news.

Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D. Research Scientist
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Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D., Research Scientist

Associate Director, Research Recovery Institute; Instructor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Bergman is a research scientist in the Recovery Research Institute (RRI) within CAM, and a licensed staff psychologist in the hospital's Addiction Recovery Management Service (ARMS), where he treats adolescents and young adults with substance use disorders (SUD). He also serves nationally as the secretary for Division 50 of the American Psychological Association (Addiction Psychology). Dr. Bergman’s research interests include treatment/recovery among young adults with co-occurring SUD and psychiatric disorders as well as community-based mutual-help organizations. His work has been recognized by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA), and by an MGH/HMS institutional award. Dr. Bergman received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, including a pre-doctoral clinical internship in the MGH/HMS Department of Psychiatry. He completed a combined clinical/research post-doctoral fellowship at ARMS and CAM in 2014.

Aurora Quaye, M.D. Co-Investigator, Study Physician
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Dr. Aurora Quaye is a clinical investigator at the Center of Addiction Medicine and an Instructor in Anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Quaye received her BA in Neuroscience and Behavior from Wesleyan University and her MD from Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Quaye completed her residency in Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and her fellowship in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She serves as a member of the Acute Pain Service and the Opioid Task Force at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Quaye is currently conducting research on identifying perioperative opioid reduction strategies for patients at risk of, or suffering from, opioid use disorders.

Randi Schuster, Ph.D. Director of Neuropsychology, Principal Investigator
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Randi Schuster

Director of Neuropsychology and Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Schuster is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her BA from the University of Maryland, College Park and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2014. In graduate school, she was funded by a NIDA National Research Service Award to study the cognitive effects of cannabis and tobacco use among at-risk young adults using ecological momentary assessment. She joined CAM in July 2014 as a post-doctoral fellow after completing her clinical internship in neuropsychology at MGH/Harvard Medical School. She was the recipient of the Norman Zinberg Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry and the Livingston Fellowship from Harvard Medical School as well as the Louis V. Gerstner III Research Scholar Award from MGH. She is currently funded off of a five-year K23 from NIH-NIDA, which is examining the utility of contingency management interventions in promoting cannabis abstinence as well as the reversibility of cognitive deficits during 30 days of cannabis discontinuation among high school-aged adolescents.

Corrie L. Vilsaint, Ph.D. Research Fellow
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Research Fellow

Dr. Vilsaint is a community psychologist. She is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator at the Recovery Research Institute and Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research has focused on racial health equality in remission and recovery from addiction. She has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and is currently supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

David Eddie, Ph.D. Research Scientist
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Research Scientist

Dr. David Eddie is a research scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Addiction Medicine and Recovery Research Institute, a clinical psychologist in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. His current NIAAA-supported research is seeking to better understand affective and psychophysiological factors that heighten addiction relapse risk with the aim of developing cutting-edge mobile health (mHealth) interventions driven by wearable biosensors. He is also interested in addiction treatment and recovery processes, as well as drug and treatment policy, and is finance chair for the American Psychological Association’s Society of Addiction Psychology.

A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Eddie received his Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University with honors in psychology, and his PhD from Rutgers University, where he conducted research at the Center of Alcohol Studies. Dr. Eddie undertook his clinical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital before completing his post-doctoral training as a Harvard Medical School Livingston Fellow at the Recovery Research Institute.