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

Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School – the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is also the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine (CAM) at MGH…more

 

Jodi GilmanJodi Gilman, Ph.D.

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

Dr. Jodi Gilman is an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Neuroscience at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Addiction Medicine. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University and completed her postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry…more

 

Randi SchusterRandi Schuster, Ph.D.

Co-Director of Research; Director of School-Based Research and Program Development; Director of Neuropsychology; Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Schuster is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her BA from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007 and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2014. She received specialized training in neuropsychology as a pre-doctoral intern and post-doctoral fellow at MGH/Harvard Medical School…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 of the Recovery Research Institute

Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director at the Recovery Research Institute (RRI). He is also the RRI Associate Director of Communications, providing content and oversight for the RRI website, and the monthly RRI Recovery Bulletin. Dr. Bergman’s research targets the intersection between professional-clinical and freely accessible, community-based services for individuals with substance use disorder including…more

Corrie L. Vilsaint, Ph.D.

Associate Director of Recovery Health Equity

Dr. Corrie Vilsaint serves as the Associate Director of Recovery Health Equity at the MGH Recovery Research Institute, research scientist at the Center for Addiction Medicine, and Instructor at Harvard Medical School…more

 

David_EddieDavid Eddie, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

Dr. David Eddie is the Associate Director of Clinical Translational Recovery Science at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute and Center for Addiction Medicine, a clinical psychologist in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Psychology… 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

 

Joanna Streck, PhD

Principal Investigator

Joanna Streck completed her doctoral training in addiction and tobacco regulatory science at the University of Vermont Vermont Center on Behavior and Health and went on to complete her predoctoral internship in Behavioral Medicine and K12 fellowship in addiction at MGH/HMS. Her primary program of research seeks to identify effective tobacco cessation and harm reduction interventions for vulnerable populations who smoke with a focus on those with co-morbid SUD.

 

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.

 

 

Emily Hennessy Ph.D.

Associate Director of Biostatistics, Recovery Research Institute

Emily A. Hennessy is Associate Director of Biostatistics at the Recovery Research Institute and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hennessy was a Fulbright Scholar to Norway where she completed an M.Phil. in Health Promotion and focused on adolescent well-being. She completed her Ph.D. in Community Research and Action at Vanderbilt University and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut in the Systematic Health Action Research Program (SHARP) Lab. Dr. Hennessy’s research examines factors associated with health behavior change among adolescents. Her primary area of research, adolescent substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery, is funded by a career development award (K01) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This study examines social network and recovery capital mechanisms of the recovery process in adolescents using social identity mapping. A secondary area of her research is in conducting evidence syntheses and in improving methods for evidence synthesis. She serves as Associate Methods Editor for the International Coordinating Group of the Campbell Collaboration and is on the editorial board of Psychological Bulletin.

Alexandra Abry

Director of Operations and Finance, Recovery Research Institute

Alexandra Abry graduated from Bates College, where she received her Bachelors degree in Psychology. At the Recovery Research Institute, Alexandra has worked on a variety of projects, including the Cochrane review on Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-Step Facilitation, a SAMHSA systematic review on recovery support services, the National Recovery Study, and the Recovery Community Center study, among others.

 

Lauren Hoffman, Ph.D.

Research Scientist, Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Lauren Hoffman is a Research Scientist at the Recovery Research Institute within the Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Assistant Professor of Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her current research is funded by NIDA, and seeks to elucidate the biopsychosocial correlates of successful substance use disorder treatment and recovery, with an emphasis on opioid use disorder and translation to real-world populations. The ultimate goal of her research is to leverage identified biological and psychosocial correlates to develop and test novel interventions that more effectively address barriers to successful treatment and sustained recovery. In addition to her research activities, Dr. Hoffman serves as Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee for the American Psychological Association’s Society of Addiction Psychology.

Dr. Hoffman received her Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University with honors in Psychology. She received her MS and PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Florida. She completed her post-doctoral training at the Recovery Research Institute, as a Research Fellow in Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Alex Russell Ph.D.

Research Scientist, Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Alex Russell is a Member of the Faculty at Harvard Medical School and Researcher at the Recovery Research Institute within Massachusetts General Hospital. His research, funded by a K01 early career development award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), leverages data from popular social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, TikTok) to explore the nature and influence of social media on alcohol use disorder (AUD) and AUD help-seeking behaviors with the goal of informing public health interventions intended to mobilize AUD treatment and recovery service engagement among young adults.

Richard Fletcher Ph.D.

Research Science Affiliate,  Recovery Research Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Richard Ribon Fletcher is a member of the research faculty at the Recovery Research Institute and Center for Addiction Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and is also a research scientist at MIT. Dr. Fletcher develops new technologies for use in mental health research and behavior medicine. Dr. Fletcher was an early creator of mHealth systems for Just-in-Time Interventions (US Patent 8,655,441) and developed the MIT Media Lab’s first generation of wireless sensor bands for ambulatory measurement of psychophysiology (now Empatica). Dr. Fletcher currently works on digital phenotyping methods for smart phones, chatbots, and machine learning algorithms to detect affect and predict behavior. Dr. Fletcher is also very active in global health supporting underserved communities.

Dr. Fletcher has undergrad degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT and earned his PhD in Information Technology at the MIT Media Lab. Dr. Fletcher has held previous academic appointments at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (Psychiatry) and Bedford VA hospital, and he is also a military veteran (US Air Force).

Akosua Dankwah, Dr.PH.

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Akosua Dankwah is a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute.

Dr. Dankwah completed her Dr.PH. at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Her doctoral dissertation examined the perceptions of Black American Rhode Island church leaders toward intervention models and harm reduction methods in the face of the opioid misuse crises.

Her doctoral project was supported by the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose, based at the Rhode Island Hospital, a fellowship award from the F.X.B. Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, and a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute.

She also holds an M.P.H. from the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island and a B.A. from Knox College in Illinois.

Dr. Dankwah looks forward to an impactful post-doctoral fellowship at the Recovery Research Institute with a focus on church-based recovery studies.

Samuel Acuff Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Samuel Acuff is a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute and a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Acuff completed his doctoral training in clinical psychology in the psychology department at the University of Memphis. Dr. Acuff completed his clinical psychology internship at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. His research is informed by behavioral economics and attempts to illuminate environmental and contextual influences on the development of and recovery from substance use disorders, with a particular focus on social factors. Dr. Acuff’s dissertation was funded by a F31 through NIAAA and connected electrophysiological event-related potentials with behavioral economic constructs and explored the interaction between social and alcohol stimuli on neural correlates of reward. During his postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Acuff intends to develop and to contribute to impactful recovery science through the lens of behavioral economic theory.

Benjamin Thompson, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Recovery Research Institute
Dr. Benjamin Thompson is a Research Fellow at the Recovery Research Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital with a long-standing interest in understanding addiction through the lens of recovery as a strategy of informing effective treatment approaches. To that end, he has explored multiple dimensions of addiction and recovery through a variety of disciplines. Dr. Thompson holds a B.A. in psychology (University at Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL), graduate degrees in theology (Samford University, Birmingham, AL) and science and religion (Boston University, Boston, MA), and a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience (Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA). Presently, his research focuses on better understanding the neurobehavioral correlates of the emotional improvements that occur in and through the process of recovery from alcohol use disorder. He is ultimately interested in bridging the gap between neuroscience and narrative science to better understand the neurocognitive underpinnings of adaptive identity change in the context of recovery.
Eric Boorman Ph.D.
Biostatistician, Recovery Research Institute
Dr. Eric Boorman is a biostatistician at the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Boorman specializes in quantitative methodology and health psychology. Dr. Boorman has a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology and a PhD in Psychometrics. Dr. Boorman recently completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University. Prior to working at the Recovery Research institute, Dr. Boorman conducted research on medication adherence among persons with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and mental health among persons with Sickle Cell Disease. Dr. Boorman has done extensive research on survey design and evaluation focusing specifically on religiosity, spirituality, and related constructs.

 

Vanessa Iroegbulem, B.A.

Clinical Research Coordinator III

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 II

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.

 

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.

 

Jason Zhao, B.S.

Clinical Research Coordinator II

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 

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 II

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.

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.

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.

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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Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School – the first endowed professor in addiction medicine at Harvard. He is also the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine (CAM) at MGH.

Dr. Kelly is a former President of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society of Addiction Psychology, a founding member and inaugural President of the American Board of Addiction Psychology, 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, the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

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. He has won numerous state, national, and international lifetime achievements and distinguished scientist awards for his work.

His clinical and research endeavors have focused on addiction treatment and the recovery process, mechanisms of behavior change, and reducing stigma and discrimination among individuals suffering from addiction.

For press inquiries and speaking engagement requests, please contact Ji Won Yoon at ji.yoon@mgh.harvard.edu 

 

Top Psychologists in Boston

Dr. John F. Kelly, PHD has been recognized as one of the top Boston Psychology practices.
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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. Jodi Gilman is an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Neuroscience at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Addiction Medicine. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University and completed her postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Gilman’s research uses multi-modal neuroimaging, behavioral and cognitive testing to understand the effects of addiction on the brain. Specifically, she studies the effects of cannabis use on addiction and other health outcomes. She has had a NIDA K01 Career Development Award and currently has a NIDA K02 Mid-Career Development Award, in addition to several R01 grants to conduct this research.  Dr. Gilman has received numerous awards, including the Fellows Award for Research Excellence from the National Institutes of Health. 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

Brandon G. Bergman, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director at the Recovery Research Institute (RRI). He is also the RRI Associate Director of Communications, providing content and oversight for the RRI website, and the monthly RRI Recovery Bulletin. Dr. Bergman’s research targets the intersection between professional-clinical and freely accessible, community-based services for individuals with substance use disorder including, but not limited to, those in the life stage of emerging adulthood (i.e., ages 18-29). Dr. Bergman’s primary line of research, funded by a career development award (K23) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, examines the nature and utility of participation in online, digital recovery support services, as well as the use of social network site data to elucidate social-recovery processes. He completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University, and his psychology internship and addiction psychology postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bergman is also a licensed clinical psychologist, actively treating individuals with substance use disorder and related problems, as well as family members who are supporting their loved ones with these conditions.

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

Co-Director of Research; Director of School-Based Research and Program Development; Director of Neuropsychology; Principal Investigator, Center for Addiction Medicine; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Schuster is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her BA from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007 and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2014. She received specialized training in neuropsychology as a pre-doctoral intern and post-doctoral fellow at MGH/Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Schuster’s work aims to define the cognitive predecessors of adolescent substance use, effects of substance use on cognitive performance, and how these and other factors (e.g., genetics and environment) affect treatment engagement and functional (e.g., academic) outcomes. Her work explores the behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying risk for adverse outcomes secondary to early substance exposure, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable sub-populations including adolescents with and at risk for neuropsychiatric illness.

Dr. Schuster’s work is notably rooted in principles of community engagement and equity. Her training in community-based research is reflected in extensive ties with public schools across Massachusetts. She has surveyed over 100,000 students in school-based settings about their substance use behaviors and co-occurring mental health symptoms. Through her program of school-based research, she has also developed and tested best practice community-level early interventions (“Tier 2”) to minimize population-level impact of substance use on student health and well-being. Dr. Schuster is currently overseeing a state-funded program aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating a novel alternative to suspension (iDECIDE; https://www.idecidemyfuture.org) as well as a PCORI-funded clinical trial aimed at evaluating methods for improving school-based SBIRT for early substance use detection.

Corrie L. Vilsaint, Ph.D. Research Fellow
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Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Corrie Vilsaint serves as the Associate Director of Recovery Health Equity at the MGH Recovery Research Institute, research scientist at the Center for Addiction Medicine, and Instructor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vilsaint is a community psychologist and an international speaker, whose work has been recognized by an award from the American Psychological Association. Her research endeavors have focused on racial health equity in remission and recovery, reducing recovery-related discrimination, building recovery capital, and the effectiveness of recovery support services.

David Eddie, Ph.D., A.B.A.P. Research Scientist
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Research Scientist

Dr. David Eddie is the Associate Director of Clinical Translational Recovery Science at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute and Center for Addiction Medicine, a clinical psychologist in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Psychology.

Dr. Eddie holds a B.A. from Columbia University with honors in psychology, and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, where he conducted research at the Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies. Dr. Eddie did 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.

His research seeks to better understand the psychological and psychophysiological causes and conditions that lead to people becoming addicted to alcohol and other drugs, and how these factors can also maintain addiction. He uses this knowledge to develop and study novel, technology-based treatments for substance use disorder.