2025

Sarah Jane Chavez, Ph.D. (2022) in Interdisciplinary Research on Substance Use from UC San Diego and San Diego State University. Her research examines the etiology of alcohol and substance use among Latinx young adults and college students, with a specific focus on adversity, culture, and institutional belonging. Dr. Chavez is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton. Mentor: Kate B. Carey, Ph.D.

Erin Ferguson Ph.D. (2023) in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Florida. Her research focuses on improving understanding of alcohol and cannabis use patterns among those with co-occurring chronic health conditions (e.g., HIV, pain). Dr. Ferguson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. Mentors: Christopher Kahler, Ph.D. & Ana Abrantes, Ph.D.

Sarah Maloney, Ph.D. (2022) in Health Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research focuses on tobacco and cannabis use during pregnancy, with particular emphasis on how product characteristics influence user preferences, perceptions, and patterns of use. Dr. Maloney is currently a Postdoctoral Research Affiliate at the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at Brown University. Mentors: Laura Stroud, Ph.D., and Jennifer Tidey, Ph.D.

Roselyn Peterson, Ph.D. (2023) is Research Director and Clinical Faculty of the Clinical Psychology PsyD program at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. She completed her clinical psychology degree at the University of Central Florida, her clinical internship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and went on to complete two years of postdoctoral training at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies in the School of Public Health at Brown University. Her research focuses on the intersection of alcohol use and sexual violence, with a particular emphasis on protective behavioral strategies (PBS). Mentors: Jennifer Merrill, P.h.D., and Lindsay Orchowski, P.h.D.

2024

Mariel Bello, Ph.D. (2022) in Clinical Science from the University of Southern California. Dr. Bello's program of research uses mixed methods to examine: 1) the potential mechanisms underlying tobacco-related health disparities among populations disproportionately affected by tobacco use; and 2) whether providing lower-risk alternative products or other cessation strategies facilitate cessation and/or significant reductions in tobacco use among these groups. Dr. Bello is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Addiction Sciences Division of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and a member of the Cancer Prevention & Control Program within the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Mentors: Suzanne Colby, Ph.D. and Rachel Cassidy, Ph.D.

Nioud (Neo) Gebru, Ph.D. (2022) in Health and Human Performance from the University of Florida. His research explores behavioral mechanisms (e.g., impulsivity) underlying addictive and risky behaviors; seeking to develop and test digital interventions aimed at health behavior change specifically in substance use and HIV-related behaviors. Dr. Gebru is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. Mentors: Christopher Kahler, Ph.D. And Jennifer Merrill, Ph.D.

2023

Benjamin Berey, Ph.D. (2020) in Health and Human Performance from the University of Florida. His research program uses experimental and observational approaches to understand how alcohol and cannabis use affects sleep and related health behaviors across the lifespan. Dr. Berey is a Research Health Scientist at the Providence VA Medical Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Mentors: Elizabeth R. Aston, Ph.D., and Jane Metrik, Ph.D.

Dale Dagar Maglalang, Ph.D. (2020) in Social Work from Boston College School of Social Work. Dale's research examines how racism and other forms of oppression influence substance use in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. Dr. Maglalang is a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. Mentor: Jasjit S. Ahluwalia, M.D.

Andrea Wycoff, Ph.D. (2022) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri. Her research seeks to characterize the motivational and emotional processes that underlie alcohol and cannabis (co-)use in individuals' natural environments. Dr. Wycoff is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri. Mentors: Robert Miranda, Ph.D. and Hayley Treloar Padovano, Ph.D.

2022

Jaqueline Contrera Avila, Ph.D. (2020) in Population Health Sciences from The University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Avila's research examines how tobacco exposure impacts cognitive decline in different countries and to intervene to reduce tobacco-related disparities among older adults at high risk for lung cancer. Dr. Avila is a tenure track Assistant Professor in the department of Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Mentor: Jasjit S. Ahluwalia, M.D.

Arryn A. Guy, Ph.D. (2020) in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Their work focuses on community-based participatory research with queer and trans communities to develop and implement evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Dr. Guy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology. Mentor: Christopher Kahler, Ph.D.

Gabriela López, Ph.D. (2020) in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Mexico. Dr. López's work focuses on examining mental health and alcohol use disparities among sexual and racial/ethnic minority women with histories of sexual assault. She is a Research Scientist at Rhode Island Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Mentors: Jennifer E. Merrill, Ph.D., and Lindsay Orchowski, Ph.D.

Samuel Meisel, Ph.D. (2020) in Clinical Psychology from the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. Sam’s research examines the role of social relationships (e.g., caregivers, peers) in the initiation, escalation, and treatment of adolescent substance use. Dr. Meisel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. Mentors: Robert Miranda Jr. Ph.D. and Hayley Treloar Padovano, Ph.D.

Samantha Portis, Ph.D. (2020) in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience from the University of South Florida. As a translational neuroscientist, her research focuses on medication development and pharmacotherapy trials for older adults with substance use disorders. Dr. Portis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri, Columbia.  Mentors: Damaris Rohsenow, Ph.D. & Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

David G. Zelaya, Ph.D. (2019) in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University. David completed his clinical psychology residency at Harvard Medical School’s Cambridge Hospital. His program of research examines minority stress mechanisms through an intersectionality paradigm to address health disparities among queer people of color (e.g., Latinx sexual minorities) by developing behavioral health interventions. Dr. Zelaya is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentors: Christopher Kahler, Ph.D. & Suzanne Colby, Ph.D.

2021

Melissa Pielech, Ph.D. (2019) in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Mexico. As a pediatric psychologist, her research focuses on intervention development and implementation to co-treat adolescent substance use and pain in integrated care settings.  Dr. Pielech is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Alpert Medical School of Brown University.  Mentor: Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

Robert Rosales, Ph.D. (2018) in Social Work from the Boston College School of Social Work. His research focuses on the effects of structural discrimination and minority stress on access to care and alcohol use/problems. Dr. Rosales is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentors: Christina S. Lee, Ph.D., Suzanne M. Colby, Ph.D., and Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

Angela Stevens, Ph.D. (2019) in Clinical Psychology from Texas Tech Univerisity. Her research focused on understanding predictors and consequences of polysubstance use as it occurs in daily life, with a particular interest in alcohol-drug and drug-drug combinations that carry an acute risk for overdose. She was also committed to advocating for the use of harm reduction strategies to address the overdose epidemic. 

2020

Ryan Carpenter, Ph.D. (2018) in  in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He uses intensively longitudinal approaches and mobile technology to understand, treat, and prevent alcohol, opioid, and other substance use as it occurs in daily life. Dr. Carpenter is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Mentor: Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

Noah Emery, Ph.D. (2018) in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Dakota. His research uses mobile technology (e.g., smart phone applications, wearable devices) to identify mechanisms of behavior change that underlie substance use vulnerability and factors affecting treatment success in youth, with the goal of developing interventions targeting these mechanisms. Dr. Emery is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Colorado State University.  Mentor: Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

Sarah Helseth, Ph.D. (2017) in Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology from Florida International University. She is a clinical researcher and licensed clinical psychologist working to reduce the public health impact of substance use disorders through the development and dissemination of effective behavioral interventions. Dr. Helseth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University.  Mentor: Sara Becker, Ph.D.

Lidia Meshesha, Ph.D. (2018) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Memphis.  Her research focuses on examining innovative and technologically enhanced approaches for improving treatment outcomes for alcohol use disorder.  Dr. Meshesha is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Central Florida.  Mentors: Ana Abrantes, Ph.D. and Jane Metrik, Ph.D.

Kelli Scott, Ph.D. (2018) in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University. Her research focuses on enhancing the implementation of evidence-based substance use interventions on community treatment settings, with a specific focus on enhancing the use of measurement-based care in opioid use disorder treatment. Dr. Scott is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University.  Mentor: Sara Becker, Ph.D.

Alexander Sokolovsky, Ph.D. (2017) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research focuses on the etiology and consequences of tobacco use and dependence in young adults and adolescents and the application of intensive longitudinal research methods to better characterize these behaviors. Dr. Sokolovsky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentor: Kristina Jackson, Ph.D.

2019

Michael Bernstein, Ph.D. (2017) in Behavioral Science from the University of Rhode Island.  He is an experimental psychologist who focuses on harnessing the placebo effect to improve medical treatment. Dr. Bernstein is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and in the department of Diagnostic Imaging at Alpert Medical School of Brown University.  Mentor: Molly Magill, Ph.D.

Kimberly Goodyear Chavanne, Ph.D. (2016) in Neuroscience from George Mason University. Her research aims to improve interventions and treatments for individuals with alcohol and other substance use disorders. Dr. Goodyear Chavanne is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentors: Robert Swift, M.D. and Carolina Haass-Koffler, Pharm.D.

Rachel Gunn, Ph.D. (2017) in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research aims to understand the etiology of alcohol use and related problems in young adult populations, including the study of impulsive personality and executive cognitive functioning. Dr. Gunn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University.  Mentor: Jane Metrik, Ph.D.

Lauren Micalizzi, Ph.D. (2017) in Psychology from Boston University.   Her research involves examining familial and individual factors that influence the initiation and trajectory of substance use in adolescents.  After some time as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT., Dr. Micalizzi has returned to CAAS and is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Behavioral and Social Studies. Mentor: Anthony Spirito, Ph.D. ABBP.

2018

Tim Janssen, Ph.D. (2015) in Developmental Psychology from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  He studies how automatic alcohol-associations differ based on context, and how their relation to underage alcohol use is qualified by context. Dr. Janssen is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Behavioral and Social Studies at Brown University. Mentor: Kristina Jackson, Ph.D.

Cara Murphy, Ph.D. (2015) in Clinical Psychology, the University of Georgia.  Her research aims to identify risk factors and inform treatment for the leading causes of preventable death in the US: smoking and obesity. Dr. Murphy is a Research Associate in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentor: Damaris Rohsenow, Ph.D.

2017

Melissa Cox, Ph.D. (2016) in Health Behavior from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Her research examines contextual influences on adolescent alcohol use.  Dr. Cox is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Health Education and Promotion at East Carolina University.  Mentor: Kristina Jackson, Ph.D.

Angelo DiBello, Ph.D. (2015) in Social Psychology from the University of Houston. His research aims to leverage social psychological theories as tools for reducing defensiveness and enhancing the receptivity and duration of prevention and intervention efforts.  Dr. DiBello is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Alcohol and Substance Use Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  Mentor: Kate Carey, Ph.D.

William Lechner Ph.D. (2015) in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University.  His research aims to examine novel treatment modalities targeting executive function deficits in addiction. Dr. Lechner is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University, Ohio. Mentor: Christopher Kahler, Ph.D.

Hector Lopez-Vergara, Ph.D. (2014) in Clinical Psychology from the University at Buffalo (SUNY).  His research involves investigating individual-level and social predictors of the initiation of adolescent alcohol use, with an emphasis on using advanced quantitative methods to disaggregate predictors of alcohol use initiation versus the early escalation of drinking. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island. Mentor: Kristina Jackson, Ph.D.

Matthew Meisel, Ph.D. (2015) in Behavioral and Brain Sciences from the University of Georgia. His research utilizes social network analysis to examine how network composition and structure are related to addictive behavior. Dr. Meisel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentor: Nancy Barnett, Ph.D.

Mary Beth Miller, Ph.D. (2015) in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University. Her research aims to enhance understanding of the etiology of substance use disorders in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment.  Dr. Miller is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Mentor:  Kate Carey, Ph.D.

Mollie Miller, Ph.D. (2014) in Experimental Psychology from the University of Vermont.  Her research investigates the mechanisms contributing to increased smoking rates among vulnerable populations, particularly adults with comorbid psychopathology or substance dependence.  She is a fellow at the FDA Center for Tobacco Products in Washington, D.C. Mentor: Jennifer Tidey, Ph.D.

Oswaldo Moreno, Ph.D. (2015) in Clinical Psychology from Clark University.  His research focuses on Latina/o mental health, health disparities, and cultural and contextual approaches to understanding psychopathology (depression and substance use disorders). Dr. Moreno is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.  Mentor: Lynn Hernandez, Ph.D.

Hayley Treloar Padovano, Ph.D. (2014) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri. Her research utilizes ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods and a range of statistical techniques to model person- and contextual- level risk factors for the progression of alcohol involvement among adolescents and emerging adults.  She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University.  Mentor: Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

2016

Mark Celio, Ph.D. (2013) in Clinical Psychology from Binghamton University (SUNY).  He examines the behavioral economics of alcohol-related sexual decision making, while developing expertise in sexual minority health, qualitative research methods, and translational science. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University.  Mentor: Peter Monti, Ph.D.

Anne Fernandez, Ph.D. (2013) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rhode Island.  Her research focuses on mechanisms of change within BMIs as well as studying the impact of alcohol use on elective surgery.  She is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.  Mentors: Brian Borsari, Ph.D. and Jane Metrik, Ph.D.

Carolina Haass-Koffler, Pharm.D. (2009) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of California, San Francisco. She is a translational investigator who coalesces preclinical and clinical research towards examining biobehavioral mechanisms of addiction and developing novel medications. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and in the Department of Behavior and Social Sciences at Brown University. Mentor: Robert Swift, M.D.

Shannon Kenney, Ph.D. (2006) in Sociology from Brown University.  Her research has focused on examining the predictors and mechanisms of substance misuse in adolescents and young adults. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. Mentor: Nancy Barnett, Ph.D.

Ethan Mereish, Ph.D. (2014) in Counseling Psychology from Boston College.  His research focuses on understanding the effects of social, psychological, and cultural determinants of health for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and racial/ethnic minorities as well as factors that promote their resilience.   He is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Studies at American University in Washington, D.C.  Mentor: Robert Miranda, Ph.D.

Mollie Monnig, Ph.D. (2014) in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Mexico.  Her research uses magnetic resonance imaging to study the brain’s white matter in alcohol use disorders.  She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University.  Mentor: Peter Monti, Ph.D.

Ali Yurasek, Ph.D. (2014) in Clinical Psychology from the University of Memphis. She investigates mechanisms of change within BMIs and learning process coding to examine client and clinician utterances. to predict change talk and subsequent reductions in substance use, as well as exploring secondary gains associated with these interventions.  She is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Health Education and Behavior department at University of Florida, Gainesville.  Mentor: Brian Borsari, Ph.D. and Anthony Spirito, Ph.D.