Administration
| Name | Title | Information | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
 Stephen T. Higgins, PhD | VCBH Director Virginia H. Donaldson Professor of Translational Science Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science PI/Director, COBRE PI/Director, TCORS Co-PI/Director, NIH/NIDA T32 Research Training Program | CV (PDF) | 802-656-9614 |
 Elias Klemperer, PhD | VCBH Associate Director Assistant Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | CV (PDF) | 802-656-1641 |
| Susan Enos | Research Administration | Susan.Enos@uvm.edu | 802-656-9615 |
| Danielle Ziller | Research Program Administrator | Danielle.Ziller@uvm.edu | 802-656-9600 |
| Chris Pung | Research Collaborator | Christopher.Pung@med.uvm.edu | 802-656-1187 |
Faculty
| Name | Title | Information | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Ahern, PhD, MPH | Associate Professor Department of Surgery Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-656-3690 | |
| Rob Althoff, MD, PhD | Chair of Psychiatry and Associate Professor Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-656-1070 | |
| Ira Bernstein, MD | John Van Sicklen Maeck Professor and Chair Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences | 802-847-5112 | |
| Bader Chaarani, PhD | Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry | ||
| Sulamunn "Sully" Coleman, PhD | Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry | ||
| Kim Dittus, MD, PhD | Associate Professor Department of Medicine Clinical Director, Oncology Rehab Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-656-5470 | |
| Kirk Dombrowski, PhD | Vice President for Research University of Vermont | Kirk.Dombrowski@uvm.edu | 802-656-2918 |
| Tyler Erath, PhD | Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry | ||
| Hugh P. Garavan, PhD | Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science Director, Neuroimaging Research Vermont (NERVE) Lab | 802-656-9618 | |
| Sarah H. Heil, PhD | Professor of Psychiatry Associate Director, TCORS Co-PI/Director, NIH/NIDA T32 Research Training Program Associate Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction (CORA) | 802-656-8712 | |
| Amy Hughes Lansing, PhD | Assistant Professor Psychiatry, Psychological Science, and Pediatrics Director, Accessible & Personalized Interventions for Child Health Outcomes Lab (APRICOTS Lab) Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | ||
| Sherrie Khadanga, MD | Assistant Professor of Medicine Assistant Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation Cardiologist, UVM Medical Center Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-847-2700 | |
| Heidi Melbostad, PhD | Research Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatry CEO, Mountain Community Health | ||
| Katherine Menson, DO | Assistant Professor Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation | 802-847-1158 | |
| Kelly Peck, PhD | Assistant Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science PET Study Lab Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-656-9610 | |
| Julie Phillips, MD | Associate Professor Obstetrics-Gynecology & Maternal Fetal Medicine Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-847-0813 | |
| Alexandra Potter, PhD |
| 802-847-6955 | |
| Richard A. Rawson, PhD | Professor Department of Psychiatry Co-Director, Collaboration/Dissemination Core Senior Advisor, Best Practices Core, UVM CORA | ||
| Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD | Professor Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science Director, COBRE Behavioral Economics Core Co-Director, COBRE Collaboration/Dissemination Core TCORS Project PI Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction (UVM CORA) | 802-656-9987 | |
| Brian Sprague, PhD | Professor Department of Surgery Director, Vermont Breast Cancer Surveillance System Registry PI, Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium VCBH Senior Epidemiologist Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader | 802-656-4112 | |
| Eric Thrailkill, PhD | Assistant Professor Department of Psychological Science Former VCBH COBRE Project Leader |
Biostatisticians
| Name | Title | Information | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike DeSarno, MS | Biostatistician | Michael.DeSarno@uvm.edu | 802-656-2587 |
| Joan Skelly, MS | Biostatistician | Joan.Skelly@uvm.edu | 802-656-0618 |
COBRE Internal Advisory Committee
| Name | Affiliation | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Mark E. Bouton, PhD | UVM Department of Psychology | |
| Christopher S. Francklyn, PhD | UVM Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; Vermont Biomedical Research Network | Christopher.Francklyn@uvm.edu |
| Charles G. Irvin, PhD | UVM Department of Medicine, Physiology & Biophysics | |
| Polly E. Parsons, MD | UVM Department of Medicine | |
| Patricia A. Prelock, PhD | Former UVM Provost and Senior Vice President |
COBRE External Advisory Committee Members
| Name | Affiliation | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Rick Bevins, PhD | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | |
| Leonard Epstein PhD | University at Buffalo | |
| Jack Henningfield, PhD | Pinney Associates | |
Jennifer Tidey, PhD Chair | Brown University |
COBRE Community Advisory Committee
| Name | Affiliation | Information |
|---|---|---|
| John R. Brooklyn, MD Family and Addiction Medicine | Community Health Centers of Burlington | JohnB@howardcenter.org |
| Megan Detweiler, BSN, RN, CARN Director of Nursing | Chittenden Clinic/Howard Center | MDetweiler@howardcenter.org |
| Mark Levine, MD Commissioner | Vermont Department of Health | Mark.Levine@vermont.gov |
| Rhonda Williams, MS Chronic Disease Prevention Chief | Vermont Department of Health | Rhonda.Williams@vermont.gov |
VCBH External Consultants and Research Collaborators
| Name | Affiliation | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Dustin Lee, PhD | Johns Hopkins University | |
| Donald Shepard, PhD | Brandeis University | |
| Eric Slade, PhD | Johns Hopkins University | |
| Jennifer Tidey, PhD | Brown University |
Trainees
| Name | Research | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Katya Nolder, PhD | My broad research interests include factors that influence maladaptive decision making, substance use, and the use of interventions for healthy behavior change. | |
| Brittany D'Ambrosio | Brittany.DAmbrosio@uvm.edu | |
| Rhiannon Wiley, MA | My research focuses on ameliorating the harms of cigarette smoking on the public health with a particular emphasis on supporting vulnerable populations, including those with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). My projects include investigating the influence of opioid agonist medications on nicotine metabolism, understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the smoking patterns of people from vulnerable groups, and observing whether and how patterns of flavored e-cigarette use relate to reductions in combustible cigarette use. |
| Name | Research | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Marc Jerome Feinstein, BA | My current research focus investigates tobacco and nicotine consumption, particularly e-cigarette and combustible cigarette dual users. More broadly, I’m interested in understanding the decision-making process behind health behaviors and substance abuse to predict, control, and hopefully prevent these problems. | marc-jerome.feinstein@uvm.edu |
| Jillian Giannini, BS | My research focuses on the treatment of substance use disorders, specifically in those with co-morbid mental health conditions such as PTSD. I am particularly interested in exploring combined pharmacotherapy and therapeutic interventions to target these specific populations. | Jillian.Giannini@uvm.edu |
Emily Levine, BA | My research focuses on developing and implementing community-engaged interventions for underserved and vulnerable populations experiencing substance use and other co-occurring psychiatric disorders. I am particularly interested harm reduction centered approaches as well as elevating the voices of individuals with lived experience to help develop such interventions and reducing barriers to care. |
Staff
| Name | Title | Project/PI | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Lontine | Research Project Assistant | PET Study/Peck | peter.lontine@uvm.edu |
| Stephen Crosswhite | Research Project Assistant | IBT/CORA | Stephen.Crosswhite@uvm.edu |
| Norman Medina | Research Project Assistant | Higgins | Norman.Medina@med.uvm.edu |
| Catherine Peasley-Miklus | Research Specialist | Klemperer/CORA | Catherine.Peasley-Miklus@med.uvm.edu |
| Shirley Plucinski | TCORS Project Manager | TCORS/Higgins | Shirley.Plucinski@uvm.edu |