13th Annual VCBH Conference (2025)
Archive of Previous Conferences
13th Annual VCBH Conference (2025)
Contributions of Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Pharmacology to Advancing Addiction Science
October 9-10, 2025, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
Thursday, October 9, 2025
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Pharmacology: From Humble Beginnings to Advancing Health, Abuse Potential Assessment, and Neuropharmacology
Jack E. Henningfield, PhD, Vice President, Research, Health Policy, and Abuse Liability, Pinney Associates, Bethesda, MD; Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Behavioral Biology and Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - Video
SESSION 1: Applying Behavioral Economics to Addiction Science
Session Chair: Eric A. Thrailkill, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychological Science and Psychiatry - Session Video
SESSION 2: Behavioral Pharmacology and Abuse Liability Testing
Session Chair: Tyler G. Erath, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science - Session Video
SESSION 3: Tobacco Control and Regulatory Science
Session Chair: Elias M. Klemperer, PhD, Associate Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Session Video
Friday, October 10, 2025
SESSION 4: Medication Development for Opioid Use Disorder
Session Chair: Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD, Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Session Video
SESSION 5: Behavioral Pharmacology of Cannabis
Session Chair: Kelly R. Peck, PhD, Associate Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science - Session Video
LUNCH & LEARN:
Session Chair: Elias M. Klemperer, PhD, Associate Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont
Incentives for Smoking Cessation: Results from the 2025 Cochrane Review
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst - Video
SESSION 6: Contingency Management
Session Chair: Sarah H. Heil, PhD, Associate Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Session Video
CLOSING REMARKS
Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University Distinguished Professor, Virginia H Donaldson Professor in Translational Science, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Included in Session 6 Video
12th Annual VCBH Conference (2024)
Tobacco Use: Intersections with Other Addictions, Chronic Disease, and Health Disparities
October 3-4, 2024, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Opening Remarks
Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University Distinguished Professor, Virginia H Donaldson Professor in Translational Science, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Cytisine for Tobacco Cessation: New Opportunities for an Old Drug
Nancy A. Rigotti, MD
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Founding Director, Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital
SESSION 1: Tobacco Product Use and Cessation Among People with Comorbid Substance Use
Session Chair: Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD, Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 2: Intersections of Tobacco Use and Chronic Health Conditions
Session Chair: Ira M. Bernstein, MD, John Van Sicklen Maeck Professor and Chair Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Vermont - Video
Friday, October 4, 2024
SESSION 3: Tobacco Use: Intersections with Chronic Health Conditions, Rurality, and Sex
Session Co-Chairs: Sarah H. Heil, PhD, Associate Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont; Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University Distinguished Professor, Virginia H Donaldson Professor in Translational Science, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - (Video)
SESSION 4: Tobacco Use: Intersections with Chronic Health Conditions, Rurality, and Sex (Continued)
Session Chair: Sarah H. Heil, PhD; Stephen T. Higgins, PhD - (Video)
LUNCH AND LEARN: Innovative Strategies to Promote Harm Reduction in Rural Communities
Gail L. Rose, PhD, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 5: Tobacco Use: Intersections with Chronic Health Conditions, Rurality, and Sex (Continued)
Session Chair: Sarah H. Heil, PhD; Stephen T. Higgins, PhD - Video
11th Annual VCBH Conference (2023)
Smoking and Other Tobacco Use Among Women and Girls
October 5-6, 2023, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
Thursday, October 5, 2023
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Changing Tobacco Landscape: Implications for Women and Girls
Lucinda England, MD, MSPH, Fellow in Addiction Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health and Office on Smoking and Health - Video
SESSION 1
Session Chair: Kathleen Brady, MD, PhD, Vice President for Research, Distinguished University Professor in Psychiatry, Director of the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Medical University of South Carolina - Video
SESSION 2
Session Chair: Sarah Heil, PhD, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
Friday, October 6, 2023
SESSION 3:
Session Chair: Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, Director of the Center on Rural Addiction, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 4:
Session Chair: Jennifer Tidey, PhD, Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health - Video
LUNCH AND LEARN: Disseminating Evidence-Based Interventions for Substance Use Disorders into Community Settings
SESSION 5:
Session Chair: Stephen Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University Distinguished Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
10th Annual VCBH Conference (2022)
Contingency Management: Increasing Abstinence from Substance Use & Promoting Health in Vulnerable Populations
October 6-7, 2022
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Contingency Management Interventions to Address Drug Addiction, HIV, and Poverty
Ken Silverman, PhD, Director, Center for Learning and Health, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
SESSION 1: Selected Research Advances in Contingency Management - Part 1
Session Chair: Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD, Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
Lunch Event: Rural Health Disparities
Session Chair: Jennifer W. Tidey, PhD, Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University - Video
SESSION 2: Selected Research Advances in Contingency Management - Part 2
Session Chair: Sarah Heil, PhD, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
Friday, October 7, 2022
SESSION 3: Federal and State Perspectives
Session Chair: Session Chair: Richard A. Rawson, PhD, Co-Director, Collaboration, Dissemination, and Education Core, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 4: Implementation of Contingency Management in Community Settings: Advances and Challenges - Part 1
Session Co-Chairs: Richard A. Rawson, PhD, Co-Director, Collaboration, Dissemination, and Education Core, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont; Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Virginia H Donaldson Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 5: Implementation of Contingency Management in Community Settings: Advances and Challenges - Part 2
Session Chair: Stephen Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University Distinguished Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
9th Annual VCBH Conference (2021)
Innovations in Tobacco Control and Regulatory Science to Decrease Cigarette Smoking
October 7-8, 2021, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
Thursday, October 7, 2021
Opening Remarks
Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 1
Session Chair: Jennifer Tidey, PhD, Professor of Behavioral and Social Science, Associate Dean for Research, Brown University School of Public Health - Video
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Innovations to Reduce Cigarette Smoking
Neal L Benowitz, MD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences and Chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) - Video
SESSION 2:
Session Chair: Elias Klemperer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont - Video
Poster Session 1
Group 1: Youth and Young Adults - Video
Group 2: Smoking and Cardiac Rehabilitation - Video
Group 3: Changes in CPD - Video
Poster Session 2
Group 1: ENDS - Video
Group 2: Incentives and Opioid Use - Video
Group 3: Behavioral Economics - Video
Friday, October 8, 2021
SESSION 3:
Session Chair: Andrea Villanti, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 4:
Session Chair: Dustin Lee, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University - Video
LUNCH AND LEARN: Rural Vaping and Tobacco Use: Prevalence, Considerations, and Interventions
presented by the UVM Center on Rural Addiction (CORA)
Session Chair: Stacey Sigmon, PhD, CORA Director and Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 5:
Session Chair: Eric Thrailkill, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont - Video
8th Annual VCBH Conference (2020)
Rural Addiction and Health
October 8-9, 2020, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Decline in US Life Expectancy: Are Deaths of Despair Responsible?
Steven Woolf, MD, MPH, Professor of Family Medicine and Population Health at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Health Equity Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor at the VCU Center on Society and Health - Video
SESSION 1: Substance Use Disorders and Adverse Health Outcomes
Session Chair: Sarah H. Heil, PhD, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont
SESSION 2: Rural Residence, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Disease
Session Chair: Philip A. Ades, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Vermont - Video
Friday, October 9, 2020
SESSION 1: Challenges of Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Settings
Session Chair: Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 2: Challenges of Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Settings
Session Chair: Stacey C. Sigmon, PhD, Associate Professor, Director, UVM Center on Rural Addiction, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
SESSION 3: Challenges of Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Settings
Session Chair: Stephen T. Higgins, PhD, Director, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Science, University of Vermont - Video
7th Annual VCBH Conference (2019)
Complementary Contributions of Tobacco Control and Regulatory Science Research to Protecting the Public Health
October 10-11, 2019, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
6th Annual VCBH Conference (2018)
The US Opioid Epidemic: The Need for Innovation & Greater Treatment Capacity
October 11-12, 2018, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
The 6th annual VCBH Conference brought together scholars from nationally recognized universities and medical centers to discuss the nation's public health crisis: the opioid epidemic. Research on improving access to treatment and effective pain/addition management were among the major priorities discussed.
5th Annual VCBH Conference (2017)
Tobacco Regulatory Science
October 15-6, 2017, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
The 5th Annual VCBH Conference brought together 20 of the nation's leading scholars in tobacco research to discuss tobacco regulatory science, and it's potential impact on vulnerable populations. Regulating the nicotine content of cigarettes and other products is an important responsibility of the FDA that has tremendous potential to reduce smoking prevalence and improve public health.
4th Annual VCBH Conference (2016)
Behavior Change, Health & Health Disparities
October 6-7, 2016, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
Personal behavior patterns (i.e., lifestyle) increase risk for chronic disease and premature death. Unhealthy behaviors (e.g., physical inactivity/unhealthy food choices, tobacco use, prescription opioid abuse) represent the leading cause of chronic disease and premature deaths in the U.S. and are a major driver behind spiraling healthcare costs. These risk behaviors are over-represented among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and are major contributors to the problem of health disparities.
During the VCBH Conference, scholars from leading universities and medical centers will share their research and knowledge on how to apply the concepts and methods of behavioral economics to improve scientific understanding and clinical outcomes with these highly challenging and costly public health problems.
3rd Annual VCBH Conference (2015)
Behavior Change, Health, and Health Disparities
October 1-2, 2015, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
The Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) hosts a national, interdisciplinary conference on changing personal behavior patterns(i.e., lifestyle) that increase risk for chronic disease and premature death. Unhealthy behaviors (e.g., tobacco use, physical inactivity/unhealthy food choices, prescription opioid abuse) represent the leading cause of chronic disease and premature deaths in the U.S. and are a major driver behind spiraling health-care costs. Importantly, these risk behaviors are overrepresented among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and are major contributors to the problem of health disparities.
During the conference, scholars from leading U.S. universities and medical centers share their research and knowledge on how to apply the concepts and methods of behavioral economics and behavioral pharmacology to improve scientific understanding and clinical outcomes with these highly challenging and costly public health problems.
2nd Annual VCBH Conference (2014)
Behavior Change, Health, and Health Disparities
October 2 - 3, 2014, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.
The Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) hosts a national, interdisciplinary conference on changing personal behavior patterns (i.e., lifestyle) that increase risk for chronic disease and premature death. Unhealthy behaviors (e.g., tobacco use, physical inactivity/unhealthy food choices, prescription opioid abuse) represent the leading cause of chronic disease and premature deaths in the U.S. and are a major driver behind spiraling health-care costs. Importantly, these risk behaviors are overrepresented among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and are major contributors to the problem of health disparities.
During the conference, scholars from leading U.S. universities and medical centers share their research and knowledge on how to apply the concepts and methods of behavioral economics and behavioral pharmacology to improve scientific understanding and clinical outcomes with these highly challenging and costly public health problems.
1st Annual VCBH Conference (2013)
Behavior Change, Health and Health Disparities
September 26-27, 2013, Burlington, VT
For conference agenda and materials, please contact us.