- M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
- Ph.D., Experimental Psychology/Behavioral Pharmacology, University of Vermont
- M.A., Psychology/Behavioral Pharmacology, University of Vermont
- B.A. Psychology/Behavioral Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Department of Psychiatry
Director, The Chittenden Clinic: Opioid Treatment Program
Faculty, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH)
Faculty, VCBH Training Programs in Behavioral Pharmacology of Drug Dependence and Tobacco Regulatory Science
Areas of expertise
Substance use disorders, opioids, buprenorphine, methadone, opioid overdose, opioid treatment, opioid withdrawal, rural health, rural medicine, cigarette smoking, tobacco, nicotine withdrawal, smoking cessation, tobacco regulatory science, health behavior change, behavioral treatments, food insecurity, public health.
BIO
Dr. Sigmon is a Professor with Tenure in UVM’s Department of Psychiatry, with a secondary appointment in Psychological Science. She has conducted behavioral pharmacology and clinical drug abuse research for nearly 3 decades. Since joining the faculty in 2004, her cumulative grant support equals $108,765,819 and she has published ~120 manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals (h-index=38, ~4950 citations). She has served as Director of Vermont’s first and largest opioid treatment clinic which serves 1,000 opioid-dependent patients, President of the American Psychological Association’s Division on Psychopharmacology, and President of The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the oldest and largest organization dedicated to advancing the scientific study of substance use. Dr. Sigmon has served as the primary mentor and advisor for 15 pre- and post-doctoral fellows, 1 junior faculty, and as a member or chair of 20 thesis and dissertation committees. She now also lead the UVM Center on Rural Addiction—one of three national Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders—which was funded by HRSA in 2019 and is dedicated to disseminating science-based treatments and tools to expand treatment capacity and reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality in rural areas disproportionately impacted by the current opioid epidemic. UVM CORA has supported over 35,000 rural healthcare providers across all 50 states since its inception and provided >930 CME credits across an educational and workforce development portfolio that includes Community Rounds webinar sessions, rural provider scholarship events, and rural addiction training curriculum.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- 1998 Director's Travel Award, National Institute on Drug Abuse
- 2001 Division 28 Poster Award, American Psychological Association (APA)
- 2003 The College on Problem of Drug Dependence, Early Career Investigator Award
- 2006 Recipient of the Wyeth Young Psychopharmacologist Award, APA Division 28
- 2007 Elected Member-at-large, Division 28, APA
- 2012 Elected Fellow, Division 28, APA
- 2014 Elected Full Member, The College on Problems of Drug Dependence
- 2014 Elected President (to serve in 2016), Division 28, APA
- 2015 Elected Fellow, Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology), APA
- 2016 Elected Member, Board of Directors (2017-2020), The College on Problems of Drug Dependence
- 2019 Elected President, The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (to serve as President-Elect in 2020 and President in 2021)
- 2019 Founding Director and PI, University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
- 2020 Elected Fellow, The College on Problems of Drug Dependence 2021 Selected for inclusion in Fast Company’s annual list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business, September 2020: https://www.fastcompany.com/90523229/fast-companys-most-creative-people-in-business
- 2020, 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Medicine and Science Award, UVM Larner College of Medicine. This award honors a faculty member within the College of Medicine who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in medicine and science through research, education, or service.
Bio
Dr. Sigmon is a Professor with Tenure in UVM’s Department of Psychiatry, with a secondary appointment in Psychological Science. She has conducted behavioral pharmacology and clinical drug abuse research for nearly 3 decades. Since joining the faculty in 2004, her cumulative grant support equals $108,765,819 and she has published ~120 manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals (h-index=38, ~4950 citations). She has served as Director of Vermont’s first and largest opioid treatment clinic which serves 1,000 opioid-dependent patients, President of the American Psychological Association’s Division on Psychopharmacology, and President of The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the oldest and largest organization dedicated to advancing the scientific study of substance use. Dr. Sigmon has served as the primary mentor and advisor for 15 pre- and post-doctoral fellows, 1 junior faculty, and as a member or chair of 20 thesis and dissertation committees. She now also lead the UVM Center on Rural Addiction—one of three national Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders—which was funded by HRSA in 2019 and is dedicated to disseminating science-based treatments and tools to expand treatment capacity and reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality in rural areas disproportionately impacted by the current opioid epidemic. UVM CORA has supported over 35,000 rural healthcare providers across all 50 states since its inception and provided >930 CME credits across an educational and workforce development portfolio that includes Community Rounds webinar sessions, rural provider scholarship events, and rural addiction training curriculum.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- 1998 Director's Travel Award, National Institute on Drug Abuse
- 2001 Division 28 Poster Award, American Psychological Association (APA)
- 2003 The College on Problem of Drug Dependence, Early Career Investigator Award
- 2006 Recipient of the Wyeth Young Psychopharmacologist Award, APA Division 28
- 2007 Elected Member-at-large, Division 28, APA
- 2012 Elected Fellow, Division 28, APA
- 2014 Elected Full Member, The College on Problems of Drug Dependence
- 2014 Elected President (to serve in 2016), Division 28, APA
- 2015 Elected Fellow, Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology), APA
- 2016 Elected Member, Board of Directors (2017-2020), The College on Problems of Drug Dependence
- 2019 Elected President, The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (to serve as President-Elect in 2020 and President in 2021)
- 2019 Founding Director and PI, University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
- 2020 Elected Fellow, The College on Problems of Drug Dependence 2021 Selected for inclusion in Fast Company’s annual list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business, September 2020: https://www.fastcompany.com/90523229/fast-companys-most-creative-people-in-business
- 2020, 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Medicine and Science Award, UVM Larner College of Medicine. This award honors a faculty member within the College of Medicine who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in medicine and science through research, education, or service.
Select Publications
- Sigmon, S.C., Ochalek, T., Meyer, A., Hruska, B., Heil, S.H., Badger, G.J., Rose, G., Brooklyn, J.R., Schwartz, R.P., Moore, B.A. & Higgins, S.T. (2016). Interim buprenorphine vs. waiting list for opioid dependence. The New England Journal of Medicine, 375(25), 2504-2505.
- Sigmon, S.C. (2016). Additive burdens of malnutrition, poverty and substance abuse. The Lancet, 388, 1879-1880. (PMCID: 5514411) Sigmon, S.C., Batchelder, S.R., & Badger, G.J. (2025). Novel intervention to improve food insecurity among individuals with opioid use disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 271:112673. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112673.
- Sigmon, S.C., Peck, K.R., Batchelder, S.R., Badger, G.J., Heil, S.H., & Higgins, S.T. (2023). Technology-assisted buprenorphine treatment in rural and nonrural settings: Two randomized clinical trials. JAMA Network Open, 6(9): e2331910. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.31910.
- Sigmon, S.C., Dunn, K., Saulsgiver, K., Patrick, M., Badger, G.J., Heil, S.H., Brooklyn, J., & Higgins, S.T. (2013). A randomized, double-blind evaluation of buprenorphine taper duration in primary prescription opioid abusers. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(12), 1347-1354. (PMCID: PMC4131728)
- Sigmon, S.C. (2014). Access to treatment for opioid dependence in rural America: Challenges and future directions. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(4), 359-60. (PMID: 24500040)
- Sigmon, S.C. (2015). The untapped potential of office-based buprenorphine treatment. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(4), 395-396. (PMID: 25671806)
- Higgins, S.T., Heil, S.H., Sigmon, S.C., Tidey, J.W., Gaalema, D.E., Hughes, J.R., Stitzer, M.L., Durand, H., Bunn, J.Y., Priest, J.S., Arger, C.A., Miller, M.E., Bergeria, C.L., Davis, D.R., Streck, J.M., Reed, D.D., Skelly, J.M., & Tursi, L. (2017). Addiction potential of reduced nicotine content cigarettes in populations with psychiatric disorders and other vulnerabilities to tobacco addiction. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(10), 1056-1064. (PMCID: 5710465)