The RARC has curated a list of experts who are readily available to offer insightful commentary and expertise to the media. Feel free to reach out to them directly for connections.
David J Barker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology | School of Arts & Sciences – New Brunswick
Speak to Dr. Barker about: Opioids, Methamphetamines, Cocaine, Fentanyl, Emotions, Stress, Individual susceptibility
Expertise: His research applies cutting edge technologies to interrogate neural circuits involved in psychiatric disorders. His goal is to better understand the maladaptive processes that affect the brains of individuals afflicted with drug addiction and comorbid mental disorders with the hope of advancing more effective treatment strategies.
Dr. Barker can be reached at david.barker@rutgers.edu; 480-703-9236
Colleen Berryessa, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor | School of Criminal Justice
Speak to Dr. Berryessa about: Criminal Justice, Mental Health, Psychology
Expertise: Her research, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods, considers how psychological processes, perceptions, attitudes, and social contexts affect the criminal justice system, particularly related to courts, sentencing, and forms of punishment broadly defined.
Dr. Berryessa can be reached at Colleen.Berryessa@rutgers.edu; 707-631-4114
Danielle Dick, Ph.D.
Director | Rutgers Addiction Research Center
Professor of Psychiatry | Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Speak to Dr. Dick about: Genetics, Alcohol, Substance Use, Impulsivity, Behavioral/emotional regulation, Substance use and youth
Expertise: Her research focuses on how genetic and environmental influences contribute to the development of patterns of substance use and related behaviors, such as child behavioral and emotional challenges, and how we can use that information to inform prevention and intervention. My work integrates developmental and clinical psychology, behavior genetics/twin studies, and statistical genetics/gene identification. I am particularly interested in impulsivity and behavioral/emotional regulation.
Dr. Dick can be reached at danielle.m.dick@rutgers.edu;
Frank Greenagel, MPAP, MSW, LCSW, LCADC, ICADC, CASAC, ACSW, CJC, CCS
Recovery Clinical Supervisor/Consulting Therapist | Prevention Links
Adjunct Professor | School of Social Work
Behavioral Health Officer | US Army
Speak to Mr. Greenagel about: Alcohol, Marijuana/Cannabis, Opioids, Fentanyl, Gambling, Video Gaming, Suicide, Grief, Law enforcement, Military
Expertise: His research focuses on military and law enforcement culture and how members have higher raters of PTSD, substance misuse, and marital difficulties. His research also focuses on the problems in the addiction treatment industry, specifically the lack of training, poor supervision, inadequate government oversight, failure of insurance companies to pay, and the poor metrics that are used to evaluate programs.
Mr. Greenagel can be reached at greenage@ssw.rutgers.edu; 908-268-6004
Jamey Lister, Ph.D.
Co-Director | Northeast & Caribbean Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Center
Assistant Professor | School of Social Work
Speak to Dr. Lister about: Opioids, Fentanyl, Gambling, Health disparities, Rural health, Addiction treatment, Medications for opioid use disorder, Barriers to treatment, Comorbid care
Expertise: His research on addictions aims to develop treatment recommendations, identify strategies to improve treatment barriers, and utilize research methods that promote health equity for marginalized groups. The addictions his research attends to are opioid use disorder and gambling disorder, while also considering comorbid behavioral health disorders. Dr. Lister’s research targets solutions for underserved populations.
Dr. Lister can be reached at jlister@ssw.rutgers.edu; 848-932-8058
Lewis Nelson, M.D., MBA
Professor of Emergency Medicine | New Jersey Medical School
Chair | Division of Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine
Speak to Dr. Nelson about: Alcohol, Marijuana/Cannabis, Opioids, Methamphetamines, Cocaine, Hallucinogens: LSD/Psilocybin, Fentanyl, FDA, Health policy, Health economics
Expertise: His current research focuses on the risk for and management of opioid overdose while mitigating the risk of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal. I study the practicalities of initiation of treatment with buprenorphine in the ED and the prehospital setting including the use of alternative buprenorphine initiation regimens such as micro- and macro-dosing.
Dr Nelson can be reached at lewis.nelson@rutgers.edu; 917-693-7133
Lia Nower, J.D., Ph.D.
Director | Center for Gambling Studies
Associate Dean for Research | School of Social Work
Distinguished Professor | School of Social Work
Speak to Dr. Nower about: Gambling, Video Gaming
Expertise: Her research is focused on the etiology of problem gambling across gambling subtypes and the prevalence of and incidence of gambling disorder and other comorbid addictions. Her work also includes designing effective screening tools and treatments to address problem gambling, as well as conducting analyses of big-data from online gambling and sports wagering environments to identifying trends with implications for harm reduction and responsible gambling.
Dr. Nower can be reached at lnower@rutgers.edu; 848-999-4939
Ying-Xian Pan, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Anesthesiology | New Jersey Medical School
Speak to Dr. Pan about: Opioids, Fentanyl
Expertise: His research studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms of opioid actions using integrative state-of-the-art molecular, biochemical, pharmacological and behavioral approaches. These studies provide the foundation for developing novel opioid analgesics that have potent analgesic actions devoid of side effects.
Dr. Pan can be reached at yx.pan@rutgers.edu; 917-597-9582
Jessica E. Salvatore, Ph.D.
Director | Genes, Environments, and Neurodevelopment in Addictions (GENA) Program
Associate Professor of Psychiatry | Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Speak to Dr. Salvatore about: Alcohol, Substance use and close relationships, Substance use and families, Substance use and marriage
Expertise: Her primary area of focus is on how substance misuse affects and is affected by social factors and close relationships across the lifespan. Within this broad theme, she takes a genetically informed perspective, with the dual goals of delineating gene-environment interplay among substance use and relationship factors, and strengthening inferences in observational data.
Dr. Salvatore can be reached at jessica.salvatore@rutgers.edu; 651-357-5321
Tanya Saraiya, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology | Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies, GSAPP
Speak to Dr. Saraiya about: Opioids, PTSD, Trauma
Expertise: Her research focuses on how to develop and enhance integrated treatments for PTSD and co-occurring substance use disorders (SUD). She pays special attention to how to modify such treatments to the needs of historically marginalized populations, such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals with complex, clinical presentations
Dr. Saraiya can be reached at tanya.saraiya@rutgers.edu; 848-448-3579
Mark van der Maas, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor | School of Social Work
Speak to Dr. van der Maas about: Gambling
Expertise: His research looks at different ways to identify impacts on public health that this increase might entail. Using data from digital media, surveys, and administrative sources, I use longitudinal quasi-experimental techniques to track changes across important changes in gambling policy and provision. Impacts include changes in participation in online mutual support forums, alcohol-involved crashes, and prevalence of Gambling Disorder symptoms.
Dr. van Der Maas can be reached at mark.vandermaas@rutgers.edu; 908-528-3556
David Zald, Ph.D.
Director | Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research
Professor of Psychiatry | Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Speak to Dr. Zald about: Cocaine, Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Amphetamines
Expertise: His research focuses on understanding the neural and neuropharmacological substrates of emotion and motivation, and the manner in which individual differences in the functioning of these systems impact psychopathology. He uses neuroimaging to explore the functions of the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system.
Dr. Zald can be reached at david.zald@rutgers.edu; 732-235-7211