Addiction affects more than one-third of Americans in their lifetime, and the initiation and progression of alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use almost always begins during adolescence and young adulthood. Despite dramatic strides in the breadth and sophistication of behavioral and pharmacological interventions, there remains an urgent need for additional research to improve treatments and mitigate the consequences of addiction.

Our goals

With some of the leading addiction scientists and state-of-art facilities at the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, we are uniquely qualified, technically and practically, to spearhead initiatives toward the discovery of new treatment options. Our team aims to advance our understanding of how alcohol and other drug problems develop and improve treatment options for individuals who struggle to reduce their substance use by leveraging the latest mobile health technologies, advancing medication development, and translating the latest scientific discoveries to clinical practice.

Some of our achievements

For more than two decades, our team has successfully executed clinical research, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to advance our understanding and the treatment of addiction. Here are some of our achievements so far.

• As one of the few teams in the world advancing pharmacotherapy for adolescent alcohol or marijuana use, we lead the way in transforming comprehensive care for young people. We have identified several promising medications for youth and elucidated key mechanisms by which these medicines work.

• Using the latest mobile technologies, we characterized for the first time how drinking alcohol or using marijuana affects adolescents in real time in their daily lives. Through a translational lens, we extended preclinical findings by documenting that adolescents are more sensitive to the reinforcing effects of alcohol than adults. We also discovered that how marijuana affects youth depends on the severity of their marijuana-related problems. These findings have important implications for advancing interventions for youth.

• LGBTQ youth experience health disparities in substance use, including nicotine. By capturing key information in real-time in everyday life, we tested core tenets of Minority Stress Theory and demonstrated that experiencing minority-related stressors spikes nicotine craving, which in turn leads to nicotine use among teenagers who identify as sexual minorities. These new insights will guide the development of novel interventions tailored to the specific needs of LGBTQ youth and help address critical health disparities.

• By analyzing thousands of data points from hundreds of youths — all recorded in real-time in their natural environments over weeks or months — we identified key factors that predict whether and how much alcohol or marijuana young people will use. By identifying key targets for intervention, these findings have broad-reaching implications for developing new medications and behavioral treatments.

• Social contexts play a critical role in marijuana use among youth. By monitoring peer interactions during marijuana treatment, we showed that young people who spend less time with friends who use marijuana and more time with non-using friends or alone experience lower levels of marijuana craving and better treatment outcomes. This research supports increased attention to youths’ changing social contexts to enhance treatment success.

For more information, see our latest published work.