The Institute for Behavioral Health (IBH) is home to over 35 researchers, faculty, and staff, many of whom work collaboratively on projects across the SIHP institutes. An additional group of staff members support activities at IBH, comprised of statisticians, statistical programmers, research assistants, IT support professionals, and finance and research administrators, within the Heller School and the larger Brandeis community. Our research is also supported by doctoral students who serve as graduate research and teaching assistants. IBH is home to a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Training Grant, providing support to 9 doctoral students per year.
Researchers/Faculty

Constance Horgan, ScD
Professor; Director, Institute for Behavioral Health; Co-director, Schneider Institutes for Health Policy and Research
Expertise: Organization and financing of alcohol, drug and mental health services; quality and effectiveness of behavioral health treatment

Sharon Reif, PhD'02
Professor and Deputy Director, Institute for Behavioral Health
Expertise: Health services research, with a focus on substance use disorders and other behavioral health

Sally Amilcar, MPH
Research Associate

Robert Bohler, MPH, MA
Research Associate

Derek Bolivar
Research Associate

Mary Brolin, PhD'05
Senior Scientist and Lecturer
Expertise: Health services research and community-based evaluation with a focus on behavioral health

Madeline (Maddy) Brown, BA
Project Manager
Expertise: Program development, program management, grant writing, grant administration

Melissa Brown, PhD, MSW
Senior Research Associate

Jennifer Buell, MPP
Research Associate
Expertise: Qualitative research and program evaluation with a focus on workforce development and career pathways programs for marginalized populations

Jenneth Carpenter, PhD
Data Analyst

Shanesha Christmas, BA
Research Associate

Thomas Clark, BA
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: Qualitative research, prescription monitoring programs, addiction and behavioral health

Shay Daily, PhD, MPH, MCHES
Senior Research Associate

Margot Davis, PhD'08
Scientist
Expertise: Qualitative research, behavioral health treatment systems, evaluation research, addiction services research, faith-based programs

Mindy D'Ippolito, LICSW, MPH
Research Associate
Expertise: Substance use disorders , trauma, mental health treatment, evidence based practices, program evaluation

Robert Dunigan, PhD'04
Senior Research Associate and Lecturer
Expertise: Behavioral health and social policy; substance use disorders and mental health prevention and treatment for minority populations; the impact of criminal justice involvement and behavioral health outcomes for marginalized adult and adolescent populations

Abigail (Abby) Edelmann, BS
Research Assistant

Traci Green, PhD, MSc
Professor and Director, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: drug use, opioid addiction, and drug-related injury


Dominic Hodgkin, PhD
Professor
Expertise: Health economics, managed care, economics of mental health and substance use disorders, prescription drug utilization

Nick Huntington, PhD
Scientist
Expertise: Health services research, behavioral health program evaluation, statistics, statistical programming, databases and data management, data visualization.

Cole Jarczyk, BA
Research Associate

Meelee Kim, PhD'19
Scientist
Expertise: Evaluating substance use disorders, violence, HIV prevention programs; evaluating initiatives for safer prescribing of controlled substances; Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP)

Andrew Kolodny, MD
Senior Scientist and Medical Director, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Prescription opioids and the heroin crisis, prescription drug utilization, public health policy

Mary Jo Larson, PhD'92
Senior Scientist and Lecturer
Expertise: Behavioral health services research; pain management; prescription opioid utilization; longitudinal data analysis; clinical trials; military health system; behavioral health of military members, veterans and families; harm reduction for out-of-treatment individuals; addiction treatment gap; evaluation of system change; adoption of evidence-based practice; web-training; academic detailing

Margaret Lee, PhD
Scientist
Expertise: Quality of care, performance measures, substance use disorder treatment

Sharon Lincoln, BS
Research Assistant


Joanne Nicholson, PhD
Professor of the Practice
Expertise: Parenting and mental illness, psychiatric rehabilitation; web-based interventions

Rebecca (Becca) Olson
Research Associate, Project Manager

Lee Panas, MS
Senior Statistical Programmer and Lecturer
Expertise: Statistical programming and management of large state and national databases, data analysis using statistical methods such as logistic regression, survival analysis, time series and hierarchical linear modeling

Carol Prost, MA'09
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: Program management; qualitative research; prevention, health services, community-based, and training and technical assistance evaluations; topical focus areas include substance use disorders, prescription drug monitoring programs, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, trauma, criminal justice, minority health, and art-based interventions

Sabrina S. Rapisarda, MA, MEd
Research Associate

Grant Ritter, PhD
Associate Research Professor
Expertise: Statistics, quantitative methods, health services research

Joe Silcox, MA
Research Associate, Project Manager

Maureen Stewart, PhD'09
Senior Scientist and Lecturer
Expertise: Health services research, with a focus on financing, payment, organization and quality of behavioral health care; use of technology to improve access to and quality of behavioral health care

Gail Strickler, MMHS'94, PhD'07
Scientist
Expertise: Substance use disorders, prescription drug abuse, controlled substance prescribing

Annastacia Sullivan, BS
Research Analyst

Joanna Taylor, PhD'22
Senior Research Associate

Cindy Thomas, PhD'00
Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Expertise: Health Policy, health technology transfer, state health reform, prescription drug policy, addiction treatment, Medicare and Medicaid coverage

Adam Vose-O'Neal, MA, MSW, LICSW
Research Associate

Jennifer Wicks, PhD
Senior Research Associate

Sofia Zaragoza, MA
Research Assistant