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
Neena Aggarwal, MS
Research Associate
Expertise: Mental health research, evaluation, data analysis
Cole Altomare-Jarczyk, BA
Research Associate, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Analytical instrumentation, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) sample preparation and analysis, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) data interpretation. Analytic Chemistry / Drug Checking Technician
Mary Brolin, PhD'05
Senior Scientist and Lecturer
Expertise: Health services research and community-based evaluation with a focus on behavioral health
Melissa Brown, PhD, MSW
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: participant/consumer-directed Medicaid waiver programs, community-based evaluation, behavioral health issues for individuals with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ populations across the lifespan, anti-oppressive research and pedagogy
Jenneth Carpenter, PhD
Data Analyst
Expertise: Behavioral health and supportive housing program evaluation, quantitative data management and analysis, evidence synthesis
Shanesha Christmas, BA
Research Associate
Expertise: Facilitating substance misuse prevention and youth mental health awareness programs, evaluating substance use, mental health, and HIV programming.
Thomas Clark, BA
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: Qualitative research, prescription monitoring programs, addiction and behavioral health
twclark@brandeis.edu
Heller-Brown
Shay Daily, PhD, MPH, MCHES
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: Quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation approaches, complex population health assessment, and health policy evaluation
Abigail (Abby) Edelmann, BS
Research Assistant, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Analytical Chemistry, Organic & Inorganic Chemistry, Drug Checking, FT-IR Spectroscopy, Behavioral Health
Sarah Fielman '19, BS, MS
Project Manager, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: harm reduction, community-based health care, and translational and implementation science
Traci Green, PhD, MSc
Professor and Director, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: drug use, opioid addiction, and drug-related injury
Audrey Hildebrandt, BA
Senior Project Manager
Expertise: research project management, mixed-methods research, behavioral psychology research
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.
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
Jessica Lifton '20, MPP'22
Research Associate II
Expertise: Health and behavioral health policy, health equity, quantitative and qualitative analysis, data visualization, community and stakeholder engagement.
Elise Marraro, MSW, LCSW
Research Associate
Expertise: Behavioral health and social policy, mental health treatment, trauma and interpersonal violence interventions, community based interventions, criminal justice policy, liberation health, racial disparities and marginalization.
Joanne Nicholson, PhD
Professor of the Practice
Expertise: Parenting and mental illness, psychiatric rehabilitation; web-based interventions
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
Shannon Raeke, MA
Research Associate, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Social psychology, inequality and social stratification, racial-ethnic socialization and identity formation, mixed-methods research
Sabrina S. Rapisarda, MA, MEd
Research Associate, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: quantitative and qualitative methods, substance use and related harms, harm reduction, intimate partner and sexual violence, help-seeking
Grant Ritter, PhD
Associate Research Professor
Expertise: Statistics, quantitative methods, health services research
Ivy Sabal
Research Assistant and FTIR Drug Checking Technician, Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream (MADDS), Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Environmental Justice, Social Justice, Harm Reduction, Drug Checking Technician
Joe Silcox, PhD, MA
Research Associate, Project Manager, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Program Management, Qualitative Research, Substance Use Disorders, Long-term Recovery, Stigma & Identity, Policing, Harm Reduction, and Social Control
Gail Strickler, MMHS'94, PhD'07
Scientist
Expertise: Substance use disorders, prescription drug abuse, controlled substance prescribing
Charlie Summers, MA
Research Associate, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
Expertise: Epidemiology, Medical Anthropology, HIV Transmissions, Ethnographic Depictions of Substance Use Disorders and Harm Reduction
Joanna Taylor, PhD'22
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: education and school discipline policy, racial disparities in school discipline, racial wealth gap, mixed-methods research, intersectional research strategies
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
Expertise: Behavioral health and social policy, substance use and mental health treatment, harm reduction, criminal justice policy, law enforcement discretion and behavior, racial disparities
Jennifer Wicks, PhD
Senior Research Associate
Expertise: Mental health research, quantitative and qualitative approaches, statistical modeling