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
Cole Altomare-Jarczyk, BA
Research Associate
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
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
Jamie Davis, BA
Community Engagement and Harm Reduction Project Manager, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative
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
Sarah Fielman, MS '19
Project Manager
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
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
Elise Marraro, MSW, LCSW
Research Associate
Joanne Nicholson, PhD
Professor of the Practice
Expertise: Parenting and mental illness, psychiatric rehabilitation; web-based interventions
Marisol Pacheco, BS
Research Assistant
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
Sabrina S. Rapisarda, MA, MEd
Research Associate
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)
Joe Silcox, PhD, MA
Research Associate, Project Manager
Gail Strickler, MMHS'94, PhD'07
Scientist
Expertise: Substance use disorders, prescription drug abuse, controlled substance prescribing
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