VISITING FACULTY BIOSKETCHES

Paul C. Amrhein (Ph.D., Wisconsin-Madison) is a Visiting Professor at the Center. Dr. Amrhein is a psycholinguist whose research interests include the role of language pragmatics in didactic exchanges. Currently, he is involved in projects concerning the nature of "therapy talk" arising from therapist-client interaction, and how such talk (e.g., client utterances expressing commitment to change) predicts future substance abuse. The goal of this work is to develop process models of psychotherapy and behavior change with natural language as a critical medium. He also conducts research on computational models of basic cognitive processes concerned with memorial encoding and retrieval of knowledge for purposes of recognition and production (e.g., speaking, writing, drawing). He is especially interested in revealing how these processes function under contextual variability in monolingual and bilingual individuals across the lifespan.
Phone:   (973) 655-7926
Email:   amrheinp@mail.montclair.edu

Sherry Barr (Psy.D., Rutgers University) is a school psychologist and a Vice President of the Princeton Center for Leadership Training (PCLT), a non-profit organization that provides services to public and private schools and community organizations interested in leadership development and school restructuring. In her role at PCLT, Dr. Barr oversees the implementation, evaluation and dissemination of a statewide, school-based peer education program focused on sexual health promotion. She develops program curricula, designs training events, provides consultation and technical assistance to school administrators and faculty, oversees program evaluation, and works with schools to build an infrastructure to support long-term program sustainability. Dr. Barr is a contributing faculty member to the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, and a co-investigator for a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study, Enhanced Peer-Based Interventions During the Transition to High School, at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies. Dr. Barr also has experience in both the implementation and evaluation of a dangerous drinking prevention program at Rutgers University. Her other research interests include body image, eating attitudes and eating behaviors among adolescents. Phone: (609) 252-9300 ext. 117 Fax: (609) 252-9393Email: Sbarr@princetonleadership.org

Gilbert J. Botvin (Ph.D., Columbia University) is an internationally known expert on tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse prevention.  He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University and has been a member of the faculty at Weill Medical College of Cornell University for 25 years where he is currently Professor of Public Health and a Professor of Psychiatry.  He is also Director of Cornell’s Institute for Prevention Research and Chief of the Department of Public Health’s Division of Prevention and Health Behavior.  Dr. Botvin has published over 200 scientific papers and book chapters, is the immediate past president of SPR, and is the founding editor of Prevention Science, SPR’s official journal.  Dr. Botvin’s research has focused on the etiology and prevention of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use.
Phone:   (212) 746-1270  Fax:   (212) 746-8390
E-mail:   gjbotvin@med.cornell.edu

Tammy Chung, (Ph.D., Rutgers), is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, where she is involved in research on the classification and longitudinal course of adolescent-onset substance-related problems. Dr. Chung is a clinical psychologist whose work is focused on developmentally appropriate assessment of substance dependence in adolescents. She is also interested in substance abuse screening and brief interventions with youth.
Phone:   (412) 383-2630   Fax:   (412) 624-0850
E-mail:   chungta@msx.upmc.edu

Patrick R. Clifford (Ph.D., The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston), is a professor in the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Public Health. Dr. Clifford's academic training is in psychology, behavioral science, and addiction studies. He earned a B.A. (1979) in psychology from the College of Staten Island, City University of New York, an M.A. (1980) in psychology from Hunter College, City University of New York, a Ph.D. in community health/behavioral science (1983) from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - School of Public Health, and a post-doctoral certificate (1991) in alcohol treatment research from Brown University - Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. His research is in the area of alcohol treatment outcomes, and is funded by NIAAA. He is currently conducting studies aimed at determining subject research assessment reactivity effects, as well as the development of theoretical models predictive of long-term alcohol treatment outcomes.
Phone:   (732) 235-8544   Fax:   (732) 235-9755
E-mail:   Patrick.Clifford@umdnj.edu

Jean Denes ’s (MPA, Fairleigh Dickinson University) career spans thirty years in the field of substance abuse services.  Her positions have included social worker, counselor, clinical supervisor, administrator, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Discovery House, an 80 bed residential and outpatient treatment program.  Currently, Ms. Denes is President of Prevention Specialists in Ocean, N.J., a private corporation dedicated to the provision of employee assistance, drug free workplace as well as drug & alcohol testing services.  She served three years as President of the New Jersey State Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Services and vice-president of the Substance Abuse Treatment Providers of New Jersey.  On a national level, Jean has served as a consultant to the National Institute for Drug Abuse and as a board member of the Therapeutic Communities of America, headquartered in Washington, D.C.  Ms. Denes received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Northern Illinois University and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University.  She is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, Certified Social Worker and Certified Substance Abuse Professional.
Phone:  (732) 219-1912 or (800) 834-9427   Fax:  (732) 219-9731
E-mail:  JeanDenes@aol.com

Javier I. Escobar (M.D., M.Sc.,) is Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA. Dr. Escobar recently served as Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Maryland (2004) and was a member of NIMH’s National Advisory Mental Health Council. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Advisory Committee on Psychiatric Drugs, and a standing member in several National Institute of Health (NIMH, NIDA, NIA) and Veterans Administration’s research review committees and other national task forces. Dr. Escobar has been an active researcher in the areas of clinical psychopharmacology, psychiatric epidemiology, psychiatric diagnosis and cross-cultural medicine and psychiatry. Currently he is the Principal Investigator of several projects funded by the National Institute of Mental Health in the areas of mental disorders in primary care (P20), treatment of somatoform disorders (R01), epidemiology of mental disorders and development and mentoring of new psychiatric researchers (R-13). He has published a total of 200 scientific articles in national and international books and journals.
Phone: (732) 235-4440 Fax: (732) 235-5158
Email: escobaja@umdnj.edu

Denise C. Gottfredson (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University) is a Professor at the University of Maryland Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. She received a Ph.D. in Social Relations from The Johns Hopkins University, where she specialized in Sociology of Education. D. Gottfredson's research interests include delinquency and delinquency prevention, and particularly the effects of school environments on youth behavior. Much of Gottfredson's career has been devoted to developing effective collaborations between researchers and practitioners. She directs a project that provides research expertise to the Maryland Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention in its efforts to promote effective prevention practices in Maryland. Gottfredson has recently completed randomized experiments to test the effectiveness of the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court and the Strengthening Families Program in Washington D.C. She is currently directing a randomized trial of the effects of after school programs on the development of problem behavior.
Phone: (301) 405-4717 Fax: (301) 405-473
Email: dgottfredson@crim.umd.edu

Dr. Hendren is a Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association and serves on many national committees. He is board certified in General as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. His primary areas of research and publication are neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, neurodevelopmental disorders, including Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, and impulse control disorders. He has over 70 original papers and three books in the field of psychiatry. During 1992-93, he spent a year writing a monograph with the World Health Organization in Geneva and has been an international consultant for them. He is continually listed in "The Best Doctors in America," published each year from 1998.
Phone:   (916) 734-6770   Fax:   (916) 734-3384
E-mail:   rlhendren@ucdavis.edu

Mark Edward Lender, (Ph.D., Rutgers) , is chairman of the History Department at Kean University, Union, New Jersey, and the former dean of the University’s Nathan Weiss Graduate College. His scholarship has focused on early American military and social history, including the evolution of American drinking practices and related issues. Among his publications, Drinking in America: A History (Free Press; co-authored with James Kirby Martin) remains a standard in the field. His latest book, This Honorable Court: The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Rutgers University Press, 2005), includes a major discussion of National Prohibition enforcement in the federal courts. Lender also is author or co-author of many publications on the American Revolution, including the highly regarded "A Respectable Army": The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789 (2 nd edn, 2005), and he is completing a book on the Monmouth Campaign of 1778.
Phone: (908) 737-4262
Email: mlender@kean.edu

Paul Manowitz (Ph.D., Brandeis University), Professor of Psychiatry at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is a Visiting Professor in the Center of Alcohol Studies.  His research interests center on the identification of genetic factors that predispose to alcoholism.  Recently, he and his colleagues have identified a polymorphism in the arylsulfatase A gene which is related to specific alcohol related behaviors, including executive function.  The relationship of this polymorphism to alcoholism is currently being studied in alcoholic families.  In addition, he is conducting studies to determine the utility of alcoholism predisposition genes.  For the past decade, Dr. Manowitz was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
Phone:  (732) 235-4347    Fax:  (732) 235-4430
E-mail:  manowitz@umdnj.edu

Christopher S. Martin (Ph.D., Indiana University) is currently Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh. His primary research interests are the nosology and clinical course of adolescent-onset alcohol and other substance use disorders. He has published numerous papers on the utility of DSM-IV alcohol and substance use disorder criteria when applied to adolescents; alternative diagnostic models for alcohol and substance use disorders; and predictors and pathways in the course of disorder in adolescents treated for alcohol and drug problems. He is PI on an NIAAA-funded R01 that provides longitudinal follow-up assessments in a large sample recruited from addictions treatment during adolescence. Dr. Martin has a longstanding collaboration with Dr. James Langenbucher on nosology research in adult and adolescent samples. He is the recipient of an NIAAA Independent Scientist Award and has been a PI and Co-I on several other NIAAA and NIDA grants. He is a fellow in the American Psychological Association Division 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse), and is a task force member for NIAAA’s underage drinking initiative.
Phone: (412) 246-5156 Fax: (412) 624-0850
Email: martincs@upmc.edu

Fran Miceli has been employed by the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Addiction Services since 1971.  Her first thirteen years were in a clinical setting as both a counselor and an administrator.  Since then she has worked in the Office of Prevention Services as a grant monitor, technical advisor, trainer, and Program Manager.  She is presently the Director of the Office of Prevention Training Services for the Division of Addiction Services, responsible for all community-based grants, statewide prevention initiatives, training, and workforce development.

Ms. Miceli is an adjunct professor for New Jersey City University where she teaches the four graduate courses required for the Substance Abuse Awareness Coordinator Certification.  She is on the faculty of the Summer School of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University and teaches continuing education courses for the Rutgers School of Social Work and Brookdale Community College.
Phone:  (609) 984-4049    Fax:  (609) 984-3346 
E-mail:  Frances.Miceli@doh.state.nj.us

Gahan Pandina, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, with a sub specialization in neuropsychology.  He is currently employed as Associate Director in the CNS Clinical Development division of Janssen Medical Affairs, LLC.  He teaches at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in the psychology internship and the psychiatry residency programs, as well as maintains a Visiting Faculty position at Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies.
Phone:  (609) 730-2324    Fax:  (609) 730-3125
Email:  Gpandina@JANUS.JNJ.com

Sharon Rose Powell (Ed.D., Rutgers University) , is a New Jersey licensed psychologist and the founding President of the Princeton Center for Leadership Training (PCLT), a not-for-profit organization that provides services to public and private schools and community organizations interested in leadership development and school restructuring. An educator and leadership training consultant for over 30 years, Dr. Powell first designed and implemented a peer leadership training program in 1979. Dr. Powell founded PCLT in 1988 to expand this peer leadership model throughout New Jersey. In 1991, Dr. Powell expanded the work of PCLT by developing a school restructuring model that trains teams of administrators, faculty, parents, and corporate/community representatives to work collaboratively to create a positive school environment and to effectively implement school reform initiatives. She has created numerous K-12 program curricula used in school advisory and character education programs and has supervised the program evaluation of several statewide peer leadership programs. Dr. Powell is a co-investigator for a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study, Enhanced Peer-Based Interventions During the Transition to High School, at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies. Dr. Powell is a contributing faculty member to the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. She is also a member of the New Jersey Character Education Advisory Board.
Phone: (609) 252-9300 ext. 110 Fax: (609) 252-9393
Email: Spowell@princetonleadership.org

Marc A. Schuckit, (M.D.) . Dr. Schuckit's major areas of research have focused on evaluating the importance of genetic influences in alcoholism, and then searching for the biological factors that might interact with the environment to produce a vulnerability toward severe alcohol problems. Other research efforts include a search for the optimal diagnostic criteria for substance abuse or dependence, which lead to his appointment as a member of the Task Force and Chair of the Substance Use Disorders Committee for DSM-IV and his role in the preparations for DSM-V . His third focus has been on the relationship between alcoholism and drug use disorders and psychiatric syndromes, especially depression, states of anxiety, or psychoses. From these efforts he has published over 500 papers and has written over 10 books, including the recent sixth edition of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Dr. Schuckit is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and serves as the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program and of the Alcohol Research Center at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. He is Editor of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, and has been a member of the editorial boards of many major alcohol and drug journals in the United States and Europe. In addition, he is Director of the Alcohol Medical Scholars Program with the goal of encouraging junior faculty in medical schools to improve their teaching and develop careers in substance use disorders. He has been fortunate to be recognized for a number of awards in the alcoholism field including the Middleton Award for the best research within the VA system, the American Psychiatric Association’s Hoffheimer Award for Research in Psychiatry, the Gold Medal Award for lifetime achievement from the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and the Distinguished Scientist Award as well as the Seixas Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism. Phone:  (858) 552-8585, x7978 Fax:  (858) 552-7424
E-mail: jsaeditor@ucsd.edu

William A. Vega, Ph.D. is a professor of Psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School - University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He also holds the position of Director, Research Division, Behavioral Research and Training Institute, University Behavioral Health Care. Dr. Vega has conducted field and clinical research projects on health, mental health, and substance abuse in various regions of the United States (East and West coast) and Mexico. His specialty is comparative behavioral health research and services utilization with Latinos, including immigrant social adaptation, mental health and substance abuse patterns among adolescents and adults. Dr. Vega is the President of the National Latino Council on Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention, and a founding member of the International Consortium of Psychiatric Epidemiology, headquartered at the World Health Organization. Most recently, he is a member of the Institute of Medicine Board of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and was a member of the U.S. Attorney General's Methamphetamine Task Force. He is currently a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Advisory Group for health policy scholars. In 2002, Dr. Vega was awarded the Culture, Community, and Prevention Science Award by the Society for Prevention Research, and the Senior Research Scientist Award by the Hispanic Science Network sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Gerald T. Voelbel (Ph.D. , Rutgers University) is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corporation. He is receiving training in functional neuroimaging techniques, such as functional MRI and functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, in persons with traumatic brain injuries and multiple sclerosis to investigate the changes that occur in cortical activation patterns during cognitive process such as planning and problem solving procedures. Other research interests include the investigation of the long-term cognitive and psychosocial sequelae that occurs in traumatic brain injuries. Dr. Voelbel is also interested in sports related concussions and return play issues for athletes due to head injuries. He currently collaborates with Dr. Bates at the Center of Alcohol Studies to investigate the effects of familial alcoholism on neuroanatomical structures as well as cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Bipolar Disorder.
Phone: (973) 530-3658 Fax: (973) 736-7880
Phone - Imaging Laboratory: (973) 530-3661
Email: gvoelbel@kmrrec.org

Jill Williams (M.D., Robert Wood Johnson Medical School) is an Addictions Psychiatrist specializing in treatment of tobacco and other addictions in mentally ill populations.  She is an Assistant Professor and Director of Mental Health Tobacco Services at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and has a joint appointment at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health.  Dr. Williams is the recipient of a National Institute on Drug Abuse Career Development Award (K23).  The focus of the five-year grant is Nicotine Dependence Treatment in Psychiatric Comorbidity.  Specifically, Dr. Williams is studying pharmacological and psychosocial treatments to improve outcomes in smokers with schizophrenia.
Phone:  (732) 235-4341    Fax:  (732) 235-8222
E-mail:  jill.williams@umdnj.edu

Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH, (UMDNJ - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), is a Professor and Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and at the UMDNJ School of Public Health. He is a Visiting Professor at Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies and Princeton Seminary. Dr. Ziedonis has dedicated his career to better understanding and treating individuals with co-occurring addiction and mental illness. His research methodologies include clinical epidemiology, medication clinical trials, behavioral therapy development, and health services research strategies. His active research includes: 1) Behavioral Therapy Development Studies on Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Poly-Drug Addiction, Integrated Behavioral Therapy for tobacco dependence and schizophrenia, Dual Recovery Therapy for addiction and depression; and "Safer Sex" HIV reduction in Methadone Maintenance Settings; 2) Health Services Research to evaluate models of delivering treatment, including comparing Fully-Integrated versus Consultative-Integrated Models for Co-Occurring Disorders in Addiction Treatment Settings; and 3) Medication Clinical Trials for cocaine addiction amongst psychiatric patients and nicotine replacement dose-ranging studies for nicotine dependence amongst individuals with schizophrenia. He has been a pioneer in investigating nicotine addiction amongst psychiatric patients, and is leading a national initiative on tobacco addiction in mental health and addiction settings.

His research has supported the improved efficacy and effectiveness of integrated treatment approaches and models of treatment. As Principal Investigator in the past 5 years he has attracted over $5 million in external research support, and he has also helped attract an additional $40 million in external support as Co-Principal Investigator / Co-Investigator. He is the primary mentor for two junior faculty on their NIDA Career Development grants. NIDA, NIMH, NIAAA, CSAT, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have been the primary agencies supporting his research group's work. He is the author of over 85 articles and co-editor of three books. He serves on a number of editorial boards and advisory bodies, including President Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and SAMHSA's Co-Occurring Disorders Initiative. Dr. Ziedonis has a broad range of university teaching activities including serving as the Residency Director of the UMDNJ's Addiction Psychiatry Residency.
Phone:    732-235-4341   Fax:   732-235-4277
Email:    ziedondm@umdnj.edu

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