People

Annabel Kady is the full-time Trauma Team Leader for the Lifespan Development and Addiction lab at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Public Health. As an undergraduate, Annabel spent three years as a research assistant at The Neurocognitive and Imaging Characterization of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders Lab (Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry) studying substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes in youth. Annabel is also passionate about advocacy work. As four-term president of Johns Hopkins Public Policy Consulting, she has focused on advocating for federal legislation to increase access to mental healthcare and substance use disorder treatment.

Annabel’s research interests involve clarifying the drinking-to-cope pathway from early trauma to addiction. One of Annabel’s current projects involves studying internalizing symptoms as a mediator in the relationship between early trauma and drinking outcomes. Another ongoing project involves examining which PTSD symptoms are most closely associated with drinking behavior. By elucidating the relationship between trauma and substance use, Annabel hopes her research will lend support to integrated treatment approaches for comorbid PTSD and SUDs.