People

Steven Curto is a Research Assistant at the Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies. He earned his Master of Science in Clinical Research Methods from Fordham University, where his thesis focused on trauma-informed assessment practices and the impact of community violence and traumatic loss on mental health and delinquency risk among adolescents with justice system involvement.

Steven’s research interests lie at the intersection of early adversity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders (SUD), with an emphasis on identifying mechanisms that drive comorbidity and poor treatment outcomes. He is particularly interested in the optimization and implementation of Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy for individuals with co-occurring PTSD and SUD, with a focus on improving engagement, reducing dropout, and enhancing the effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions in community-based care.