Directory, Early Fellows, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

NIH Postdoctoral Associates - Psychiatry Department
Name	Research	Information
Sydney Batchelder, PhD	My current research includes treatments for opioid use disorder and treatments for intersectional vulnerable populations including food insecurity, COVID vaccination, and communicable diseases in individuals with opioid use disorder. My overarching research interests include behavioral pharmacology, contingency management, and health choice behaviors.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Tyler Erath, PhD	I'm a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Stephen Higgins. My current projects include a contingency management intervention to promote stimulant abstinence in a community-based syringe exchange program and a laboratory-based study assessing the abuse liability of several e-cigarette devices among individuals who smoke cigarettes.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Meredith Gamble, PhD	I started at VCBH in June 2023 and have begun working on two research projects. The first will be examining how a nicotine-limiting standard and very low nicotine content cigarettes may affect former smokers, and the second relates to nutrition in MOUD patients, with the long-term goal of improving prenatal nutrition and folate intake in MOUD patients who are or want to become pregnant.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Brian Katz, PhD	My current research here at the VCBH includes examining the effects of smoking on executive function, investigating how contingency management can be used to promote cardiac-rehabilitation attendance, and assessments of the pulmonary and cardiac effects of e-cigarettes.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Loren Kock, PhD	My research involves analysis of population- and individual-level data on substance use behaviors in priority populations in order support policies and interventions that can reduce harm and health inequalities. I am primarily working with Prof Sarah Heil and a program of research involving pregnant women experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Jonathan "Jay" Schulz, PhD	My research interests include disability and health, behavioral teaching methods in higher education, and community-based participatory research. My current work focuses on identifying and reducing disparities in tobacco use among people with disabilities.	Email \| PubMed\| CV

NIH Predoctoral Fellows - Psychology Department
Name	Research	Information
Marc Jerome Feinstein	My current research focus investigates tobacco and nicotine consumption, particularly e-cigarette and combustible cigarette dual users. More broadly, I’m interested in understanding the decision-making process behind health behaviors and substance abuse to predict, control, and hopefully prevent these problems.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Jillian Giannini	My research focuses on the treatment of substance use disorders, specifically in those with co-morbid mental health conditions such as PTSD. I am particularly interested in exploring combined pharmacotherapy and therapeutic interventions to target these specific populations.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Roxanne Harfmann, MA	I am interested in the intersection of substance use and women’s health. My current work includes investigating the effects of reduced nicotine content cigarettes in pregnant women and examining differences in maternal and fetal outcomes between opioid agonist therapy and medically-supervised withdrawal to treat opioid use disorder during pregnancy.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
William Middleton, MA	My current research looks at the intersection between mood disorders and exercise in cardiac rehabilitation patients, and the economic practices of dual combustible cigarette and e-cigarette users. I am primarily interested in methods to increase exercise and physical activity through behavioral economics and therapeutic interventions.	Email \| PubMed \| CV
Julia West, MA	My research focuses on youth and young adult substance use, specifically polytobacco and polysubstance use. I am particularly interested in informing addiction-related policies and mass media public education campaigns through population-level research.	Email \| PubMed\| CV
Rhiannon Wiley, MA	My research focuses on ameliorating the harms of cigarette smoking on the public health with a particular emphasis on supporting vulnerable populations, including those with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). My projects include investigating the influence of opioid agonist medications on nicotine metabolism, understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the smoking patterns of people from vulnerable groups, and observing whether and how patterns of flavored e-cigarette use relate to reductions in combustible cigarette use.	Email \| PubMed\| CV