People
Find information about our current and former laboratory members, below, or click here to see information about joining our research team.
Principal Investigator
Andrea C. King, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Biological Psychology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Professor Director of Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory Tel: 773-702-6181 Email: aking@bsdad.uchicago.edu Dr. King is a tenured professor at U Chicago Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and has been on faculty since 1997. She is also co-leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, director of the tobacco treatment program at the University of Chicago, and developer of the Courage to Quit® tobacco cessation program delivered by the Respiratory Health Association across the Chicagoland area. Dr. King is a licensed clinical psychologist and treats patients with tobacco, alcohol, and substance use disorders and other co-morbid mental health conditions. She is currently Principal Investigator of several grants from the NIH, including tobacco cessation in underserved smokers and cancer patients, examination of e-cigarette use as a smoking cue, neurobiological substrates of alcohol and aggression, and laboratory and longitudinal assessment of binge drinkers. She has served on numerous study section panels at the NIH and received several awards for her academic excellence at the University of Chicago. In her spare time, Dr. King provides educational lectures in schools to youth about cigarette smoking, vaping, and addiction. |
Current Laboratory Members
Dan Fridberg, Ph.D.
Ph.D, Indiana University Bloomington Assistant Professor; Co-investigator Tel: 773-834-3598 Email: dfridberg@bsdad.uchicago.edu Dr. Daniel Fridberg has served on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago since 2014. He is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of addictive behaviors and comorbid mental health conditions. Dr. Fridberg is also the co-director of the Tobacco Cessation Program at the University of Chicago where he helps patients quit smoking using the Courage to Quit® program. Dr. Fridberg has an active research program focused on how individuals differ in their responses to alcohol, and how those differences in may contribute to risk for alcohol misuse and dependence. He is especially interested in using technology, such as smartphones and alcohol biosensors, to measure real-world alcohol use, responses, and related outcomes. Dr. Fridberg’s work has been funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and he has presented his findings in multiple peer-reviewed papers and at invited talks and presentations around the country. |
Ashley Vena, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Scientific Director Ashley joined the Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory (CARL) as a postdoctoral fellow in 2017, and coordinated the CSTOP clinical trial from 2017-2020. Following completion of her postdoctoral training she remained a part of the CARL team as a scientific director. Ashley is interested in understanding factors that influence how people respond to drugs and how drugs act on specific targets in the brain. Tel: 773-702-5047 Email: avena@uchicago.edu |
Emma Brett, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Oklahoma State University Postdoctoral Fellow Emma received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University and is now completing her postdoctoral training in the Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Andrea King. She is interested in understanding factors that influence engagement in substance use, such as cue reactivity, with a focus on nicotine/tobacco products. Additionally, she is interested long-term substance use outcomes in under-served populations and interventions for addictive behaviors. |
Nathan Didier
Research Assistant Nathan received his B.A. from Wheaton College (IL), where his studies focused on psychology and chemistry. He is interested in neurodevelopmental disorders. |
Abbey Feather
Research Assistant Abbey graduated from Appalachian State with a B.S. in Psychology and a concentration in human services. She is interested in factors contributing to addiction, the development of effective clinical interventions, and integrated primary care. |
Zoe Lee
Research Assistant Zoe graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Clinical Psychology. Her research interests include the etiology and treatment of addiction, as well as the effects of electronic cigarette use, particularly in adolescent populations. |
Former Laboratory Members Since 2013
- Meghan Howe, Project Coordinator, 2017-2020
- Krista Miloslavich, Project Coordinator, 2017-2020
- Patrick McNamara, Assistant Director of Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory, 2004-2019
- Patrick Smith, Research Assistant, 2014-2017, 2018-2020
- Eric Giger, Research Assistant, 2017-2020
- Aly Bathery, Research Assistant, 2019-2020
- Melissa Liu, Research Assistant, 2017-2019
- Jesus Chavarria, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar, 2016-2019
- Faria James, Research Assistant, 2016-2018
- Lia Smith, Research Assistant, 2013-2016