Division of Addiction Psychiatry -
Who Are We?
COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH
The Division of Addiction Psychiatry conducts research studies and clinical trials that examines behaviors associated with tobacco use, develops and evaluates new smoking cessation treatments, assess the effects of nicotine, and to explores new applications and combinations of Nicotine Replacement Therapy and non-Nicotine Replacement Therapy treatments.
Jill Williams, M.D. Associate Professor & Division Director conducts research on smokers with serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and was the recipient of a NIDA Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award. Her research examines differences in nicotine intake, cigarette puffing and nicotine craving in individuals with schizophrenia in hopes that these discoveries will lead to better treatments in the future.
Marc L. Steinberg, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, conducts research on smokers with serious mental illness, substance abuse disorders and intellectual/ developmental disabilities. Dr. Steinberg was the recipient of a Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study motivational interviewing for smokers with serious mental illness and to examine distress tolerance as a predictor of tobacco dependence treatment outcome.
Kunal K. Gandhi, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Instructor, is co-investigator on several of Dr Williams’s grants researching smokers with serious mental illnesses, including schizophrenia. In addition, his research interests involve smokers of mentholated cigarettes, as well as secondary data analysis projects using national datasets. Dr Gandhi is also currently involved in teaching and supervising of Rutgers University and UMDNJ-School of Public Health (MPH) students working in the Division of Addiction Psychiatry.
As a result of our research activities the division actively published articles and presents research findings at national conferences.
COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
Division faculty members actively participate in teaching psychiatry residents, psychology interns, medical school students, our division research assistants, Rutgers work study students along with trainees from a variety of disciplines. Dr. Williams is also Visiting Professor at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies and an active member of the UMDNJ Student Assistance Campus Committee (SACC).
COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Division is very active in the community, Dr. Williams serves as a Consultant on Tobacco to the Mental Health Association of New Jersey (MHANJ), Public Policy Committee whose goals are to increase efforts for recognition and treatment of tobacco dependence among smokers with a mental illness and pursue statewide policy initiatives in this area.
Dr. Williams is the founder and medical director of CHOICES (Consumers Helping Others Improve their Condition by Ending Smoking), a consumer driven initiative to outreach smokers with mental illness in the community via mental health peer counselors (www.njchoices.org)
Dr. Steinberg is also the Director of the Mercer County Tobacco Dependence Program overseeing both the Mercer County QuitCenter and the Mercer County Community Partnership located in downtown Trenton , NJ.
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