April & May 2025 Newsletter

THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for our third annual Pre-Symposium Community Networking Event at the Matheson History Museum on April 6th! We welcomed 64 attendees for an evening of connection, collaboration, and community-building. The event brought together a dynamic mix of individuals including UF CARE members and affiliates, research collaborators, members of our Community Advisory Committee, community stakeholders, and our 2025 keynote speakers. We were honored to be joined by representatives from Alachua County Public Schools, including Dr. Anntwanique Edwards, Dr. Leanetta McNealy (also a Community Advisory Committee member), and Superintendent Dr. Kamela Patton, as well as community members on our Community Advisory Committee including Leah Vail Compton, Dr. Chris McCurdy, and Brandy Stone. We also celebrated new UF CARE affiliate members, one of whom left with a UF CARE tote bag! Finally, a special thank you to our Pre-Symposium speakers, Heather Flanagan, Madison Maynard, Dr. Kamela Patton, and our very own Dr. Sara Jo Nixon, for sharing their insights and helping set the tone for a fantastic symposium ahead.

This year, we enjoyed the largest onsite attendance to date with 139 attendees! We had a wonderful day full of keynote addresses, panel sessions, luncheon roundtables, and a poster session. Cutting edge advancements were highlighted by our remarkable Keynote Speakers, Dr. Paul Kenny and Dr. Rajita Sinha. If you missed them, their lectures will be posted on the website soon! We can't wait to see you all again next year!

In addition to other activities, we were able to provide travel support for trainees from other institutions who were participating in the symposium panels or presenting a poster. We also gave poster awards (AMAZING tote bags) for outstanding posters! 

While it’s GREAT that UF CARE’s membership extends across UF Colleges and Departments, it’s challenging to keep up with WHO is doing WHAT and HOW. To reduce this gap and facilitate collaborations, the Social Events Committee, co-chaired by Drs. Elton and Warren, is acting on the idea pitched during the townhall last semester—Laboratory Open Houses. Don’t worry —if you “host” one (or if you fear attending one)— Open houses are NOT lectures. They are neither data blitzes nor presentations. They’re about the what/why/how of our research programs- Sharing the enthusiasm you and your team have for what you do! 

Our first Lab Open House will feature Drs. Amanda Elton and Brandon Warren's labs following the Travel Awardee Data Blitz on May 21st!

The Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory at the University of Chicago, under the direction of Andrea King, PhD, invites applications for a clinical research post-doctoral fellowship starting on or after July 1, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Funding will be provided by a NIDA T32: Integrative Training in the Neurobiology of Addictive Behaviors, https://voices.uchicago.edu/addictiont32. The initial appointment will be for one year with a second-year renewal contingent on productivity and funding.

The clinical research fellow will work closely with Andrea King, PhD, as well as colleagues Daniel Fridberg, PhD and Emma Brett, PhD. There are opportunities to work on NIH-funded research related to alcohol, tobacco, and non-cigarette tobacco products. The fellow will receive training on laboratory experimental, longitudinal, survey, EMA, and clinical trial methodology via projects on high-resolution ecological momentary assessment (HR-EMA) of heavy drinking episodes, acute subjective responses, wrist-worn biosensor technology, and mobile/telehealth and pharmacological interventions for alcohol drinking, vaping, and smoking cessation in participants across the lifespan. Clinical studies are also available for training and collaboration in cancer patients who smoke tobacco and in weight loss clinic patients who engage in hazardous drinking behaviors.

Fellows will engage in funded research and have the opportunity to lead output and develop independent projects and grant applications, as appropriate. They will hone their supervisory skills to coordinate data collection and advance their training in data analyses, interpretation, oral presentation skills, and manuscript and grant writing. For clinical psychology trainees, there may be opportunities to accrue supervised clinical hours through providing treatment and evaluation of patients in clinic programs and research trials. Training includes participation in seminars, career development mentorship, and coursework on advanced statistics, addictions, and patient-oriented research. The University of Chicago is a vibrant community of state-of-the-art researchers, educators, and clinicians.

Compensation is competitive starting at $61,008 as per NIH salary levels and benefits include conference travel, health insurance, and childcare costs, as needed. Interested candidates should have completed Ph.D. requirements in psychology, medicine, or a related field. E-mail cover letter stating background and career interests and curriculum vitae to: Andrea King, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience (e-mail: aking@bsd.uchicago.edu). The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

Clement, A., Wydra, N., Gobinathan, A., Russell, A., & Gabrielli, J. A Content Analysis of Alcohol Content Delivered via TikTok’s Search Function for Alcohol-Related Terms. (2025). Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Cushnie, A. K., *Bush, N. J., Sevel, L. S., *Stennett-Blackmon, B., Farone, A., Nixon, S. J., Robinson, M. E., & *Boissoneault, J. (2025). Insula under the influence: Alcohol-induced changes in resting state functional connectivity. Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 10.1111/acer.70053. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.70053

Faraji, M., Viera-Resto, O. A., Berrios, B. J., Bizon, J. L., & Setlow, B. (2025). Effects of systemic oxytocin receptor activation and blockade on risky decision making in female and male rats. Behavioral neuroscience, 10.1037/bne0000621. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bne0000621

Haorah J, Iyappan H, Samikkannu M, Chennakesavan K, McLaughlin JP, Thangavel Sammikannu. Epigenetics and mitochondrial biogenesis: The role of sirtuins in HIV neuropathogenesis. Molecular Neurobiology, online 8 April 2025. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-025-04885-7

* denotes a UF CARE alum and continued collaborator. If you are a UF CARE alum, please share updates with us here!