*Don't Forget the Annual Symposium!*

April 6th and 7th, 2025

More Info Below!

Watch November's Recorded Seminar:
AI and Addiction

Thank you, Drs. Noah Hammarlund and Nasim Binesh for a great discussion on November 20th about AI and Addiction AND thank you to all who were able to attend! Dr. Hammarlund is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Research, Management, and Policy. His research applies econometric approaches and innovations in AI to improve inequities in healthcare. Dr. Binesh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management. She uses AI and machine learning models in the study of finance and revenue management. 

If you couldn’t attend, watch the special recorded panel "AI and Addiction" on the UF CARE website, linked below.

Congratulations to Drs. Brandon Warren and Freddyson Martinez-Rivera who were elected as associate members of ACNP! Dr. Brandon Warren joined UF as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacodynamics in 2018. His research integrates behavioral, biochemical, and microscopic approaches to probe the role of neuronal ensembles (patterns of neurons activated during behavior) in animal models of drug addiction. Dr. Freddyson Martinez-Rivera joined UF in 2023 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. His research focuses on neurobiological (mal)adaptions and diversity.

UF CARE had several members and affiliates with posters and symposia presented at the annual ACNP meeting. These included:

Multimodal Assessment of the Effects of Acute Alcohol Intake on Resting State Neural Metrics by Jeff Boissoneault*, Bethany Stennett-Blackmon*, Sara Jo Nixon, Michael Robinson, and Landrew Sevel

Racial Discrimination Effects on Subcortical Brain Functional Development by Amanda Elton, Chanting Chen, and Catalina Lopez-Quintero

Back-Translating Real-World Patterns of Human Cocaine Use into Rodents Reveals Effects of Intermittent Self-Administration and Cocaine-Alcohol Use on Incubation of Cocaine Seeking by Lori Knackstedt, Barry Setlow, and Linda Cottler

Neuronal Ensembles in Pl Mediate Initial and Maintained Cocaine-Seeking in Male and Female Rats by Brandon Warren, Bo Sortman*, Samantha Rakela, Michel van den Oever

1 + 1 = 3: Understanding the Neurobiology of Polysubstance Use. Symposia presented by Melissa Herman, Jibran Khokhar, Valeria Lallai, Anna Lee, Jibran Khokhar, and Linda Cottler

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

Drs. Setlow, Bizon, and Krumm
Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Congratulations to Dr. Barry Setlow (PI), Dr. Jen Bizon (Co-I) and Dr. Zak Krumm for receiving a two-year grant from the International Center for Responsible Gaming totaling $172,000. Their project is titled "Effects of GLP-1 receptor agonist medication on behavioral and neural mechanisms of gambling-like behavior in a rat model of risky decision making."

Hugh Farrior

Congratulations to Hugh Farrior for successfully passing his qualifying exam! His committee included his primary chair Dr. Ben Lewis, as well as Drs. Sara Jo Nixon, Mark Bishop, and Natalie Ebner.

Katherine Gonzalez

Congratulations to Katherine Gonzalez, a UF CARE alumna, (mentor: Dr. Barry Setlow) who successfully defended her master's thesis and will be starting her career in public policy in 2025!

Elena Kalina

Congratulations to Elena Kalina for successfully passing her qualifying exam AND for submitting an F31 application! Her primary mentor is Dr. Nichole Scaglione, with Dr. Robert Leeman as a co-sponsor and support from Drs. Bob Cook and Yan Wang.

Wonn Pyon

Congratulations to Wonn Pyon who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled "The Role of Dopamine in Risky Decision Making."

His dissertation committee was comprised of his primary mentors Drs. Barry Setlow and Jen Bizon, as well as Dr. Marcelo Febo, all of whom are UF CARE members.

He will be starting a post-doctoral position at UCLA in the lab of Kate Wassum, Ph.D.

Andrew Rizzo, PhD

Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Rizzo, a UF CARE alumnus, (mentor: Dr. Nichole Scaglione)! Dr. Rizzo recently accepted a postdoctoral research associate position at Georgia State University. Dr. Rizzo’s research focuses on interventions to prevent interpersonal and gender-based violence, reduce substance use, and promote prosocial behaviors. You can find more about his research here.