Amy Bohnert, Ph.D., M.H.S. is a mental health services researcher with training in public health who focuses her research on epidemiology and brief interventions regarding substance use and related disorders. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan and affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Clinical Management Research (CCMR), an HSR&D Center of Innovation.
Within a team of collaborators at the University of Michigan and the Department of Veterans Affairs, she has led a number of projects related to overdose and prescription drug safety. A number of her research activities have been specifically aimed at improving care occurring in substance use disorder treatment settings. Dr. Bohnert has demonstrated a particular expertise in applying epidemiology methods to the analysis of electronic health records-based datasets to answer important questions for health services delivery. Dr. Bohnert was one of the Co-Principal Investigators (PI) on the OPT-IN efficacy study.
Erin Bonar, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. She investigates the links between substance use and risky behaviors, particularly HIV risk behaviors, in vulnerable populations with special attention to the role of social cognitive factors.
Dr. Bonar is interested in developing and adapting interventions augmented by mHealth for prevention and treatment of substance use and related conditions. She is also involved in medical education and teaches Motivational Interviewing to medical trainees. In addition, Dr. Bonar focuses her research on optimizing substance use interventions across community settings, including health care settings and tertiary substance use disorder treatment, particularly among emerging adults. Dr. Bonar was one of the Co-PIs on the OPT-IN efficacy study.
Phillip Coffin
Phillip Coffin M.D., MIA is a board-certified and practicing internist, infectious disease specialist, and addiction medicine specialist. He attended or trained at Brown University, Columbia University, the University of California San Francisco, and the University of Washington. He directs the Center on Substance Use and Health at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, including clinical trials assessing medications for multiple
substance use disorders and interventions for opioid safety, overdose prevention, HIV prevention, and Hepatitis C treatment.
Dr. Coffin also conducts several studies into the impacts of changing opioid prescribing practices on vulnerable populations, substance use epidemiology, and initiatives addressing substance use and opioid safety in clinical care.
Chin H wa (Gina) Dahlem, Ph.D, FNP-C, FAANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner whose clinical focus has been delivering primary care services for complex care populations particularly for people experiencing homelessness. Dr. Dahlem teaches at the graduate level for Adult and Family Nurse Practitioner students. Her research focuses on opioid overdose prevention and education using naloxone and developing health risk assessments for clinical use. She has helped to lead opioid overdose prevention trainings for police departments throughout Southeast Michigan and community organizations.
Dr. Dahlem is committed to implementing strong didactic, interactive, and experiential approaches to learning that values an evidence-based approach to practice, combining theory and research. To this end, she strives to be a constant learner and values mentoring nurse practitioner students in class and in practice who will continue to impact the health of the community.
Maureen Walton, Ph.D., M.P.H. is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. She is also the Associate Chair for Child Research at the Addiction Center and the lead for research on intentional injury at the Injury Prevention Center. Dr. Walton collaborates with multi-disciplinary teams of clinicians and researchers, including faculty in emergency medicine, nursing, public health, and computer science. She has received funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Walton’s overall career goal is to conduct innovative research to maximize public health impact on the prevention and treatment of substance use and violence among youth. She has particular expertise in developing e-health and m-health approaches such as web, text messaging, social media, and smartphone apps.
Laura Thomas
Laura Thomas, LMSW, MPH, CCRP is a licensed clinical social worker and Project Manager at the University of Michigan and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ms. Thomas has been working in opioid-focused research with Dr. Bohnert since 2013. Ms. Thomas has conducted brief Motivational Interviewing (MI)-based interventions on research studies in the emergency department, addiction treatment facilities, and primary care clinics. Ms. Thomas has trained and supervised others in MI-focused interventions for opioid safety – within research projects and non-research community organizations. The projects that Ms. Thomas has worked on span across the University of Michigan and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase opioid safety and reduce overdose risk behaviors while incorporating Motivational Interviewing and Harm Reduction.
