Charles C. Engel

Dr. Charles Engel is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Core VA HSR Investigator in the Seattle Center for Innovation, Co-Director of the Center’s Advanced Fellowship on Health Systems Research, and Adjunct Physician Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation. Engel’s work focuses on trauma-informed health systems and strategies for improving the quality of primary care for chronic mental and physical health conditions. His research has covered traumatic injury and post-trauma syndromes ranging from blast injury, mild traumatic brain injury and Gulf War syndrome to PTSD and depression. Engel is experienced at mixed qualitative and quantitative methods and has led large pragmatic randomized trials, program evaluations, and implementation science studies. He has authored or coauthored nearly 200 scholarly papers, including in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the American Journal of Psychiatry. Funding for his work has come from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and other organizations. Before joining UW Psychiatry and the AIMS Center in 2021, Dr. Engel was Senior Physician Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation from 2013 to 2020 and Associate Chair (Research) at Uniformed Services University’s Department of Psychiatry from 2001-2013. Engel has served on the board of directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, has testified twice before Congress, received a number of awards, and delivered invited lectures in over 10 countries. He received both his MD and MPH from the University of Washington.

Douglas Lane

I am a clinical psychologist with board certification in geriatric psychology.  I am based in the Geriatrics and Extended Care Service of the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System.

Beatriz Carlini

I am a Research Associate Professor at the Psychiatry Department,  Addiction, Drug & Alcohol Institute where I direct the Cannabis Education and Research Program, a team (CERP) that systematically interacts with state and county agencies and community coalitions, with the purpose of supporting the adoption of evidence-base policies and interventions. I have published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, secured research funds both as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator, and have collaborated with colleagues from various U.S. universities and abroad. Besides cannabis, I have interest and research experience in tobacco control.

A little bit about my trajectory: I obtained my PhD in Social Psychology in my home country, Brazil. As a faculty in the University of Sao Paulo Preventive Medicine Department, my professional life was dedicated to research and service disparate populations, such as street kids and substance-using youth. As an academic of a developing nation, I had the honor to collaborate internationally and serve in various World Health Organization working groups and committees.

After moving to the United States in 2000, I obtained a Master of Public Health at UW, with an emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences. This second degree provided me with the skills and the contextual perspective to successfully transition my professional focus from health care disparities in developing nations to the inequities experienced by historically marginalized communities living in the richest and most powerful country on Earth, the U.S. As a dual citizen, I consider inequity, racism, discrimination and stigma as important determinants of addiction and substance use in an increased globalized world.

I prefer the pronouns she, her, hers.

Caleb Banta-Green

Dr. Banta-Green studies substance use involving opioids and stimulants and interventions to support recovery and reduce substance-related harms. He is particularly interested in developing interventions that are accessible to all people, including those who are most marginalized, such as those who are unhoused, utilizing services syringe service programs, and/or in the criminal legal system. He provides technical assistance and evaluation services for public health and safety interventions including the website http://stopoverdose.org, and information for the general public and professionals about effective treatments at http://learnabouttreatment.org. As an epidemiologist he develops innovative approaches to measuring the use and impacts of substances as well as service utilization. His health services research involves clinical trials, implementation research, and secondary data analyses. He serves on local, state, and federal workgroups and committees related to epidemiology, policy, and interventions for illicit substance-related problems. He is a member of the U.S. Health and Human Service’s Interdepartmental Substance Use Disorders Coordinating Committee.

David D. Luxton

My primary areas of research include artificial intelligence, AI/machine ethics, behavioral health technologies, telemedicine, telehealth, forensic psychology, and military and Veteran population health.  I’ve consulted widely on the topic of military and veteran health and technology in healthcare and have helped to develop national guidelines for telemental health, clinical best practices for technology-based treatments, and standards for human-AI interaction transparency.  My vision is to build, and help others to build, technologies that help promote behavioral change and that improve the lives of people.

Emily Neuhaus

Dr. Neuhaus has a broad research focus on social-emotional processes in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or inherited or de novo genetic events. Dr. Neuhaus’s research is informed by a number of methodological approaches, including clinical/behavioral assessment and physiological measures such as EEG and autonomic biomarkers. Dr. Neuhaus is particularly interested in how social and emotional processes relate to brain function and development, and in how they interact with one another to influence diagnostic outcomes (e.g., phenotypes within autism) and psychiatric trajectories over the course of development. Clinically, Dr. Neuhaus specializes in diagnostic assessment of ASD.

Nadejda Bespalova

I am a perinatal and addiction psychiatrist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. My main area of interest and expertise is substance use disorders in the perinatal period as well as perinatal and reproductive psychiatry more generally. I am also passionate about doing my part to address inequities in healthcare.

Nicholas Meinhardt

I completed my adult psychiatry residency at the University of California, Davis and went on to complete my child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Seattle Children’s. My clinical work is focused on inpatient psychiatry and psychopharmacology. I have a particular interest in working with families and children in management of disruptive behavior disorders.