Selected publications

• Editorial: Perinatal substance use and maternal mental health

  Frontiers in Psychiatry · 2026-05-11

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Integrating human and nonhuman intelligence to reduce tobacco's public–health burden

  Current Opinion in Psychiatry · 2026-05-04

  article1st authorCorresponding

  PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, while the rise of electronic nicotine products has sparked a new wave of initiation. The urgent need for scalable, multilevel tobacco-control interventions converges with the rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI). This article reviews the most recent literature on integrating machine- and human expertise to enhance tobacco-cessation strategies within a multilevel framework. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent advances in predictive analytics, large-language models (LLM), AI chatbots, and related tools create a framework to strengthen tobacco prevention. Predictive analytics merge electronic health records, behavioral surveys, genetics, and real-time sensor data to model the complex multilevel factors that influence quitting. LLMs instantly uncover informative features, revealing novel predictors that shape targeted interventions. AI-driven conversational agents deliver stage-specific counseling and medication guidance, with preliminary trials showing improved engagement and quit rates. Reinforcement learning personalizes messaging, rewards, and medication schedules to optimize outcomes, while natural-language processing of social media provides fine-grained sentiment data to assess policy impact. SUMMARY: Realizing AI's potential to reduce tobacco's public-health burden requires interdisciplinary collaboration, equity-oriented design, external validation, and strong governance. These safeguards can enable scalable, adaptable, and culturally relevant smoking-cessation interventions and facilitate timely, effective tobacco-control policies.

  PublisherDOI

• Pain and Sociodemographic Correlates of Cannabis Use Among Patients With Insomnia in the ‘All of Us’ Research Program

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2025-02-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Barriers to healthcare utilization among adults engaging in heavy drinking: Results from the All of Us research program

  Preventive Medicine · 2025-07-15

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Joint effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cannabis on neurocognition.

  Neuropsychology · 2025-07-21 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Cannabis has become increasingly accessible to populations living with chronic health conditions such as HIV. Many people living with HIV are turning to cannabis for symptom relief despite the unclear risks to neurocognitive health. Our study sought to replicate and extend prior research by examining global and domain-specific neurocognitive performance between four groups stratified by use of cannabis (CB; CB+/CB-) and HIV serostatus (HIV+/HIV-). METHOD: = 269) underwent exclusion and inclusion criteria to isolate the effects of cannabis use (CU) and HIV on neurocognition. We explored between-group comparisons of neurocognitive performance, probability of neurocognitive impairment, and interactive effects of CU/HIV serostatus. RESULTS: = -.052, 99% CI [-.07, -.03]) neurocognitive performance. Findings support a nuanced relationship between CU and HIV, which may partly explain mixed literature. CONCLUSIONS: Although we conclude that recent and heavy CU poses risk of neurocognitive decline among people living with HIVs, this effect is modest. Physicians and patients must weigh a possible decrease in global and motor neurocognition against the severity of symptoms being treated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Cannabinoids for Anxiety and Sleep Disturbances: A Scoping Review

  Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids · 2025-10-22

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Background: At least 60% of individuals with anxiety disorders report sleep disturbances, which might be explained by shared physiological mechanisms, including cortisol dysregulation and executive function skills disruption. The scientific literature regarding medical cannabis as a potential therapeutic candidate for these conditions increased about 15 times in the last 10 years. However, assessments of cannabinoid exposure, anxiety, and sleep are inconsistent across studies, and the quality of the evidence is not often assessed. Summary: We conducted a scoping review to examine the current knowledge on cannabinoid use for anxiety and sleep disturbances. We applied our search strategy to PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, LILACS, and PsycINFO. Papers were selected by duplicate using PRISMA guidelines. Quality assessment was conducted for included studies, and data extraction was performed according to our predefined protocol. Of 1,132 retrieved documents, 29 studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing randomized clinical trials, observational studies, and case series. Cannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD), showed potential efficacy in improving anxiety symptoms and sleep disturbances. However, substantial heterogeneity in study design, cannabinoid types, and dosing regimens limited generalizability. Approximately 45% of studies reported positive effects on both outcomes, yet few provided standardized dosing protocols or effect sizes. Key Messages: Cannabinoids, especially CBD, may improve anxiety and sleep disturbances, but methodological limitations and the lack of standardized dosing hinder definitive conclusions. Future research should prioritize dose-response relationships and standardized methodologies to better inform clinical practice.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AMONG PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSIONDATA FROM THE NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2025-03-29

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Unraveling the Impact of Early Adversity and Perpetration on Problematic Gambling in Young Adults: Insights from the Add Health Study

  Journal of Gambling Studies · 2025-10-13

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Characteristics of persons with varying vaccination personas: data from the CDC-funded PANDEMIC project

  Discover Public Health · 2025-06-08 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Objectives: To examine characteristics of personas related to vaccination via a multi-state survey, to better inform strategies to address vaccine hesitancy, foster trust, and promote equitable health outcomes across diverse communities. Methods: Through a CDC-funded initiative, the University of Florida coordinated and participated with eight partner institutions to increase vaccination uptake and address vaccination hesitancy through trust-building. PANDEMIC (Program to Alleviate National Disparities in Ethnic and Minority Immunizations in the Community) developed an anonymous Survey of Perceptions (SoP), which assessed community perspectives on vaccination. Associations examined persona and gender, state where the interview was conducted, rurality, race/ethnicity, COVID-19 vaccination status, and trusted sources of vaccination information. Results: From September 18, 2023, to October 3, 2024, over 5,500 participants were surveyed through the SoP to assess general viewpoints on vaccination, with five personas characterized: Enthusiast (58.6%), Watchful (21.0%), Cost-Anxious (10.0%), Skeptic (6.2%), and System Distruster (4.2%). Group comparisons were made using the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test for continuous variables, and Chi-square tests for categorical variables to assess associations between demographic characteristics and vaccination personas. Conclusions: Understanding vaccination personas and their predictors may provide a framework for designing targeted public health interventions. By addressing the distinct concerns and motivations of each persona, public health strategies promote equitable health outcomes and increase vaccine uptake across diverse populations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Perceived Racism, Brain Development, and Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms: Findings From the ABCD Study

  Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · 2025-04-11 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI