Dr. Leslie Brick, Psychology

Name:

Dr. Leslie Brick

Title:

Associate Professor

Department:

Psychology

Describe your research in about 200 words.

The overarching goal of my program of research is to better understand the co-occurrence and co-morbidity of substance use and symptoms trauma exposure, stress, and adversity. I am particularly interested in mechanisms of biological risk, behavior, and environment and my work incorporates multi-method approaches for assessment, including ambulatory and lab-based procedures. Given the role of the endogenous cannabinoid system in the stress response, a growing area of my work is focused specifically on understanding the effects of cannabis use in the context of stress and trauma. I am contact PI of a NIDA-funded study that utilizes ecological methods (phone, smartwatch) and physiology (including lab-based and ambulatory physiology) to prospectively examine the impact of trauma exposure on cannabis use and post-traumatic stress disorder among young adults following discharge from the emergency department. In addition, a substantial portion of my work has focused on applying statistical methods to analyze data obtained via intensive longitudinal measurement (i.e., biosensors, smartwatch). The unique nature of this data often warrants nuanced statistical methods that account for the dependency of repeated measures and multiple sources of variance (e.g., within person and between persons). As a behavioral scientist and quantitative methodologist with an interdisciplinary and collaborative spirit, I strive to engage in work that is clinically meaningful as a means to inform guidance, intervention, and treatment for those affected by trauma and addiction.

What’s the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?

I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing students with refreshing perspectives on work-life balance that have motivated me to do better!