Faculty and Staff
Bedford VA/UMass Team Members
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David Smelson, PsyD, is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the UMass Chan Medical School and Research Psychologist at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. Dr. Smelson's work has focused on the treatment of substance abuse and co-occurring mental health and substance abuse in military populations. His research has been funded for 19 years through the National Institute of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration. Dr. Smelson developed an integrated treatment approach called Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking (MISSION) to address co-occurring mental health and substance abuse problems. Dr. Smelson has worked closely with the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services, the Massachusetts National Guard, and the SAVE program to develop and provide a range of services to service members and veterans. |
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Elizabeth E. Epstein, PhD, is Professor of Psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School, and Director, UMass National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. Dr. Epstein is also Professor Emerita, Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University. She is Principal Investigator and/or co-investigator on several research grants funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Epstein also sees patients privately and also is a Master Trainer and Clinical Training consultant for the Veteran Affairs program to implement evidence based treatments for substance use disorders in the VA system. Dr. Epstein is author of Addictions: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Clinicians (Oxford University Press) and two treatment manuals and patient workbooks. |
David Alec Wierzbicki, BA - Clinical Research Assistant, UMass Dept of Psychiatry
Kat Bruzious, MS - Research Coordinator I