Jennifer Read to lead Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions

Jennifer Read, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, has been named director of the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions (CRIA).

Read brings more than 25 years of experience in the field of addiction sciences, particularly in the intervention for harmful alcohol use, alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder, to her role as director. She assumed this role on Feb. 16 to allow for a transition period ahead of former CRIA Director Ken Leonard’s retirement.

“Dr. Read’s appointment as director of the CRIA reflects her exceptional leadership and scholarly impact in the field of addiction science,” says Jeff Grabill, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Her interdisciplinary approach and commitment to research, prevention and treatment positions CRIA to continue its legacy of excellence. Under her leadership, CRIA will also advance new strategies, such as using AI to help address pressing public health challenges.”

For more than five decades, CRIA has been an international leader in the study of addictions. It is part of a university-wide initiative that fosters a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the crisis of substance use disorders.

Leonard, a research professor of psychiatry in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, served as CRIA director since 2011.

“The University at Buffalo has long been a destination for excellence in addiction research across multiple disciplines,” Read says. “I am honored to help lead CRIA as a place where scholars, practitioners and community partners come together to deepen our understanding of addiction and transform that knowledge into meaningful progress.”

Read’s current research focus includes the intersection of trauma and substance use, and the underexplored potential of artificial intelligence and other methodological advances in understanding, identifying and treating addiction. To further this work, Read and her team have established the Center for Addiction and Artificial Intelligence Research (CAAIR) within CRIA and part of the Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development.

CAAIR will build strategic interdisciplinary partnerships between researchers, clinicians and the community to understand the potential of AI in addressing harmful alcohol and substance use, create and apply AI methods to inform prevention, intervention and treatment, and inform public policy surrounding addiction.

“CRIA is a national leader in advancing the critical work of addiction research and prevention,” says Venu Govindaraju, senior vice president for research, innovation and economic development. “We are excited that Jennifer Read will guide the center into its next chapter, integrating AI innovation into the behavioral sciences and furthering UB’s commitment to AI for good.”