Meet the Team

Dustin C. Lee, PhD 

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Dr. Lee received undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Philosophy in 2005 from the University of New Mexico, followed by a two-year research training award in the Nicotine Psychopharmacology Research Section at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore. Dr. Lee completed his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology in 2013 at the University of Kentucky, followed by postdoctoral training focused on development of behavioral interventions for cannabis and tobacco use in the Department of Psychiatry at Dartmouth College from 2013 to 2016. Dr. Lee is currently an Assistant Professor in the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Dr. Lee’s research experience and interests involve use of laboratory and clinical approaches to identify risk factors that contribute to the progression and maintenance of problematic cannabis and tobacco use, and applying insights gained from that work to develop targeted prevention and treatment interventions. 

Justin Strickland, PhD 

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Dr. Justin Strickland is an Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. His research focuses on the use of behavioral economics as a theoretical framework to address issues of public health significance to include substance use and sexual health. This work applies a translational pipeline of preclinical animal research, human laboratory assessment, and clinical trials to evaluate choice and decision-making processes at the intersection of the self (e.g., genetic predisposition, reinforcement history) and setting (e.g., environmental cues, alternative reinforcers). Examples of recent research include the interaction of expectancy and nicotine dose manipulations on cigarette abuse liability and role of behavioral economic decision-making in social context driven heavy alcohol use. Dr, Strickland is also interested in the behavioral mechanisms underlying psychedelic drug effects and treatment efficacy. 

Zachary Pierce-Messick, PhD 

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Dr. Pierce-Messick is a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He obtained his Master’s degree in Psychology from Wake Forest University and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. His research interests include using insights from learning theory to study the development of habitual behaviors and addiction.  

Lauren Brogdon, MHS  

Senior Research Program Coordinator 

Lauren Brogdon, MHS joined the BPRU in 2015 and is a Senior Research Program Coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Unit. The primary research studies that she supports investigate the effects of cannabis on smoking decisions and the effects of CBD on stress. Lauren earned a B.A. in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College and a B.S. in Psychology from Towson University. She also received a Master of Health Science from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health from the Mental Health Department. Lauren has previously worked at the Neurobehavioral Inpatient Unit at Kennedy Krieger Institute and at the Wendy Klag Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

Jess Harbaugh

Senior Research Program Coordinator 

Jess joined the BPRU in November 2021. They earned a B.A. in Psychology at Salisbury University where Jess was able to assist in research centered around community impact, interpersonal relationships, as well as identity development in transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) children and parents. Their undergraduate thesis examined behavioral trends of young adults’ actions and identities in relation to video games from a social-behavioral studies perspective. Jess is currently working on multiple studies within the Licit Lab, Maryland Opioid Research Lab, and Cannabis Science Lab. Each study is analyzing the behavioral economic behaviors of opioid users, cannabis users, and nicotine smokers. 

Stacey Perry

Stacey Perry joined the LICIT lab in August 2022 and is currently working on an electronic cigarette study. She has been employed with JHU since November 1997, doing various studies involving Non-Human Primates and Rodents. Prior to coming to Hopkins, she was a Veterinary Technician at a local animal emergency clinic and was first hired at JHU as a Veterinary Technician working on the downtown campus.  She is also a Grief Coach and has a Podcast that touches on all stages of Grief. She enjoys hiking, animals, and traveling in her free time. 

Research Specialist

Towanda Carr  

Towanda Carr joined the LICIT group as a Research Program Coordinator in June 2022. She graduated from Baltimore City Community College with an A.A.S in Biotechnology in 2019 and Towson University in May 2021 with a B.S. in Animal Behavior with a minor in Biology. Her current research is focused on evaluating withdrawal symptoms from electronic cigarettes. Towanda is interested in the correlation between adverse childhood events(ACE’s) and the development of physical and mental health disorders, she plans to pursue a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, to explore this. In her free time, Towanda enjoys singing, working with dogs, comedy shows and traveling. 

Research Program Coordinator  

Email: tcarr17@jhmi.edu  

Raina Runk  

Raina joined the Licit lab as a Research Program Coordinator in July 2024 after receiving a BA in Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies from Denison University. During her time at Denison, she was involved in several research projects investigating gender and race discrimination in the workplace, as well as mental health among college students. Currently, she is working on studies within the Licit Lab, Maryland Opioid Research Lab, and Cannabis Science Lab. These studies use a behavioral economics framework to examine how substance use patterns are driven by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors that inform decision-making processes. She is particularly interested in exploring how social context and stigma influence substance use patterns, the discourse surrounding them, and treatment outcomes. 

Research Program Coordinator  

Email: rrunk1@jh.edu 

Allison Gale  

Allison Gale joined the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit in 2023 as an undergraduate Student Intern. Allison is currently completing her B.S. in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, with a double major in Psychology. She has previously been involved in research studies investigating the neurodevelopmental mechanisms of Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome and the impact of low-nicotine content cigarettes on smoking behavior in vulnerable populations. Her current research is focused on patterns within co-use of cannabis and caffeine, the effects of CBD on smoking cessation, the effects of CBD on stress, and the effects of cannabis use on smoking behavior. 

Intern 

Email: agale6@jhu.edu 

Research Facilitators

David Wolinksy, MD

Yvette Rogers, PA-C

Robin Clay, RN

Leeza Wagner, PharmD

Sade Brace, CPhT

Krista Schaefer, CPhT

Jimler Asis, LPN

Pilar Dutton, LPN

Lab Alumni

Maxine Stitzer, PhD

Annie Umbricht, MD

Jasmyne Jardot

Janaya Brown 

Kristen Starks 

Breanna Labos, MSc 

Thomas Dudley

Sara Douglas

Daniella Hudgins

Rebecca Schiltzer

Jessica Smith

Study Participants Needed!