Lab Director
Michael Amlung, Ph.D.
Director, Addictions Lab @ KU
Associate Professor, Department of Applied Behavioral Science
Associate Director for Training, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment
University of Kansas
Email: mamlung@ku.edu
Twitter @MAmlung - @AddictionsLabKU
Pronouns: He/Him/His
You are encouraged to share your preferred pronouns in communications with Dr. Amlung
Dr. Amlung completed his PhD in psychology with a concentration in behavioral and brain sciences from the University of Georgia. He then completed a NIAAA-funded (T32) postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Missouri. In 2015, he began his academic career at as an Assistant Professor (promoted to Associate Professor in 2020) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. He was Director of the Behavioural Sciences Core of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research and a faculty scientist in the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. In the summer of 2020, Dr. Amlung moved to the University of Kansas where he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and Associate Director for Training of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment.
Dr. Amlung's research program examines the behavioral and neurobiological basis of addictive disorders and related mental health disorders, with an emphasis on understanding pathological decision-making and motivation for addictive substances. His research uses a variety of techniques including testing studies in simulated bar laboratories, functional and structural brain imaging, and non-invasive brain stimulation. His work also uses behavioral economic methods to inform public policy around cannabis legalization.
Visit Dr. Amlung's KU Applied Behavioral Science Faculty Profile to learn more about his research interests, mentorship/teaching activities, and service roles.
Graduate Students
Vanessa Morris, B.A.
Vanessa Morris, B.A.
Vanessa Morris, B.A.
Vanessa is a doctoral candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at McMaster University (supervised by Dr. Amlung). She is currently working on her PhD examining differences in intracortical myelin via MRI between those with substance use disorders and healthy controls. She is also conducting studies examining resting state functiona
Vanessa is a doctoral candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at McMaster University (supervised by Dr. Amlung). She is currently working on her PhD examining differences in intracortical myelin via MRI between those with substance use disorders and healthy controls. She is also conducting studies examining resting state functional connectivity, cortical thickness, and other brain correlates in people who use alcohol and other substances. Vanessa is the project coordinator for the lab's NIAAA-funded intracortical myelin R21 project. Vanessa plans to defend her dissertation during spring 2021.
Herry Patel, M.Sc.
Vanessa Morris, B.A.
Vanessa Morris, B.A.
Herry is a doctoral candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at McMaster University (previously supervised by Dr. Amlung). Herry's Master's Thesis research focused on studying Episodic Future Thinking and its effects on delay discounting and alcohol demand among individuals with addictive disorders. For his dissertation research, he
Herry is a doctoral candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at McMaster University (previously supervised by Dr. Amlung). Herry's Master's Thesis research focused on studying Episodic Future Thinking and its effects on delay discounting and alcohol demand among individuals with addictive disorders. For his dissertation research, he is working with Dr. Margaret McKinnon at McMaster. He is investigating the intersection between simple vs. complex trauma, dissociation, and substance use.
Undergraduate Students
Alyssa Biles
Alyssa Biles
Alyssa Biles
Alyssa Biles is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Kansas. She is double majoring in Applied Behavioral Science and Psychology. In the fall of 2021, she will start research in the Performance Management Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Florence DiGennaro Reed. Alyssa plans to attend graduate school after graduation for either Psychology or Applied Behavioral Science.
Will Davis
Alyssa Biles
Alyssa Biles
Will is currently a sophomore who is working towards a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Applied Behavioral Science. He intends to pursue a PhD in either Clinical or Counseling Psychology so that he can both research the effectiveness of psychological interventions and practice psychotherapy.
Research Staff
Emma Marsden, B.A.
Tegan Hargreaves, M.Sc.
Tegan Hargreaves, M.Sc.
Emma Marsden is a graduate student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at McMaster University (supervised by Dr. James MacKillop). Emma is the project coordinator of the our lab's RES-CUE fMRI study being conducted at McMaster. Before starting graduate school, Emma was a full-time Research Assistant in our lab where she was project coor
Emma Marsden is a graduate student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at McMaster University (supervised by Dr. James MacKillop). Emma is the project coordinator of the our lab's RES-CUE fMRI study being conducted at McMaster. Before starting graduate school, Emma was a full-time Research Assistant in our lab where she was project coordinator of multiple studies (traumatic brain injury in concurrent disorders; contingency management for smoking cessation in schizophrenia)
Tegan Hargreaves, M.Sc.
Tegan Hargreaves, M.Sc.
Tegan Hargreaves, M.Sc.
Tegan is a research assistant in the Peter Boris Centre working on RES-CUE and NEUROALC (lead by Dr. James MacKillop). She completed her MSc in neuroscience from Queen’s University in 2019 studying the neural correlates of working memory in major depressive disorder. Tegan’s main role in the Peter Boris Centre is as a neuroimager, working on both structural and functional MRI.
Collaborators
Derek D. Reed, Ph.D.
David P. Jarmolowicz, Ph.D.
David P. Jarmolowicz, Ph.D.
David P. Jarmolowicz, Ph.D.
David P. Jarmolowicz, Ph.D.
David P. Jarmolowicz, Ph.D.
Richard Yi, Ph.D.
David P. Jarmolowicz, Ph.D.
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, University of Kansas
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
James G. Murphy, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn McLachlan, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn McLachlan, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn McLachlan, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of Geulph
Visit Website
Nicholas Bock, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn McLachlan, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn McLachlan, Ph.D.
Iris Balodis, Ph.D.
Kaitlyn McLachlan, Ph.D.
Margaret McKinnon, Ph.D.
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
Margaret McKinnon, Ph.D.
Katherine Holshausen, Ph.D.
Margaret McKinnon, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
Katherine Holshausen, Ph.D.
Katherine Holshausen, Ph.D.
Katherine Holshausen, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
