Lab Director
Michael Amlung, Ph.D.
Director, KU Behavioral Economics & Addictions Neuroscience Laboratory
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
Pronouns: He/Him
You are encouraged to share your 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.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Sarah Weinsztok, Ph.D.
Sarah Weinsztok (she/her) completed her Ph.D. in psychology with a concentration in behavior analysis from the University of Florida in 2021. Following the completion of her doctoral degree, Dr. Weinsztok moved to Lawrence, KS where she began her appointment as a postdoctoral researcher with the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research
Sarah Weinsztok (she/her) completed her Ph.D. in psychology with a concentration in behavior analysis from the University of Florida in 2021. Following the completion of her doctoral degree, Dr. Weinsztok moved to Lawrence, KS where she began her appointment as a postdoctoral researcher with the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment and the KU Lifespan Institute. Dr. Weinsztok’s work explores the effect of alternative commodity availability on substance use and its utility as a component in the assessment and treatment of alcohol use disorder. She was recently awarded the Frontiers TL1 training grant through the University of Kansas Medical Center to advance her research in these areas.
Graduate Students
Brandon Miller, M.S., M.A.
Brandon Miller, M.S., M.A.
Brandon Miller, M.S., M.A.
Brandon is a graduate student in the Applied Behavioral Science doctoral program at the University of Kansas. He recently successfully defended his thesis, which focused on context and cue effects on cannabis demand. Prior to KU, he earned his Master's in Clinical Behavioral Psychology at Eastern Michigan University and conducted neuropsy
Brandon is a graduate student in the Applied Behavioral Science doctoral program at the University of Kansas. He recently successfully defended his thesis, which focused on context and cue effects on cannabis demand. Prior to KU, he earned his Master's in Clinical Behavioral Psychology at Eastern Michigan University and conducted neuropsychological assessments on individuals with cognitive loss at an outpatient clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
His current research focuses on common behavioral processes and contextual factors that influence drug consumption. Brandon's research uses behavioral economics and behavior analysis to examine manipulatable factors that alter preference for drugs. The goal of his research is to inform interventions for substance use disorders by identifying environmental factors that reliably predict and control drug use.
Kianna Csolle, M.A.
Brandon Miller, M.S., M.A.
Brandon Miller, M.S., M.A.
Kianna is a graduate student in the Applied Behavioral Science doctoral program at the University of Kansas. She received her M.A. in Applied Behavioral Science from KU under the mentorship of Dr. Robin Kuhn. She joined the BEAN Laboratory in fall 2023 to complete her doctoral training.
Undergraduate Students
Anna Lester
Christina Chen
Christina Chen
Anna is an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas. She is completing a research practicum course in the lab during the Fall 2023 semester.
Christina Chen
Christina Chen
Christina Chen
Christina is an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas. She is completing a research practicum course in the lab during the Fall 2023 semester.
Collaborators
Derek D. Reed, Ph.D.
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc.
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
James MacKillop, 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.
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Elizabeth A. Aston, Ph.D.
Lawrence H. Sweet, Ph.D.
Elizabeth A. Aston, Ph.D.
Elizabeth A. Aston, Ph.D.
Elizabeth A. Aston, Ph.D.
Laura E. Martin, Ph.D
Elizabeth A. Aston, Ph.D.
Elizabeth A. Aston, Ph.D.
Population Health, Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center, KU Medical Center