Collins Appointed SUNY Distinguished Professor

SPHHP Associate Dean for Research R. Lorraine Collins, PhD, been appointed to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor, the highest faculty achievement in the SUNY system. She is also a professor in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior. The honor recognizes her innovative research, teaching and extraordinary community service. It also spotlights her international prominence in her field.

Collins is a nationally and internationally renowned expert in the study of addictive behaviors. Since the 1980s, she has contributed foundational research on cognitive and behavioral approaches to the conceptualization, prevention and treatment of addictive behaviors. She is particularly interested in alcohol and cannabis use, especially in emerging and young adults, as well as factors like gender and socioeconomic status in substance use. Collins also pioneered the use of technology for assessment and intervention.

In 2016, Collins was named to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine ad hoc committee that reviewed the health effects of cannabis. In 2018, she was appointed to a working group created by then-Governor Andrew M. Cuomo that was tasked with drafting legislation to regulate the adult use of cannabis in New York State. The resulting legislation was signed into law in March 2021.

A fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Society of Addictions Psychology (Division 50) and prolific scholar, Collins has received funding from the National Institutes of Health for nearly 30 years. She has published peer-reviewed articles in such respected journals as Addiction, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, and Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.

From 2000 to 2019, Collins served as co-director of the postdoctoral training program in UB’s Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions—the longest-running T32 at UB. She was integral to securing the grant and its continued funding. In 2021, she received UB’s Distinguished Postdoc Mentor Award.