About

Dr. Richard A. Brown received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Oregon in 1981, following completion of internship in clinical psychology at Brown Medical School. He held a faculty position at the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University, prior to returning to Brown University. During the 25 years prior to moving to UT Austin, he was in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, for most of that time as Full Professor and Director of Addictions Research at Butler Hospital. Dr. Brown has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a Principal Investigator since 1992, having received 18 NIH- and 2 American Cancer Society-funded grants totaling $24 million, including funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health. He has also served as Co-PI or Co-Investigator on 24 NIH-funded grants, totaling another $35 million. Dr. Brown has published over 180 scientific journal articles, books, and book chapters. His research has focused on health behavior change, including the development of efficacious tobacco cessation treatments, specialized treatments for smokers with psychiatric and substance use disorders, and interventions for smokers living with HIV. His work also includes the efficacy of aerobic exercise in treating tobacco and other substance dependence and obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as approaches to adult and adolescent alcohol and drug abuse. Guided by social learning theory, primary modalities utilized in his work include cognitive-behavioral treatment, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment therapy. Currently, he is involved in developing digital and technology-based interventions incorporating these modalities.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Genetics
• Neuroscience
• Computational biology
• Evolutionary biology

Selected publications

• Isradipine Enhancement of Virtual Reality Cue Exposure Therapy is Effective for Individuals with Higher Baseline Cue-Induced Craving

  2025-05-19

  preprintOpen access

  Background: Evidence based treatments for smoking cessation have high relapse rates. Targeting cue-induced craving, a strong predictor of relapse, may be critical to promoting sustained abstinence. We previously found that isradipine, an FDA-approved antihypertensive, enhanced the effect of virtual reality cue exposure therapy (VR-CET) on cue-induced craving. In this secondary analysis we tested whether this augmentation strategy was more beneficial for participants with high (relative to low) baseline cue-induced craving.Methods: After a 24-h abstinence challenge, participants (N = 78) completed a single session of VR-CET with isradipine or placebo, and returned for a 24-h follow-up to repeat the procedure in a medication-free state. We conducted a moderator analysis to test the hypothesis that the effect of isradipine on cue-induced craving at follow-up would be larger among participants with higher (relative to lower) baseline cue reactivity.Results: In the model of cue-induced craving at follow-up, the Group × Baseline Cue Reactivity interaction was significant, p = .045. Among participants with higher baseline cue-induced craving, isradipine resulted in a large, significant reduction in mean craving across the 10 trials (M difference = -18.17, 95% CI [−31.38, −4.95], p = .01, d = -1.46). Among participants with lower baseline cue-induced craving were not significantly different across groups (M difference = 1.38, 95% CI [−12.98, 15.75], p = .85, d = 0.11). Conclusions: Results suggest isradipine enhances VR-CET, particularly for individuals with higher baseline levels of cue-induced craving. Future studies testing relapse-prevention strategies that target higher cue-induced craving with isradipine are warranted.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impacto — A single-arm open-label pilot trial of a digital-based integrated smoking cessation program for Spanish-speaking Hispanic individuals who smoke: Development, feasibility, engagement, and clinical outcomes

  Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment · 2025-01-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Brief computer MI to motivate sustained tobacco cessation following psychiatric hospital discharge: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

  Contemporary Clinical Trials · 2025-02-10

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Isradipine enhancement of virtual reality cue exposure therapy is effective for individuals with higher baseline cue-induced craving

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports · 2025-09-05

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Evidence based treatments for smoking cessation have high recurrence rates. Targeting cue-induced craving, a strong predictor of smoking recurrence, may be critical to promoting sustained abstinence. We previously found that isradipine, an FDA-approved antihypertensive, enhanced the effect of virtual reality cue exposure therapy (VR-CET) on cue-induced craving. In this secondary analysis we tested whether this augmentation strategy was more beneficial for participants with high (relative to low) baseline cue-induced craving. Methods: After a 24-h abstinence challenge, participants (N = 78) completed a single session of VR-CET with isradipine or placebo, and returned for a 24-h follow-up to repeat the procedure in a medication-free state. We conducted a moderator analysis to test the hypothesis that the effect of isradipine on cue-induced craving at follow-up would be larger among participants with higher (relative to lower) baseline cue-reactivity. Results: = 0.11). Conclusions: Results suggest isradipine enhances VR-CET, particularly for individuals with higher baseline levels of cue-induced craving. Future studies testing prevention strategies that target higher cue-induced craving with isradipine to reduce rates of smoking recurrence are warranted.

  PublisherDOI

• LATINX INDIVIDUALS WHO SMOKE DAILY WITH AND WITHOUT A PROBABLE ANXIETY DISORDER: DIFFERENCES IN SMOKING BEHAVIOR AND BELIEFS ABOUT ABSTINENCE

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2024-07-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• A Power-Centric Digitally-Managed 48V Distribution Technology

  2024-08-05

  article

  Technologies such as USB and Ethernet can be used to power devices in buildings, but have burdens of cost and energy efficiency that make them unsuitable as a primary means of distributing power to most loads in buildings. This paper describes a proposed standard for 48V DC power distribution in buildings suitable for powering most loads in residential and commercial buildings. It includes both general data communication as well as communication for managing the distribution of power. The maximum power is targeted at 1000 W with options for low- and high-power circuits to minimize costs.<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup><sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup>This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

  PublisherDOI

• Approach Bias and Tobacco Craving as Mechanisms of the Effect of Approach Bias Retraining on Smoking Cessation

  Nicotine & Tobacco Research · 2024-09-11 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  INTRODUCTION: Approach bias, the automatic tendency to advance toward, rather than move away from appetitive cues, has been associated with greater tobacco cravings, dependence, and likelihood of smoking relapse. Approach bias retraining (ABR) has emerged as one way to reduce approach bias and promote avoidance of smoking cues. Yet, additional research is needed to identify the mechanisms that may help explain the effect of ABR on smoking cessation. AIMS AND METHODS: The current study uses data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial to test two unique mechanisms of action ([1] approach bias and [2] tobacco craving) for the efficacy of standard smoking cessation treatment (ST) augmented by ABR on smoking abstinence. Participants were 96 adult daily smokers (Mage = 43.1, SD = 10.7) motivated to quit smoking. RESULTS: Results showed that lower approach bias and lower cravings at a treatment session were significantly related to the next session smoking abstinence (p's < .018). Furthermore, deviations in approach bias partially mediated the effect of ABR on smoking abstinence (ab = -12.17, 95% CI: [-29.67, -0.53]). However, deviations in tobacco craving did not mediate this relation (ab = .40, 95% CI: [-0.27, 1.34]). CONCLUSIONS: The current findings add to the extant literature by identifying approach bias as a mechanism of action of the effect of ABR on smoking abstinence during smoking cessation treatment. IMPLICATIONS: The current study adds to the best of our knowledge on the effectiveness of ABR as a part of smoking cessation treatment. Results indicate that reductions in approach bias partially mediate the effect of ABR on smoking abstinence. These findings are consistent with previous research on alcohol-dependent adults and underline the potential of ABR to reduce approach bias and promote smoking cessation among smokers. Such findings could inform the development of future research exploring more targeted and effective smoking cessation interventions, ultimately improving outcomes for individuals attempting to quit smoking.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Efficacy and implementation of exercise-based smoking cessation treatment for adults with high anxiety sensitivity (STEP): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

  Contemporary Clinical Trials · 2024-04-03

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 702 Spatial transcriptomics identifies distinct subregions within a cutaneous neurofibroma

  Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 2024

  • Computer Science
  • Biology
  • Computational biology
  DOI

• Transdiagnostic Risk Factors for Reasons for Smoking: Evaluating the Concurrent Role of Distress Tolerance and Anxiety Sensitivity

  International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · 2024-10-31 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Herbert Y. Meltzer

  Northwestern University

  25 shared

• Jacob Abraham

  Hope Heart Institute

  25 shared

• Seth P. Lerner

  Baylor College of Medicine

  25 shared

• Shahrokh F. Shariat

  Medical University of Vienna

  25 shared

• Thomas M. Wheeler

  Kansas State University

  21 shared

• Inder M. Saxena

  The University of Texas at Austin

  19 shared

• Tetsuo Kondo

  Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

  19 shared

• Robert R. Byrne

  San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium

  17 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

  University of Oregon

  1981

• M.A., Clinical Psychology

  University of Maryland Baltimore County

  1977

• B.A., Psychology

  University of Maryland

  1972

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the Society for Behavioral Medicine
• Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco