My research focuses on how genetic and environmental influences contribute to the development of patterns of substance use and related behaviors, such as child behavioral and emotional challenges, and how we can use that information to inform prevention and intervention. My work integrates developmental and clinical psychology, behavior genetics/twin studies, and statistical genetics/gene identification. I am particularly interested in impulsivity and behavioral/emotional regulation.

Dr. Bauer’s research interests include understanding and addressing health disparities that burden Black/African American and other minoritized populations, particularly using community-based participatory research strategies. Her work focuses on three main outcomes: (1) Improving health and well-being for people in diverse and minoritized communities, particularly in the mental health conditions that impact them most (e.g., trauma, substance use), (2) Understanding and addressing social determinants of health that contribute to, or maintain, those disparities, and (3) Improving available treatments for mental health conditions, so that all people have access to treatment that recognizes and values their identities and experiences.

My research focuses on adolescent and young adult substance use: assessment and diagnosis, clinical course, prevention and early intervention. Current projects evaluate the use of mobile technology for substance use assessment and intervention. Another line of research examines social determinants of health and racial/ethnic disparities in substance use risk across multiple levels of analysis (e.g., individual, interpersonal, neighborhood) in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study, a large longitudinal national sample of youth to inform prevention efforts and advance health equity.

My research focuses on developing and evaluating novel interventions for substance use and other health behaviors. I am currently conducting research on a mindfulness-based intervention for opioid use and chronic pain among people in methadone treatment, peer recovery support for opioid overdose survivors in the emergency department, and an intervention to link people impacted by opioid use to employment. I also oversee a program to educate the public on the opioid overdose and distribute naloxone to professionals and community members across the state. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the state of New Jersey, and Arnold Ventures have funded my research.

Our lab examines the neural basis of substance use and eating disorders, as well as a range of related sequelae (e.g. anxiety, depression, sleep dysregulation). We take a mechanistic approach to these questions, combining animal behavioral models with modern neuroscience techniques. We also have a strong interest in drug-development, and thus place a specific emphasis on carrying out discovery research that can directly guide and inform clinical outcomes. Most of our current work focuses on the hypothalamic orexin/hypocretin system, which we believe holds significant promise as a target for new medications to manage substance use disorder and food overconsumption.

My research is focused on the etiology of problem gambling across gambling subtypes and the prevalence of and incidence of gambling disorder and other comorbid addictions. My work also includes designing effective screening tools and treatments to address problem gambling, as well as conducting analyses of big-data from online gambling and sports wagering environments to identifying trends with implications for harm reduction and responsible gambling. Finally, a key component of my work is to drive public policy innovations by translating knowledge from my empirical and theoretical findings to enhance the lives of those suffering from addictions and their families.

Currently, there are no effective therapies for cocaine addiction, which directly affects over two million people in the United States alone. This reality is the driving force for our research program. The major hurdle for abstaining from abuse of cocaine is intense drug craving, which can be triggered months and even years following the cessation of drug use. The most widely accepted model of craving in animals involves self-administration followed by extinction and the subsequent reinstatement of drug seeking. Using this animal model, our research team pursues a strategy to identify novel neurobiological adaptations produced by cocaine and then uses this information to formulate potential cocaine addiction therapies.