2011-2012 Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology Lab Research Team
Front Row (L-R): Megan Parrish, Cara Murphy, Shannen Malutinok, Bennie Diamond, Jessica Lindblad, Kelly Hosch, Melanie Nembhard,
Brittany Faircloth, Ashley Blackburn, and Alexander Speer. Back Row (L-R): Monika Stojek, Lauren Few, John Acker, Josh Gray,
Dr. James MacKillop, Michael Amlung, Jared Bollinger, Griffin Sheats, Obioma Ekeledo, and Alex Rothbaum.

Director and Principal Investigator

James MacKillop, Ph.D.


Dr. MacKillop completed a BA in psychology and philosophy at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. After a brief hiatus, he returned to SUNY-Binghamton and completed MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology, completing the predoctoral clinical internship at the Brown University Clinical Psychology Consortium. He then stayed at Brown to complete a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies and was a member of the core faculty of the Center from 2006-2008. Most recently, he joined UGA's Department of Psychology, where he directs the Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology Laboratory. Dr. MacKillop conducts research using behavioral economics and other learning-based approaches to improve the understanding and treatment of addictive behavior. He is a member of the clinical area of the Psychology Department and is currently accepting new PhD students; interested individuals should contact him at jmackill@uga.edu.

Curriculum Vita (PDF)

Shannen Malutinok, M.S.W., M.P.H.


Shannen graduated from the University of Georgia in 2003 with a degree in Consumer Journalism. Shannen then completed her Master's of Social Work and Master's of Public Health at Tulane University. While at Tulane, Shannen focused on clinical therapy for treating mental health disorders as well as health promotion for women and children. Since graduating from Tulane Shannen has had a variety of experience providing clinical and community services in the areas of adoption, disaster relief, and healthcare. In 2009 she became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Shannen has always had a strong interest in research and is excited to collaborate her clinical and research skills as the Research Coordinator of the ECP lab.

John Acker, B.A.; Graduate Student / Project Coordinator

Email: ajohn10@uga.edu

John received his BA in psychology from Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY in 2008. He is currently a 2nd-year graduate student in the clinical psychology program at UGA. As a graduate research assistant in the ECPL, he currently contributes to studies focusing on: 1) informing public policy on cigarette taxation policies via behavioral economics, and, 2) the neuroeconomics of heavy alcohol use. His research interests include cognitive factors involved in addiction, specifically, the role of attentional processes, in addition to the multidimensional assessment of impulsivity in relation to substance use. 

View John's Curriculum Vita (PDF)





Michael Amlung, M.S.; Graduate Student / Project Coordinator

Email: mamlung@uga.edu
Website: http://mamlung.myweb.uga.edu/

Michael holds a B.S. in cognitive science from Indiana University and a M.S. in psychology from UGA. He is a 5th year Ph.D. student in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program. His primary interests intersect cognitive and clinical neuroscience. His current work uses a multimodal approach combining neuroimaging and behavioral techniques to investigate alcohol use disorders. He is especially interested in using behavioral economics paradigms to explore factors that predispose individuals to the development of substance abuse, especially in college samples. Michael has served as project coordinator on several projects in the lab, including laboratory studies investigating the effects of alcohol cue exposure on behavioral economic measures of craving for alcohol and studies using fMRI to investigate the neural substrates of alcohol and tobacco craving, delay discounting, and cue reactivity. Michael is currently conducting his dissertation project that is examining the effects of acute psychocial stress and exposure to alcohol cues on measures of impulsivity and relative reinforcing value of alcohol. Michael is also actively involved with mentoring undergraduate research assistants in the lab.

View Michael's Curriculum Vita (PDF)




Lauren Few, M.S.; Graduate Student / Project Coordinator


Lauren Few completed a BS in psychology at Furman University in Greenville, SC. She is currently a 4th year student in the Clinical Psychology program at UGA and recently completed her MS thesis examining the reliability and validity of a brief, clinician-rated measure of the Five-Factor-Model of personality. Her research primarily involves investigating relations between personality (i.e., general and pathological personality models) and externalizing behavior, including substance use, aggression, and pathological gambling. She also studies personality disorders and psychopathy.

View Lauren's Curriculum Vita (PDF)





Josh Gray, B.A. ; Graduate Student

Email: jgray4@uga.edu

Josh joined the lab as a graduate research assistant in fall 2011. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland and is currently a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Program at UGA. His primary interests are in psychopharmacology and addictions. He is interested in examining the neurological, behavioral, and genetic underpinnings of alcohol and drug addictions in order to improve treatment methods.






Cara Murphy, B.S. ; Graduate Student / Project Coordinator

Email: murphyc@uga.edu

Cara Murphy completed a BS in psychology and Spanish at Union College in Schenectady, New York. While at Union College, she researched the possible neuropsychological effects of alcohol use in college students with special attention on the impact of binge drinking and the possible moderating effects of personality, specifically, self-monitoring. Following her commencement, she conducted research at Harvard Medical School looking at schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder with a particular emphasis on predictors of progression using neuropsychological, electrophysiological, and magnetic resonance imaging studies. Cara now joins the Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology Laboratory as a first-year doctoral student in clinical psychology. Her research interests lie primarily in the study of voluntary behaviors associated with addiction, particularly, choice and motivation to use alcohol and substances when compared with the opportunity costs.






Courtney Brown, B.A. ; Graduate Student


Courtney worked in the lab as a graduate research assistant in from 2009-2011. Although Courtney is no longer working in the lab on a daily basis, she continues to be an active collaborator on several projects in the lab. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from Tufts University and is currently a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Program at UGA. Her research interests include studying language processes using neuroimaging methodology. She is interested in components of verbal memory, and verbal memory detriments within older adults.






Monika Stojek, B.S. ; Graduate Student


Monika joined the lab as a graduate research assistant in fall 2009. She earned a B.S. in Psychology from Kennesaw State University and is currently a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology Program at UGA. Her research interests lie primarily in the area of eating disorders. She is interested in comorbidity of bulimia nervosa with other forms of psychopathology, including personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders as well as binge drinking among young women.



Research Staff

Jared Bollinger; Senior Research Assistant

Ashley Blackburn; Senior Research Assistant

Bennie Diamond; Research Assistant

Obioma Ekeledo; Research Assistant

Brittany Faircloth; Senior Research Assistant

Kelly Hosch; Research Assistant

Jessica Lindblad; Research Assistant

Melanie Nembhard; Senior Research Assistant

Megan Parrish; Research Assistant

Alex Rothbaum; Senior Research Assistant

Griffin Sheats; Senior Research Assistant

Alexander Speer; Research Assistant