Rachel L. Gunn, PhD

Bio

Rachel Gunn, PhD, is a researcher and clinician with expertise in alcohol and substance use research. 

Dr. Gunn leads a collaborative clinical research program focused on alcohol and other substance use disorders. She was recently awarded an independent research grant (R01) from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for her project, “Prospective Study of Alcohol and Cannabis Use Across Perinatal Transitions.” She also has an R01 award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for her project, “Effect of Cannabis Use on Alcohol Craving and Consumption among those in Alcohol Treatment.”

Dr. Gunn’s research interests include alcohol and cannabis use and co-use, including the individual, cognitive, and contextual factors that influence substance use and its consequences. Her work incorporates innovative approaches such as ecological momentary assessment and wearable alcohol biosensors to examine substance use in real-world settings, and her growing research portfolio also addresses perinatal cannabis use and associated mental health outcomes. She has published extensively in the addiction field and has led multiple federally funded studies.

Beyond her research, Dr. Gunn provides adult psychology services at Goodman Hall Adult Psychiatry Clinic. She will also contribute to the department’s educational mission, integrating her expertise in addiction science with the development of the next generation of clinicians and investigators.

Dr. Gunn earned her PhD in Clinical Science from Indiana University Bloomington, completed her clinical psychology residency through the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and completed an NIAAA-funded postdoctoral research fellowship at Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Prior to joining IU, Dr. Gunn was an Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University.