Research Interests:
Dr. Drobes' research program encompasses a broad perspective toward addictive behaviors, with a primary focus on nicotine/tobacco dependence, alcohol abuse and dependence, and interactions between tobacco and alcohol. As a member of the Tobacco Research & Intervention Program, he uses various human laboratory experimental paradigms to examine genetic and environmental influences on tobacco and alcohol use. His current work is focused on craving among smokers and alcoholics, and on attempts to manipulate craving and other aspects of drug use motivation among smokers. By using brief interventions to address the cognitive underpinnings of addiction, Dr. Drobes and his collaborators/students are attempting to determine whether acute changes in motivation to quit smoking are associated with corresponding changes in reactivity to smoking-related cues and reductions in smoking behavior. A long-term goal of this work is to improve upon the efficacy and dissemination of existing clinical treatments for tobacco addiction and other forms of drug addiction.
Other areas of interest include behavioral genetic markers of risk for tobacco addiction, the understanding and measurement of tobacco 'craving,' and the relationship between alcohol-related expectancies and cue reactivity. These research areas each incorporate psychophysiological, subjective, and behavioral/cognitive indices. Research in Dr. Drobes' laboratory has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute of Mental Health.
Clinical Interests:
smoking cessation, addiction treatment