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Graduate Areas: Clinical

• Adult Substance Use Disorders
• Adult Psychopathology

Does Dr. Lechner plan to recruit a doctoral student for the next incoming class?

Research Interests

My program of research aims to translate findings from human laboratory studies to the development of novel, innovative, and efficacious therapeutic interventions for Substance Use Disorders. Specifically, my interests include two distinct but interrelated lines of research: (1) the influence of executive function deficits on addictive behaviors and emerging therapeutic modalities that target these deficits and (2) the bi-directional relationship between psychopathology and addiction. I recently completed a National Institutes of Health sponsored clinical trial studying the ability of cognitive training combined with neuromodulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to improve executive function deficits as they relate to addictive behaviors.  You can read more about my published research below:

https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9581501&icde=37091939&ddparam=&ddvalue=&ddsub=&cr=1&csb=default&cs=ASC&pball
 
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7ZNlyawAAAAJ&hl=en
 

Courses Taught

• Drugs and Behavior
• Introduction to Psychological Assessment
• Advanced Psychological Assessment 

Publications:

• Lechner, W.V., Sidhu, A.K., Jin, J.T., Kittaneh, A.A., Laurene, K.R., Kenne, D.K. (in press). Increases in risky drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic assessed via longitudinal cohort design: associations with racial tensions, financial distress, psychological distress, and virus-related fears. Alcohol and Alcoholism.
• Kittaneh, A.A., Sidhu, N.S., Tackett, A.P., Lechner, W.V. (in press). Effects of Negative Emotion on Abstinence Induced Change in Urge to Vape and Measures of Vaping Dependence. Substance Use and Misuse.
• Kittaneh, A.A., Patel, S., Sidhu, N.K, Lechner, W.V., Kenne, D.R. (in press) Tobacco Use Status as a Function of Transgender Identity: The mediating role of psychological distress. Tobacco Use Insights.
• Lechner, W.V., Laurene, K. R., Patel, S., Anderson, M., Grega, C., Kenne, D.R. (2020). Changes in alcohol use as a function of psychological distress and social support following COVID-19 related University closings. Addictive Behaviors. Volume 110, 106527.
• Lechner, W. V., Sidhu, N. K., Kittaneh, A. A., & Anand, A. (2019). Interventions with potential to target executive function deficits in addiction: current state of the literature. Curr Opin Psychol, 30, 24-28. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.01.017
• Lechner, W. V., Sidhu, N. K., Cioe, P. A., & Kahler, C. W. (2019). Effects of time-varying changes in tobacco and alcohol use on depressive symptoms following pharmaco-behavioral treatment for smoking and heavy drinking. Drug Alcohol Depend, 194, 173-177. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.09.030
• Heggeness, L. F., Lechner, W. V., & Ciesla, J. A. (2019). Coping via substance use, internal attribution bias, and their depressive interplay: Findings from a three-week daily diary study using a clinical sample. Addict Behav, 89, 70-77. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.09.019
• Lechner, W.V., Gunn, R.L., Minto, A., Philip, N.S., Brown, R.A., Uebelacker, L.A., Price, L.H., Abrantes, A.M. (2018). Effects of Negative Affect, Urge to Smoke, and Working Memory Performance (n-back) on Nicotine Dependence. Substance Use and Misuse.
• Lechner, W. V., Murphy, C. M., Colby, S. M., Janssen, T., Rogers, M. L., & Jackson, K. M. (2018). Cognitive risk factors of electronic and combustible cigarette use in adolescents. Addict Behav, 82, 182-188. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.03.006
• Kahler, C.W., Lechner, W.V., MacGlashan, J., Wray, T.B., & Littman, M.L. (2017). Initial progress towards development of a voice-based computer delivered motivational intervention for heavy drinking college students: An experimental study. JMIR Mental Health, 28;4(2): e25. 
• Lechner, W.V., Janssen, T., Kahler, C.W., Audrain-McGovern, J., Leventhal, A.M. (2017). Bi-directional Associations of Electronic and Combustible Cigarette Use Onset Patterns with Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents. Preventive Medicine, 96:73-78.
• Lechner, W. V. Day, A.M., Leventhal, A.M., Metrik, J., Kahler, C.W. (2016). Effects of alcohol-induced working memory decline on alcohol consumption and adverse consequences of use. Psychopharmacology, 233(1), 83-88.
• Lechner, W. V., Knopik, V. S., McGeary, J. E., Spillane, N. S., Tidey, J. W., McKee, S. A., Kahler, C. W. (2016). Influence of the A118G Polymorphism of the OPRM1 Gene and Exon 3 VNTR Polymorphism of the DRD4 Gene on Cigarette Craving After Alcohol Administration. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 18(5), 632-636.