Cassie Boness, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
Director, Boness Addictions Lab
Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA)
Cassie Boness, Ph.D. (she/they), is a licensed clinical psychologist and addiction scientist. She completed her graduate training at the University of Missouri and her clinical internship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Western Psychiatric Hospital. She is currently a Research Assistant Professor at UNM CASAA where she runs the Boness Addictions Lab (BAL). Her federally funded research aims to reduce suffering in the lives of people with substance use disorders. She is passionate about equity and inclusion.
Interests
- Etiologic and maintenance mechanisms in addiction
- Community-driven research
- Reducing harm
- Measurement and assessment
- Precision medicine
Kristi Carrasquillo
Graduate Student
Kristi (she/her) earned her Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Psychology from the University of Mississippi in 2019, followed by a Master of Professional Studies in Clinical Psychological Science from the University of Maryland in 2022. Kristi spent three years as a Research Associate at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, conducting a wide range of psychological studies within the active-duty Army population, most notably investigating drinking motivations and secondary traumatic stress among military attorneys.
Kristi is entering her first year as a student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of New Mexico in 2025, studying primarily under Dr. Josh Grubbs with Dr. Cassie Boness as her secondary mentor. Her research examines co-occurring substance use and behavioral addictions, with an emphasis on how cultural and psychological factors shape these behaviors as maladaptive coping strategies. Ultimately, she aims to identify pathways for fostering healthier coping skills and enhancing overall quality of life. In her free time, Kristi enjoys kickboxing, sewing/crocheting, playing video games, and spending time with her dog, Atticus.
R. Neil Greene
Clinical Research Associate
R. Neil Greene, Ph.D. (he/him), is a sociologist and public health researcher. He completed his graduate training and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of New Mexico and is currently a Clinical Research Associate at the Center on Alcohol Substance Use And Addictions (CASAA). His research has focused on relationships between substance use, housing status, and premature mortality. He is passionate about community-engaged research, implementation science, and advancing health equity. He also enjoys soccer, music, and art.
Emily Herberholz
Graduate Student
Emily (she/her) graduated from the University of Maryland in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. After graduating, Emily spent two years working as a post-baccalaureate research assistant at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, where she studied the experiences of people who use opioids through survey-based studies and an investigational new drug trial.
She is passionate about using community-engaged research approaches to 1) delineate heterogenous pathways to substance use disorders, and 2) inform the personalization of treatment methods for people who use drugs. Outside of science, her interests include hot yoga, poetry, and perfecting her matcha recipe!
Kara Link
Graduate Student
Kara graduated from the University of Washington (UW) in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator in the UW Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Rehabilitation and Wellness Research Center studying psychosocial interventions (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based interventions) for symptoms of MS such as chronic pain and fatigue.
Kara entered the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the University of New Mexico in 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Boness. Her primary research interests include harm reduction and precision medicine approaches to substance use disorder treatment, community-engaged research, and the relationships between chronic pain and substance use. Through her work, Kara aims to reduce substance-related stigma and to center the voices of the communities with which she is working.
Alexandra Albritton Hernandez
Research Assistant
Alex Albritton Hernandez (she/they) is an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico who will be graduating in the Spring of 2026 with a BS in Psychology. Her interests include Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and their genetic risk factors. She is especially interested as to how they relate to marginalized communities. Currently, Alex is preparing to apply to a clinical graduate program.
Haneen Amer
Research Assistant
Haneen Amer (she/her) graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2022 with a BA in psychology and a minor in English. Her interests include judgment & decision making, as well as attitudes & persuasion, especially as they relate to or are influenced by prejudice, discrimination, and stigma.
Malaika Philip
Research Assistant
Malaika Philip is a high school junior at Los Alamos High School. She is passionate about helping other students and the community and enjoys learning as much as possible from our lab. She is interested in majoring in psychology in college and is excited to be a part of the team.
Liliana Spurgeon
Community Partner & Consultant
Liliana (Lily) Spurgeon is a New Mexico Certified Peer Support Worker and one of the founders of Bilingual Hearts Consulting. She has also been in recovery from a substance use disorder for six years. She has also been in recovery for six years from a substance use disorder. She is able to provide support to people seeking recovery while maintaining a clear perspective on the need for cultural relevance for service-providing agencies.
Leslie Ann Wertz
Community Partner & Consultant
Leslie Ann Wertz is a licensed social worker and peer in Virginia. Leslie brings her passion for mental health trauma and addiction recovery – as a state representative with the Recovery Advocacy Project, she works year-round on community and public policy initiatives that offer solutions to America’s long standing addiction crisis.
BAL 