Christina Lee
Professor, Faculty Director of Health Equity Research Lab at CISWH
Christina S. Lee, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Boston University (BUSSW); addiction faculty at BU’s Grayken Center, Boston Medical Center; and a faculty affiliate at BU’s Center for Antiracist Research. Her research bridges the areas of intervention science, addiction psychology, and health inequities. By focusing on the effects of social and environmental stressors, like the impact of discrimination, stigma, and racism, Dr. Lee has become an influential voice in efforts to reduce risky health behaviors among diverse, understudied groups and in understanding substance use as a social justice issue. She is PI and co-PI on NIAAA-funded addiction treatment research with diverse populations, and is on the training faculty at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University. She is also the research director at BUSSW’s Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH), and mentors graduate and postdoctoral scholars from diverse racial-ethnic groups. Dr. Lee is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and the NIAAA journal Alcohol Research: Current Reviews.
Specialties
• Health inequities
• Social and structural determinants of risky health behaviors
• Addiction research and treatment
• Mechanisms of behavior change in addictions treatment
• Optimizing behavioral treatments for use in the community
• Interdisciplinary interventions and community collaboration
Research Areas
Related News
View All- Dr. Christina S. Lee Promoted to Professor at BU School of Social Work
Dr. Lee's work focuses on addiction treatment for marginalized populations by addressing social and environmental stressors such as stigma, discrimination, and racism.
- Professor Lee’s Book on Motivational Interviewing Wins National Award from the American Journal of Nursing
The book highlights culturally adapted motivational interviewing (CAMI) and how integrating culture into MI can enhance engagement and outcomes across diverse communities.
- Professor Christina Lee Wins Prestigious Award for Pioneering Alcohol Research
Dr. Christina Lee, associate professor at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW), has been awarded the prestigious Dora Goldstein Diversity in the Sciences Award by the Research Society of Alcohol. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated excellence and creativity in alcohol research, and a commitment to diversity and mentoring throughout their career. […]
Education
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MA (Industrial and Organizational Psychology)
Columbia University
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MEd (Psychological Counseling)
Columbia University
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BA (English with Honors)
Smith College
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PhD (Counseling Psychology)
New York University
Courses
CP 809 Substance Use Disorders: Assessment and Intervention
Publications
Lee, C.S., O’Connor, B.M.*, Todorova, I., Nicholls, M.E.*, & Colby, S.M. (2021). Structural racism and reflections from Latinx heavy drinkers: Impact on mental health and alcohol use. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108352
Nalven, T.*, Lee, C.S., & Spillane, N.S. (2021). Racially minoritized status and neighborhood discrimination within Latino individuals are related to hazardous drinking, depression, and anxiety symptoms: applications of Minority Stress theory. Addiction Research and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.190028
Lee, C.S., Magill, M., Figuereo, V*., Jackson, K., Colby, S.M. (2021). Self-exploration as a mechanism of change in motivational interviewing. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108345
Hai, A. H.*, Lee, C., Oh, S., Vaughn, M.G., Piñeros-Leaño, M., Delva, J., & Salas-Wright, C. (2021). Trends and correlates of Internet support group participation for mental health problems in the United States, 2004-2018. Journal of Psychiatric Research,132,136-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychires.2020.10.012.
Brady, J. A.*, Underhill-Blazey, M., Burke, P. J., Lee, C. S., Howard, E. P., & Duffy, L. V. (2021). Experiences of school nurses caring for newly arrived immigrant and refugee children. International Journal of Education Reform. (in press). https://doi-org.ezproxy.bu.edu/10.1177/1056787921991512
Lee CS, Rosales R, Colby SM, Martin R, Cox K, Rohsenow DJ. Addressing social stressors in a brief motivational interview improve mental health symptoms for Latinx heavy drinkers. J Clin Psychol. 2020;1–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22976
Lee, C.S., Colby, S.M., Rohsenow, D.J., Martin, R., Rosales, R., McCallum, T.T., Falcon, L., Almeida, J., Cortes, D.E. (2019). A randomized controlled trial of motivational interviewing tailored for heavy drinking Latinxs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Lee, C.S., Rosales, R., Stein, M.D., Nicholls, M.*, O’Connor, B.*, Loukas, V., & Davis, E.A (2019). Low Barrier buprenorphine initiation predicts treatment retention among Latinx and non-Latinx Primary Care Patients. American Journal of Addictions.
Lee, C.S., Castro, F.G., Nicholls, M.*, O’Connor, B.*, Marosi, S.*, & Colby, S.M. (2019). Gender differences in drinking behavior among Latino/a heavy drinkers. International Journal of Drug Policy. 64, 79-86.
Lee, C.S., Liebschutz, J., Anderson, B., & Stein, M.D. (2017). Hospitalized opioid-dependent patients: exploring predictors of buprenorphine treatment engagement after discharge. American Journal on Addiction, 26(7), 667-672.
Strezsak, V.M., Mello, M.J., Lee, C.S., & Baird, J. (2017). Cross-sectional study of risky substance use of injured Emergency Department patients. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health. 18 (3), 345-348.
Leone, J.E.*, Rovito, M.J., Mullin, E.M., Mohammed, S.D., & Lee, C.S. (2017). Development and testing of a conceptual model regarding men’s access to health care. American Journal of Men’s Health, 11(2), 262-274.
Lee, C.S., Colby, S.M., Magill, M., Almeida, J., Tavares, T., & Rohsenow, D.J. (2016). Theory and mechanisms of behavior change in a randomized controlled trial of culturally adapted motivational interviewing for Hispanic heavy drinkers: study protocol. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 50, 193-200.
Oh, H., & Lee, C.S. (2016). Culture and motivational interviewing. Patient Education and Counseling, 99(11), 1914-1919.
Lee, C.S., Almeida, J., Colby, S.M., Rohsenow, D.R., & Tavares, T. (2016). Acculturation, hazardous drinking, and depressive symptomatology among Hispanics enrolled in a clinical trial. Addiction: Research and Theory, 24(1), 69-79.
Mello, M.J., Baird, J., Lee, C.S., Strezsak, V., French, M.T., & Longabaugh, R. (2015). A randomized controlled trial of a telephone intervention for alcohol misuse with injured emergency department patients. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 67(2), 263-275.
Presentations
Lee, C.S. (2023, May 20-24). Overcoming Disparities in Alcohol Treatment Among BIPOC Women [Oral presentation invitation]. APA 2023 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Lee, C.S. (moderator), Carpenter, D., Komaromy, M., Rosenbloom, D.L., & Whaley, N. (October 2021). Access and Anti-Racism in Opioid Treatment: What Cities Need Now. Virtual panel event co-sponsored by BU Initiative on Cities and the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at BUSSW. Watch the recording here.
Miranda, R., Lee, C.S., Pedrelli, P., & Taylor, A. (November 2019). Cognitive-behavioral interventions for substance use disorders: Challenges and future directions. Invited moderated panel discussion to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
Lee, C.S. (June, 2019). Field advances: Addressing Health Disparities Related to Substance Use. Invited symposia organized by NIAAA. Annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, Minneapolis, MN.
Lee C.S., Epstein, E.E., Nelson, L., Kaysen, D., Hagman, B. (August, 2019). Cultural adaptation of evidence-based addiction treatment: Transforming research into practice. In B. Hoeppner (Chair), Adapting alcohol interventions to specific populations: Factors to consider and lessons learned. Symposia conducted at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
Organizer and Chair: Adapting Addiction Treatments for Diverse Populations.
Lee, C.S. Castro, F., Alessi, E., Windsor, L., Venner, K., (April, 2019). Invited Panel. Annual Meeting of the Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction, Divisions 50 and 28, American Psychological Association. Providence, RI.
Lee, C.S. Alvanzo, A., Buchwald, D. (2019, April). Interventions for Hispanic American Women At-Risk and Living with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). In D. Roach (Chair), Problem drinking Among Medically Underserved Women: New Horizons in Treatment. NIAAA-sponsored symposium presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Orlando, FL.
Lee, C.S. (February, 2017). Gender differences in drinking behavior among Hispanic adolescents and women. Invited NIH/NIAAA sponsored Webinar.
Lee, C.S. (November, 2018). Bridging the treatment and service utilization gap: Steps towards inclusive technology solutions for mental and behavioral health conditions. Invited Clinical Grand Rounds given at the Annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA.
Lee, C.S. (November, 2017). Disseminating Motivational interviewing to Spanish speakers. In A.El-Behadli (Discussant), Disseminating motivational interviewing in diverse settings: Lessons learned from research and practice. Invited symposium moderated at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, San Diego, CA.
Lee, C.S. (September, 2017). Motivational Interviewing Change Talk in Spanish and in English: Findings from a randomized controlled trial to reduce hazardous drinking. Exploring novel treatment avenues for alcoholism in underrepresented populations. Invited symposium moderated at the annual meeting of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse, Phoenix, Arizona.
Lee, C.S. (July, 2017). Senior Scholar Panel on Mixed Methods: Perspectives on Advancing Health Equity through Interdisciplinary Research. Invited symposium moderated at the Robert Wood Johnson New Connections Conference, Applying Long-Standing and Emergent Research Methods in Interdisciplinary Health Research.
Grants
Co-Principal Investigator. (2018-2022) Mechanisms of Behavior Change in a Cultural Adaption of Motivational Interviewing (R01 AA0254845). NIH/NIAAA. Funding: $2,240,106
Co-Investigator. (2017-2021) Brief Intervention by Community Health Workers for Unhealthy Drinking in Latinos (R01 AA0255564). NIH/NIAAA. Funding: $2,062,233
Co-Principal Investigator. (2019-2020) Tier 1 Proof of Concept Grant: Employer-based approaches for targeting the opioid crisis in the construction industry. Provost's Office, Northeastern University. Funding: $32,000
Professional Activities and Certifications
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Massachusetts General Hospital Online Course (Summer 2017)
Online Course Design Orientation Program, Northeastern University (Spring 2015)
Primary Care Behavioral Health Certificate Program, University of Massachusetts Medical School (2013-2014)
Licensed Psychologist, Rhode Island, #PSO1270 (2011-present)
Member, Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) (2006-present)
Trained in Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity Coding, v. 3.1 (Spring 2006)
Training Certificate in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (1999)
Awards and Honors
2014 Kenerson Faculty Scholar, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University
2006 New Investigator Award, Mechanisms of Behavior Change Pre-Conference Satellite, Research Society on Alcoholism
2004 Research Excellence Award, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University