Our Vision
At the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use And Addictions (CASAA) our first priority is to reduce suffering caused by substance use and other addictive behaviors. We do this by generating high quality prevention and treatment research. We settle for nothing less than the highest standards of scientific integrity in our research and training programs. Attention to human diversity strengthens our science and makes it relevant to our larger society. We do our best work by collaborating with colleagues and working across disciplines, which helps us answer more important questions about substance use than we otherwise could. At CASAA we are committed to sharing our knowledge with fellow scientists, practitioners and individuals who are directly impacted by substance use. It matters to us that our work makes an impact both here in our state and in our larger community.
Our Work
CASAA investigators, affiliated with the Departments of Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences, Family and Community Medicine, and Internal Medicine are leaders nationally in 12-step research; research on Motivational Interviewing and the Community Reinforcement Approach; family-involved treatment models; training and dissemination research; development of instruments; studies of mechanisms of change; clinical research in special populations, particularly adolescents, women, Hispanics, American Indians, and criminal justice populations; research on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; and research on methods to reduce harm from risky drinking.
CASAA is the home for the UNM Campus Office of Substance and Alcohol Prevention (COSAP). CASAA has long-standing relationships with a number of community-based treatment programs that are available as sites for clinical trials. The relationships between CASAA and these treatment facilities are on-going and reciprocal, and CASAA is widely regarded as a key resource for the development and testing of empirically supported treatments for alcohol and other substance use disorders. In addition, CASAA has uniquely strong relationship with several pueblos.
Our Key Research Initiatives
NIAAA Funded Research
National Institute on Alchohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
NIAAA supports and conducts research on the impact of alcohol use on human health and well-being.
NIDA Funded Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
NIDA is the lead federal agency supporting scientific research on drug use and addiction.

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) Lead Conveners
Katie Witkiewitz, Ph.D.,Jonathan Brigman, Ph.D. Cassandra Boness, Ph.D.



CASAA Research Services
and Web/IT Support
Research Data Services (RDS) and CASAA IT/Web Support.
More details
News and Upcoming Events
We Celebrate our Research Administrators!
NMiF reviews Albuquerque action on homeless camps and understanding alcohol's impact in New Mexico
September 13, 2022
Dr. Kamilla Venner appears as a guest on New Mexico in Focus to discuss New Mexico and the alcohol problem including Native Americans.
CASAA at UNM has an opening for an open rank tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor
July 20, 2022
CASAA is very pleased to announce that Dr. Katie Witkiewitz has been named the next CASAA director, effective July 1, 2022.
July 1, 2022

After a nationwide search, Ellen R. Fisher, vice president for research at the University of New Mexico, has named Professor Katie Witkiewitz director of the Center on Alcohol, Substance Us…