Christina A Brezing, MD
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Overview
Dr. Brezing is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Division on Substance Use Disorders at Columbia University, and a Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. She attended Duke University for her undergraduate degree in biology with a focus in biochemistry and completed her medical degree at the University of Florida where she graduated Alpha Omega Alpha and with honors in research. During medical school, she completed the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health (HHMI-NIH) Research Scholars Program studying neuroimaging of behavioral addictions such as gambling disorder, compulsive sexual behavior disorder, and compulsive shopping. She completed her psychiatry residency at Harvard Medical School-Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, where she served as chief resident in addiction. She completed a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded T32 research fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is board certified in addiction and general psychiatry.
Dr. Brezing has been consistently NIH-funded with grants to investigate novel treatments for substance use disorders and the use of technology. She was a Columbia Eric D. Hadar Fellow, and her research has been supported by the NIH, HHMI, American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education, the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, the Smithers Foundation, Doris Duke, and the American Heart Association.
She is the course director for the addiction curriculum for the Columbia Psychiatry residency and co-director for Advance Addiction Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy courses for the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. She served on the boards of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and New York Society of Addiction Medicine.
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Administrative Titles
- Research Scientist, New York State Psychiatric Institute
Gender
- Female
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- BS, Biology with a focus in Biochemistry, Duke University
- MD, Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL
- Internship: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- Residency: McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
- Fellowship: Columbia / New York State Psychiatric Institute
Honors & Awards
- 2007 University of Florida College of Medicine Alpha Omega Alpha Research Award
- 2009 University of Florida College of Medicine Lawrence M. Goodman Trust Research Award
- 2009 University of Florida College of Medicine Excellence in Psychiatry Clerkship Award
- 2012 Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Travel Award to the American Psychoanalytic Association annual meeting
- 2013 American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology Travel Award&
- 2013 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Travel Award
- 2014 MGH/McLean Psychiatry Resident Travel Award
- 2014 Mel Kayce Award, MGH/McLean Psychiatry Residency
- 2018-2020 Columbia Division on Substance Use Disorders Eric D. Hadar Fellow
Research
Grants
03/16-12/18 Title: Pilot study: Use of a mobile health sensor in an open label treatment trial for cannabis use disorder
Funding: Dartmouth P30 Center for Technology and Behavioral Health Pilot (PI: Marsh, P30 DA029926) and (PI: Levin, K24 DA029647-08)
Role: Principal Investigator
The primary aim of the project is to examine if lorcaserin administration decreases cannabis use in people with cannabis use disorder. The secondary aim is to examine the feasibility and accuracy of implementing a mobile health sensor in a cannabis use disorder treatment trial.
08/18-08/23 Title: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Lorcaserin for Cannabis Use Disorder
Funding: NIDA 1K23DA045080-01A1
Role: Principal Investigator
The purpose of this study is to examine lorcaserin’s effects on reductions in cannabis use and multiple behavioral and personality constructs of impulsivity as compared to placebo in outpatient treatment-seeking individuals with CUD, aided by the use of ecological momentary assessments.
01/19-07/23 Title: Predicting Enrollment and Completion in Clinical Treatment Trials of Substance Use Disorders from Social Media Use
Funding: NYSPI Smithers Pilot Funding for Research Related to Substance Use Disorders
Role: Principal Investigator
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of collecting baseline retrospective social media data from screening participants for substance use disorder treatment trials and characterize their use of social media language as it relates to engagement and completion of the clinical trials process.
12/19-07/22 Title: A Randomized, Open-Label, Multi-Center Study, to Evaluate Patient Engagement of PEAR-008, a Game-Based Digital Therapeutic for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder.
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: R44 DA042652
08/19-07/22 Title: Providers Clinical Support System – Medicated Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT)
Role: Technical Assistant on consortium to RFMH
Funding: H79-TI081968-01
09/20-09/22. Title: SOR-CARE-41 States Technical Assistance Team Education and Support
Role: Technical Assistant on consortium to RFMH
Funding: H79-TI083343-01
3/14/22-10/31/25 Title: Understanding the effects of testosterone replacement therapy on buprenorphine treatment in men with Opioid Use Disorder and androgen deficiency
Funding: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists, and the American Heart Association Grant # 923718
Role: Principal Investigator
Despite having efficacious, FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, retention in treatment is low, and drop-out increases the likelihood of chronic medical morbidity and mortality associated with relapse on opioids, including death from overdose. Repeated exposure to opioids, such as heroin, leads to androgen insufficiency and associated negative physical and affective states that are known to trigger opioid relapse, ongoing opioid use, and treatment drop-out. This award will provide valuable support to facilitate the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for men with androgen insufficiency and opioid use disorder and determine TRT’s effectiveness on retention in outpatient sublingual buprenorphine treatment.
5/27/22-5/26/25 Title: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Sublingual Buprenorphine through Telemedicine vs In-Person Care as Usual in the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
Funding: NIDA R21DA055835
Role: Principal Investigator
The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and comparative effectiveness of buprenorphine care delivered fully through telehealth as compared to in person treatment as usual while developing and improving a telehealth protocol by addiction specialists that could be used by general practitioners at scale.
9/1/23-9/1/25 Title: Disseminating evidence-based information for substance use disorders and their treatment through high impact influencers via social media
Funding: Opioid Response Network through grant 1H79TI085588-02 from SAMHSA
Role: Principal Investigator
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of cultivating relationships with social media accounts with significant community followings in order to cultivate a partnership to disseminate information about the Opioid Response Network.
Selected Publications
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=christina%20brezing&sort=date)