Stephen Higgins

Stephen Higgins is a Professor of Psychology and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont's Department of Psychological Science, affiliated with the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health. He holds academic positions in both Psychology and Psychiatry within the College of Arts and Sciences. His research integrates behavioral economics and pharmacology to address health-related risk behaviors, particularly tobacco and illicit drug use in vulnerable populations. He leads projects on mechanisms of vulnerability, treatment interventions, and regulatory science, supported by grants from NIH, FDA, and other agencies.

• Education: B.A. (Shippensburg University, 1975), M.S. (Shippensburg University, 1978), M.A. (University of Kansas, 1982), Ph.D. (University of Kansas, 1983)
• Key Roles: Director of Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Principal Investigator on multiple NIH grants

Research Interests: Higgins' work focuses on behavioral economics principles to design interventions for reducing substance use and improving health outcomes. Key areas include the impact of nicotine content in cigarettes, disparities in smoking behavior, and the role of financial incentives in treatment adherence. His lab explores decision-making biases, such as loss aversion and delay discounting, as predictors of substance use.

Grants & Awards: Higgins has secured funding through P20, P50, R01 grants from NIH and FDA, and leads multidisciplinary teams in regulatory science. His work emphasizes translational research to bridge lab findings to real-world applications.

Labs/Teams: Directs the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, a hub for collaborative research on health behavior change and addiction science.