Teresa Leyro

Teresa Leyro, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University. She directs the Affective and Biological Underpinnings of Substance use and Anxiety (ABUSA) lab. Her research focuses on identifying cognitive-affective and biological risk factors for co-occurring anxiety and substance use disorders, particularly cigarette smoking and nicotine dependence. She employs multi-method approaches, including psychophysiology (e.g., cardiac impedance), stress hormone analysis (e.g., cortisol, DHEA), and behavioral indices (e.g., distress tolerance). Her translational work uses laboratory stress paradigms to explore these relationships, with applications to intervention development.

Dr. Leyro holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont (2012), a clinical internship at the University of California, San Francisco, and a B.A. in psychology from Colby College (2004). She has received significant funding and awards from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for her research and training.

Her research extends to alcohol, marijuana, illicit substance use disorders, severe mental illness, and HIV/AIDS. She leads the ABUSA lab, which integrates biological, psychological, and behavioral methodologies to advance understanding of comorbid conditions.