Vaughn R Steele

Vaughn R. Steele is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, affiliated with the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center and Hartford Hospital. His research focuses on developing neuromodulation therapies, particularly transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to treat substance use disorders (SUDs). He investigates neuroplasticity mechanisms using EEG, fMRI, and ERPs to identify malleable brain circuits.

Education: PhD in Psychology (University of Minnesota, 2011), postdoctoral fellowships at the Mind Research Network and NIDA. He leads the Steele Lab, which bridges neuroimaging research and clinical SUD treatments. Awards include the BBRF Young Investigator Grant (2021) and a CTNA Grant (2024).

Key research areas include SUD neurobiology, TMS applications, and translational neuroscience. His work addresses opioid overdose, cocaine, tobacco, and methadone-related disorders. Collaborations span addiction medicine and neuroimaging, with grants supporting his lab’s innovative approaches.