Scott Bunce

Scott Bunce is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Pennsylvania State University, affiliated with the Penn State Neuroscience Institute and the Division of Adult Outpatient Services. He holds a PhD and MA in related fields. His research focuses on opioid use disorder, addiction treatment, and clinical neuroscience, utilizing methods like ecological momentary assessment and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Research Interests: Bunce’s work emphasizes understanding pain-craving interactions in addiction recovery, affect dynamics during treatment, and developing pharmacological interventions (e.g., GLP-1 receptor agonists). His studies often involve clinical trials and real-time behavioral monitoring to improve treatment outcomes for opioid use disorder.

Grants & Collaborations: As Co-Principal Investigator, he leads NIH-funded projects such as 'Use of a GLP-1 Agonist to Treat Opioid Use Disorder in Rats and Man' (2024–2027) and 'Prescription Opioid Dependence Physiology Emotion and Treatment Outcome' (2013–2017). These collaborations involve multidisciplinary teams focusing on translational research from preclinical to clinical settings.

Key Research Contributions: Bunce has published extensively on residential treatment efficacy, substance use relapse prediction, and neurophysiological mechanisms in eating disorders. His work bridges clinical practice and neuroscience, with 69 publications and an h-index of 28 (3,867 citations).