Professor Tidey succeeds David Savitz, Ph.D. who served in this role since April 2018 and will transition to lead the Department of Epidemiology.
In this role, Professor Tidey will provide leadership and vision in planning and implementing the School’s research agenda, including strengthening school-wide systems for the preparation and implementation of research initiatives and the attainment of research funding. She will also represent the School with the Office of the Vice President of Research and relevant University Committees.
A graduate of Tufts University, Professor Tidey continued her studies at Tufts to receive both her master’s and doctoral degrees in experimental psychology. Following her graduate studies, she completed post-graduate training at Harvard University and the University of Vermont before joining Brown’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies in 1999. She advanced through the ranks, becoming Professor in 2016 as well as the Center’s Laboratory Director and Associate Director of the Center’s NIDA T32 training grant. She is also Deputy Editor for the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, an Associate Editor for Tobacco Regulatory Science, and on the Editorial board for Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Her research identifies mechanisms underlying the high rates of tobacco dependence in priority populations, and develops effective smoking cessation interventions for these smokers. She has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in the area of addiction, primarily laboratory and clinical trials testing treatments for tobacco dependence in people with serious mental illness. She currently conducts research in the high-impact area of tobacco regulatory science, the aim of which is to provide the FDA with the science it needs to make regulatory decisions about cigarettes and other tobacco products, with the goal of improving public health.