Meet Our Team
Benjamin McKenna, Ph.D. • Director
Dr. McKenna is an Associate Clinical Professor in the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry and a Staff Psychologist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System where he serves as Coordinator for the VA Mood Disorders Clinic.
He received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Arizona. In 2011, he earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Neuropsychology from the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and completed a predoctoral internship at the University of Arizona Medical Center. Following his doctoral training, Dr. McKenna completed a Veterans Affairs Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment before joining the Translational Methamphetamine and AIDS Research Center on a NIDA-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship for Training in Research on Addictions in Interdisciplinary NeuroAIDS.
Dr. McKenna joined Pac-TARC in 2015 and became Director in 2025. His overarching research interests are to better understand how drugs of abuse impact neurobiology, and how those changes interact with other mental health conditions and biological sex differences. His research interests are aimed at improving treatments in patients with comorbid mental health and substance use diagnoses. He is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and published abstracts. Support for his research is provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, University of California Office of the President’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, and various industry sponsors.
He received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Arizona. In 2011, he earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Neuropsychology from the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and completed a predoctoral internship at the University of Arizona Medical Center. Following his doctoral training, Dr. McKenna completed a Veterans Affairs Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment before joining the Translational Methamphetamine and AIDS Research Center on a NIDA-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship for Training in Research on Addictions in Interdisciplinary NeuroAIDS.
Dr. McKenna joined Pac-TARC in 2015 and became Director in 2025. His overarching research interests are to better understand how drugs of abuse impact neurobiology, and how those changes interact with other mental health conditions and biological sex differences. His research interests are aimed at improving treatments in patients with comorbid mental health and substance use diagnoses. He is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and published abstracts. Support for his research is provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, University of California Office of the President’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, and various industry sponsors.
Carla Marienfeld, M.D. • Co-Director
Carla Marienfeld, MD, DFAPA, FASAM is board-certified in psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and addiction medicine, and she is a Clinical Professor at the University of California San Diego who supports recovery in an evidence based, harm-reduction approach through motivational interviewing and medication treatment. She was named a San Diego Top Doctor in 2021 as Medical Director for the UC San Diego Substance Treatment and Recovery (STAR) program.
Her research involves populations with substance use disorders, including pregnant women and the development of their offspring, persons with methamphetamine use disorder, and unhoused populations with opioid use disorder. This work is done through clinical trials or using analysis of electronic medical record data. She has authored over three dozen peer reviewed articles, book chapters, practice guidelines, and invited commentaries, and she edited two books: Motivational Interviewing for Clinical Practice and Absolute Addiction Psychiatry Review: An essential board exam study guide. She has a record of grant funding for research and founding the UCSD Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program, where she serves as Program Director. She has been highly involved in the education of colleagues and trainees about addiction psychiatry, buprenorphine treatment, and motivational interviewing.
Dr. Marienfeld completed a fellowship in addiction psychiatry and residency training in psychiatry at Yale. During her residency, she was chief resident of psychiatry and founded (and later led as junior faculty) the Yale Global Mental Health Program. She earned a medical degree with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is active in many professional organizations, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Association of Addiction Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association.
Her research involves populations with substance use disorders, including pregnant women and the development of their offspring, persons with methamphetamine use disorder, and unhoused populations with opioid use disorder. This work is done through clinical trials or using analysis of electronic medical record data. She has authored over three dozen peer reviewed articles, book chapters, practice guidelines, and invited commentaries, and she edited two books: Motivational Interviewing for Clinical Practice and Absolute Addiction Psychiatry Review: An essential board exam study guide. She has a record of grant funding for research and founding the UCSD Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program, where she serves as Program Director. She has been highly involved in the education of colleagues and trainees about addiction psychiatry, buprenorphine treatment, and motivational interviewing.
Dr. Marienfeld completed a fellowship in addiction psychiatry and residency training in psychiatry at Yale. During her residency, she was chief resident of psychiatry and founded (and later led as junior faculty) the Yale Global Mental Health Program. She earned a medical degree with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is active in many professional organizations, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Association of Addiction Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association.
Nancy McGinley, MD, MPH • Study Physician
Nancy R. McGinley, MD, MPH, is board-certified in psychiatry and in child & adolescent psychiatry. She is also board-eligible in addiction psychiatry, having completed her addiction psychiatry fellowship at the University of California San Diego in June 2024. Dr. McGinley then joined UCSD’s Department of Psychiatry in August 2024 as an attending physician in the Substance Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Program, where she enjoys seeing patients, supervising residents/fellows, and will be starting her role as Assistant Clinical Professor later this fall.
Dr. McGinley earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University, her master’s in public health from The George Washington University, and her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. During medical school, she was selected to be part of their Urban Medicine Program, a four-year longitudinal experience that prepares students to graduate as physician leaders who aspire to ameliorate health inequities. She completed her psychiatry residency at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, then came to UCSD for her child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship, where she served as chief fellow, and addiction psychiatry fellowship.
Dr. McGinley is most passionate about working to end the stigma that often surrounds mental illness and substance use in racial/ethnic minoritized communities. She also has a special interest in the intersection between childhood trauma and early substance use in adolescents.
Dr. McGinley earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University, her master’s in public health from The George Washington University, and her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. During medical school, she was selected to be part of their Urban Medicine Program, a four-year longitudinal experience that prepares students to graduate as physician leaders who aspire to ameliorate health inequities. She completed her psychiatry residency at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, then came to UCSD for her child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship, where she served as chief fellow, and addiction psychiatry fellowship.
Dr. McGinley is most passionate about working to end the stigma that often surrounds mental illness and substance use in racial/ethnic minoritized communities. She also has a special interest in the intersection between childhood trauma and early substance use in adolescents.
Robert M. Anthenelli, M.D. • Founder & Professor Emeritus
Dr. Anthenelli founded Pac-TARC in 2011 when he returned to UC San Diego after a 15-year career at the University of Cincinnati. The lab’s name pays homage to the one he directed in Ohio named “Tri-TARC” (Tri-State Tobacco & Alcohol Research Center).
Dr. Anthenelli is a Professor Emeritus who retired from UC San Diego on July 1, 2025. He was the former Interim Chair, Executive Vice Chair, and Vice Chair for Veterans Affairs, respectively, in the university’s Department of Psychiatry. He earned his baccalaureate degree from the Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, and his psychiatry residency training at UC San Diego and its affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Additional post-doctoral training included a two-year fellowship in addiction psychiatry research funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
He was formerly a Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine where he founded and directed the Center for Treatment, Research & Education in Addictive Disorders and the Addiction Sciences Division. He also directed the Substance Dependence Program at the Cincinnati VA which was awarded the Department of Veterans Affairs, Undersecretary for Health’s Award as a Clinical Program of Excellence in Substance Abuse, and was selected as a National Tobacco Cessation Clinical Resource Center. The overarching theme of Dr. Anthenelli’s work has been to develop improved treatments for alcohol, tobacco, and stimulant (methamphetamine and cocaine) use disorders and their intersection with psychiatric disorders. He has lectured across the globe on these topics, and he is the author or co-author of roughly 300 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and published abstracts. Support for his research was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Veterans Affairs, University of California Office of the President’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, and many industry sponsors.
Cassandra Henrickson • Clinical Research Coordinator
Cassandra Henrickson received her M.A.S. in Clinical Research and B.S. in Cognitive Science at the University of California – San Diego. Her Master’s thesis investigated whether cognitive-sparing stereotactic radiosurgery better preserves memory function in patients with brain metastases. Her general research interests span the neuroscience of behavioral and addiction disorders, neuroimaging, social cognition, and neurodegenerative diseases. After graduating in 2024, Cassandra joined Pac-TARC as a Clinical Research Coordinator to work on a federally funded trial assessing treatments for substance use disorders. Outside of her research role, Cassandra enjoys walking on the beach, boxing, reading, baking, and watching animal documentaries with her cat. |
Angelica Schroeder • Clinical Research Coordinator
Angelica earned her B.S. in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. She began her research career with the Vietnam-Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA), administering neuropsychological assessments and supporting data collection from 2021-2023. From 2023-2025, she worked as a Clinical Research Assistant at Scripps Health on behavioral health studies involving patients with chronic medical conditions. She currently serves as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Pac-TARC on federally funded studies evaluating treatments for substance use disorders. Outside of her research role, Angelica enjoys Pilates, yoga, hiking, and spending time with her two cats. |