Robert M. Anthenelli, M.D. • Director
Dr. Anthenelli is a Professor and the former Interim Chair, Executive Vice Chair, and Vice Chair for Veterans Affairs, respectively, in the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry where he directs the Pacific Treatment and Research Center (Pac-TARC).
He earned his baccalaureate degree from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 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 UCSD and the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Additional post-doctoral training included a two-year fellowship in addiction psychiatry research funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Anthenelli 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.
Dr. Anthenelli has been selected among the Best Doctors and Top Psychiatrists in America. He is an Associate Editor of Current Psychiatry and serves on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Addiction Medicine and Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The overarching theme of Dr. Anthenelli’s research is to develop improved treatments for tobacco, alcohol and stimulant dependence by better understanding the neurobiology of the disorders. 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 earned his baccalaureate degree from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, 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 UCSD and the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Additional post-doctoral training included a two-year fellowship in addiction psychiatry research funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Anthenelli 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.
Dr. Anthenelli has been selected among the Best Doctors and Top Psychiatrists in America. He is an Associate Editor of Current Psychiatry and serves on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Addiction Medicine and Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The overarching theme of Dr. Anthenelli’s research is to develop improved treatments for tobacco, alcohol and stimulant dependence by better understanding the neurobiology of the disorders. 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.
Benjamin McKenna, Ph.D. • Associate Director
Dr. McKenna is an Assistant 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 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 2016. His overarching research interests are to better understand 1) the neurobiology and associated cognitive functions impacted by substances of abuse, and 2) interactions between addictions and other mental illnesses. His research interests are aimed at improving treatments in patients with comorbid mental health and substance use diagnoses. Saisantosh Attaluri, B.S. • Lab Assistant
Mr. Attaluri earned his baccalaureate degree in General Biology at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently applying to medical school and hopes to pursue a career in Psychiatry. Kimberly Martin, M.A. • Study Therapist
Ms. Martin is a Predoctoral Clinical Psychology student who has received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology at California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Ms. Martin received her B.A. in English and B.S. in Psychology from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Ms. Martin has clinical experience working with adults to address anxiety, bipolar, depression, eating, trauma, schizophrenia spectrum, and co-occurring disorders. She has worked in a variety of settings including domestic violence shelter, crisis house, veterans’ residential treatment facility, clinical and forensic institute, and partial hospitalization/intensive outpatient programs. Additionally, Ms. Martin has several years of clinical and social psychology research experience both as a research coordinator and assistant. Belinda Daniel, M.D. • Study Physician
Dr. Daniel is a fourth-year Psychiatry resident at the University of California, San Diego, where she currently serves as Chief Resident at the Outpatient Psychiatric Services Clinic in Hillcrest. She received her B.A. in Biology at Northwestern University, with a minor in Global Health, and her M.D. at the University of Illinois in Rockford.
We welcome Belinda back to the lab after previously serving as Study Coordinator on a study funded by NIAAA’s INIA Stress Consortium examining the relationship between alcohol use and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She remains interested in Addiction Psychiatry and PTSD, and has been involved in a number of respective clinical electives at both UCSD and the VA. After residency, she will be continuing her training in the Addiction Psychiatry fellowship here at UCSD. Matine Rubin • Student Intern 
Ms. Rubin is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Statistics at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Her studies focus on public health and biostatistics. After completing her baccalaureate degree, she plans to apply to medical school.
In addition to her work at Pac-TARC, she is also involved in biological research based at UCR that examines the effects of smoking in ex vivo and stem-cell models. Franchesca Bondoc • Student Intern
Ms. Bondoc earned her baccalaureate degree in Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. As an undergraduate, her research examined cultural predictors of stigma and negative attitudes towards mental illness and disabilities. Her research garnered several awards including being the first undergraduate in her department to receive a Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grant.
She plans on applying to doctorate programs in clinical psychology after taking a gap year to gain more research experience. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue a career in pediatric psychology. |
Esther Wong, B.A. • Clinical Research Coordinator
Mrs. Wong earned her baccalaureate degree in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine. Upon graduation, she joined Dr. Anthenelli’s first UCSD-based research team working on a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)-funded study examining individuals with antisocial personality disorder and alcohol and drug dependence. Since rejoining Pac-TARC in 2014, she has worked on several studies in individuals with comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders as both a Senior Research Assistant and Clinical Trials Coordinator.
Jill Giannini, B.S. • Lab Assistant 
Ms. Giannini earned her baccalaureate degree in Cognitive-Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. She is currently applying to graduate programs in clinical psychology. She hopes to pursue a career as a clinician or as a research scientist. Andrew Graham, M.A. • Study Therapist
Mr. Graham is a doctoral clinical psychology candidate who received his M.A. in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Mr. Graham earned his B.A. in human communication from California State University, Monterey Bay. Mr. Graham's current research and clinical interests are in the areas of anxiety, PTSD, depression, substance use, and co-occurring disorders with a specific interest in working within the Veteran and military communities. He has worked in a variety of settings including SHARP Mesa Vista Hospital and a Veterans' residential treatment facility.
Rayana Villalpando, M.A. • Study Therapist
Ms. Villalpando received her B.S. in Psychology from Indiana Institute of Technology while also playing basketball there. She currently attends Alliant International University where she earned her Master’s degree and is working toward her doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She has completed practicums working with severely mentally ill adults, infants and adolescents affected by autism, and she has worked with cancer patients and their families.
Rayana's current research and clinical interests are in the areas of Sports Psychology – specifically, better understanding and managing the retirement process for collegiate and professional athletes. She plans to do her internship next fall in the Los Angeles area. Xia Li, M.D. Ph.D • Study Physician
Dr. Li is a fourth-year Psychiatry resident at the University of California, San Diego, who previously rotated through Pac-TARC when she was an Assistant Professor in the UCSD Department of Psychiatry exploring a career in psychiatry.
Dr. Li had an eight-year career in academic medicine in China before becoming a post-doctoral research fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)/NIH. She then joined Dr. Athina Markou’s research group at UCSD, eventually becoming an independent investigator and faculty member in the Department. She has been awarded grants from NIH and the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) of the State of California. Her research focuses on mechanism-based medication development for the treatment of drug addiction. She has extensively explored neurochemical mechanisms underlying drug-taking and drug-seeking behaviors, focusing on the role of various neurotransmitter systems and investigating novel compounds as potential medications for substance use disorders. Aviana Legris • Student Intern
Aviana Legris is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology, concentrating in Therapeutic Sciences and Neuroscience and minoring in Writing. She has completed a year-long research study at Point Loma Nazarene University that began from her original hypothesis, and as an Honors Scholar student she will be revisiting her idea with a new focus for her undergraduate thesis. After completing her bachelor's degree, she plans to apply to graduate schools in Clinical Psychology. Her career goals are to become a Neuropsychologist, and teach as a professor at a University.
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