Dr. Douglas M. Ziedonis, MD, MPH, is Professor and Chair of the Department of
Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and UMass Memorial Health
Care. Dr. Ziedonis’ program of research focuses on better understanding and treating
co-occurring addiction and mental illness. His research group has found that mental
illness and addiction commonly co-occur and the combination results in worse prognosis,
treatment compliance, and outcomes compared to either disorder alone. A major area of his
own research expertise has been schizophrenia and tobacco addiction, where he has been a
national leader on the topic. His early work in this area found high rates of nicotine
use among schizophrenics (>70%), that heavy cigarette smoking is associated with other
drug abuse, smoking patients require higher medication doses, and smoking patients have
more positive symptoms and fewer negative symptoms than non-smokers. New research
initiatives focus on improving access to treatment and treatment outcomes in tobacco
dependence. These findings led to new research initiatives for him and junior faculty
members. He has been the primary mentor for several faculty who are now national and
international leaders on this topic.
Dr. Ziedonis has served as an advisor to President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on
Mental Health, a Senior Fellow for SAMHSA’s Co-Occurring Disorders Center for Excellence,
and on various NIDA/NIMH study sections and advisory groups on addiction and mental
illness.
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