Biography

Justin Nash, PhD, is Associate Professor of Family Medicine and also of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Ohio University. He interned at the VA Medical Center in West Haven, CT and completed postdoctoral work in the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is the Director of Behavioral Health in Family Medicine at Memorial Hospital. His academic and professional pursuits are interprofessional in nature and focus on integrating psychology into medicine. He has held leadership positions in the Brown Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, the Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium, and different NIH grants (T32, R25T, P50) that funded training of researchers to use different disciplinary approaches. His leadership includes a past Board position for the Society of Behavioral Medicine and present Board positions for the Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs (currently Chair) and the Health Psychology Division (Division 38) of the American Psychological Association. He is past Associate Editor of Journal of Behavioral Medicine and current Associate Editor of Annals of Behavioral Medicine. In the Department of Family Medicine, he is based in a NCQA designated Level 3 PCMH where his academic activities are in integrating psychology services and training into primary care.

Institutions

MH

Research Description

Justin Nash, Ph.D. has research interests in primary care psychology, interprofessional training processes, and also in the areas of pain and headache.

He has developed and empirically evaluated behavioral interventions that teach individuals with chronic headache and pain to exert more personal control over their conditions. He has evaluated the impact of these behavioral interventions on improving headache, emotional distress, disability, and quality of life. He has also evaluated diagnostic criteria used for primary headache disorders. He led the working group of investigators from National Cancer Institute (NCI)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURCs) around the country in publishing an article on transdisciplinary training methods and issues.

Funded Research

Nonpharmacological Management of Headaches in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. National Headache Foundation.
1992-1993. Marcus, D. A., & Nash, J. M. (co- investigator).

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Cognitive-Behavioral Group Treatment for Migraine Headache. Brown University Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior.
1998-1999. Nash, J. M. (principal investigator) & Walker, B. B. (co-investigator).

Using a Computer Based Expert Tailored Messaging System to Enhance Outcome in a Self-Directed Behavioral Treatment Protocol for Headache. National Headache Foundation.
2001-2002. Nash, J. M. (principal investigator), Esler, J. K., Bach, A., Gordon, N., & Vecchione, M.

Tailored Messaging and Self-Directed Headache Treatment (1 F32 NS42386-01). National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), F32 Individual National Research Service Award.
2001-2003. Nicholson, R. postdoctoral fellow recipient), Nash, J (sponsor).

Transdisciplinary Cancer Control Research Training Grant (5 R25 CA87972). National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI). 2006-2011. Rakowski, W. (Principal Investigator), Nash, J. M. (Co-Investigator and Program Leader).

Nicotine Dependence: Risk and Recovery over Generations (P50 CA 84719). NIH, NCI, and National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA).
1999-2004. Abrams, D. A. (Principal Investigator), Nash, J. M. (Co-Principal Investigator, Career Development Core).

Nicotine Dependence: Phenotype, Endophenotype & Contexts (P50 CA 84719). NIH, NCI, and NIDA.
2004-2009. Niaura, R. (Principal Investigator), Nash, J. M. (Co-Principal Investigator, Career Development Core).

Feasibility of physical activity and relaxation for cancer survivors. Komen Foundation.
Rabin, C. (Principal Investigator), Nash, J.M. (Co-investigator).

Selected Publications

• Nash, JM, Williams, DM, Nicholson, RA, Trask, PC (2006). The contribution of pain-related anxiety to disability in headache. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 29, 61-67. (2006)
• Nash, J., McCrory, D., Nicholson, R., Andrasik, F. (2005) Efficacy and effectiveness approaches in behavioral treatment trials. Headache 45(5): 507-12 (2005)
• Nash, J. M., Park, E. R, Walker, B. B, Gordon, N. G., & Nicholson, R. A. (2004). Behavioral group treatment for disabling headache. Pain Medicine, 5, 178-186. (2004)
• Nash, J.M. (2003) Psychologic and behavioral management of tension-type headache: Treatment procedures. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 7, 475-481. (2003)
• Nash, J.M., Collins, B.N., Loughlin, S.E., Solbrig, M., Harvey, R., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Unger, J., Miner, C., rukstalis, M., Shenassa, E., Dube, C., Spirito, A. (2003) Training the transdisciplinary scientist: a general framework applied to tobacco use behavior. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Suppl 1:S41-53. (2003)
• Nash, J. G., & Nash, J. M. (2003). A structural representation of migraine diagnostic criteria: The experts' view. Headache, 43(4), 322-329. (2003)
• Nash, J. M, Lipchik, G. L., Holroyd, K. A., McCool, H., & Stensland, M. (2003). American Headache Society members' assessment of headache diagnostic criteria. Headache, 43(1), 2-13. (2003)
• Nash, J. M., Holroyd, K. A., Rokicki, L. A., Kvaal, S., & Penzien, D. B. (2002). The influence of placebo awareness on stimulant drug response in a double-blind trial. Psychopharmacology, 161, 213-221. (2002)
• Holroyd, K. A., Nash, J. M., Pingel, J. D., Cordingley, G. E., & Jerome, A. (1991). A comparison of pharmacological (Amitriptyline HCL) and nonpharmacological (Cognitive Behavioral) therapies for chronic tension headaches. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 387-393. (1991)