MEET OUR TEAM
Halle Thomas
Halle graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale University in 2017. After completing her undergraduate studies, she became a research assistant at Michigan Medicine, where she contributed to projects focused on leveraging social media to deliver risky drinking interventions to teens and young adults.
Halle began the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Wayne State in 2019. Her research has focused on two main areas: 1) developing and optimizing accessible, low-intensity interventions for harmful substance use and 2) enhancing the validity of innovative substance use measurement approaches. Her work utilizes technology – such as computerized tools and social media – to improve the effectiveness of these strategies, with the ultimate goal of improving treatment outcomes and refining screening measures. Additional research interests include understanding how the evolving landscape of cannabis use impacts usage patterns, attitudes, and perceptions of harm as well as polysubstance use.
Michael Schmidt
Michael graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oakland University in 2019 and began the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Wayne State several months later. His research program focuses on developing low cost, highly accessible smoking cessation interventions that can be disseminated through social media, particularly YouTube. In addition to his research, Michael has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including the Beaumont Family Medicine Center, Corwell Health Pain Center, and Monarch Behavioral Health.
Mariam Souweidane
Mariam graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2018, majoring in English-Writing and Psychology. As an undergraduate, she was inspired to examine how social and political structures affect diverse groups differently. This sparked a passion for addressing the impact of these systems on intersectional, minoritized identities.
Before beginning her graduate training, Mariam worked as a post-baccalaureate researcher at Michigan Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, conducting research on scalable social media interventions to reduce risky drinking and marijuana use among adolescents and emerging adults. Currently, her research examines how stigma and perceptions shape individuals’ identities and influence their substance-related, help-seeking behaviors. Her work focuses primarily on minoritized and historically underrepresented populations, aiming to enhance the accessibility of interventions and care within these groups.
Jennifer Stidham
Jenny began the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at Wayne State in 2022. Originally from Baltimore MD, she spent several years working as a research assistant and coordinator at a residential treatment facility where she contributed to a variety of studies on opioid use disorder, including randomized controlled trials testing novel pharmaceuticals, trials of behavioral interventions targeting improved medication adherence, and program evaluations of local recovery houses. Her research interests include 1) intervention and prevention for substance use disorders, particularly opioid use disorder, 2) medication adherence interventions and 3) studies focusing on the experiences and perceptions of substance use providers.
Benjamin Fields
Ben is a post-baccalaureate research assistant in the Substance Use and Medication Lab. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Michigan in May 2024. His research interests include: optimizing behavioral interventions for adults living with substance use disorders, optimizing residential behavioral treatment, efficacy of community based mutual aid & 12-step programs, qualitative analysis, and thematic analysis. Ben has worked in substance use treatment for over four years at a local non-profit in Washtenaw County. He has also worked on several projects at the Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity Lab at Northwestern University, including the Indigenous Futures Survey. He is passionate about understanding the underlying causes of substance use disorders, getting people connected to recovery resources, and furthering social equity and justice in recovery spaces.
Outside of research, Ben is a husband and uncle who can usually be found exploring nature, eating something delicious, playing board games with his partner and friends, or gardening at home.
