Katie Witkiewitz graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Potsdam and completed her doctoral degree at the University of Washington under the direction of Dr. G. Alan Marlatt in 2005. She is currently a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Center on Alcohol, Substance use, and Addictions at the University of New Mexico. The underlying theme of her research is the development of empirically-based models of addiction, with an emphasis on applying advanced quantitative research methods to better understand changes in alcohol and drug use behavior over time. Dr. Witkiewitz is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked extensively on the development and evaluation of mindfulness-based treatments for alcohol and substance use disorder. Her research also focuses on clinical trial design and methodology to improve our understanding of treatment efficacy and mechanisms of behavior change in addiction treatment.