Dr. Natalia Van Doren is a psychological scientist at the forefront of digital mental health and substance use research. Her research program is guided by an overarching mission to bridge the treatment gap and address health disparities by revolutionizing the way we approach addiction treatment. Specifically, her work seeks to advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying addictive behaviors using digital phenotyping (e.g., smartphones and wearables) to inform the development of personalized interventions using novel technologies. Acknowledging the disproportionate burden borne by marginalized and underserved communities, she is driven to investigate the intricate interplay between social determinants of health, systemic inequities, and access to care. By examining the impact of these factors on the development and course of substance use problems, Natalia aims to uncover insights that can guide the development of targeted interventions to reduce health disparities. Given the increased accessibility of digital health interventions compared to traditional (e.g., individual, in-person) psychotherapeutic approaches, her work aims to develop effective and affordable digital health tools to reduce problematic substance use. By striving to close the treatment gap and promote health equity, Natalia’s ultimate goal is to foster more equitable outcomes and empower individuals from all backgrounds to achieve lasting recovery and well-being.

Natalia is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her fellowship is funded by a NIDA T32 in Substance Use Disorders Treatment and Services Research. In this capacity, Natalia works with Dr. Derek Satre, Dr. Janice Tsoh, and Dr. Stacy Sterling. In addition to continuing her work in digital mental health treatments and social determinants of health in substance use disorders at UCSF, she is collaborating with Kaiser Permanente Division of Research to enhance prediction of key risk outcomes from health data records using machine learning and other advanced statistical modeling approaches.

Natalia recently completed her clinical psychology residency at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System where she worked at the Stanford-affiliated Center for Innovation to Implementation. In this role, she conducted research on virtual reality applications to enhance mindfulness training for veterans with substance use disorders in collaboration with Dr. Daniel Blonigen.

Natalia received her PhD training in clinical science from the Pennsylvania State University. Her graduate work was funded by a NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellowship in Prevention Science and Methodology under the mentorship of Dr. José A. Soto, Dr. Michelle G. Newman and Dr. Ashley Linden-Carmichael. She completed her BA in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 2016, where she worked in the Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Robert W. Levenson. Her work has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research Society on Alcohol, Association for Psychological Science, and Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.