Christina A. Brezing, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
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Overview

Dr. Brezing is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Division on Substance Use Disorders at Columbia University, and a Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. She attended Duke University for her undergraduate degree in biology with a focus in biochemistry, and completed her medical degree at the University of Florida where she graduated Alpha Omega Alpha and with honors in research. During medical school, she completed the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health (HHMI-NIH) Research Scholars Program studying neuroimaging of impulse control disorders, including pathological gambling, compulsive sexual behavior, and shopping. She completed psychiatry residency at Harvard Medical School-Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, where she served as chief resident in addiction, in addition to a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded T32 research fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is board certified in addiction and general psychiatry.

Dr. Brezing is currently NIH funded with a 5-year NIDA K23 award to investigate medication treatments for cannabis use disorder and applications of technology to clinical trials for substance use disorders. She is a Columbia Eric D. Hadar Fellow, and her research has been supported by the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education, the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, and the Smithers Foundation. She is the course director for the addiction curriculum for the Columbia Psychiatry residency and the co-director for the curriculum for the Columbia Addiction Psychiatry fellowship. She previously served on the boards of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and New York Society of Addiction Medicine.

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

Administrative Titles

  • Research Scientist, New York State Psychiatric Institute

Gender

  • Female

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BS, Biology, focus Biochemistry, Duke University
  • MD, Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine Gainesville FL
  • Internship: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  • Residency: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  • Residency: McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA
  • Fellowship: Columbia/ New York Psychiatric Inst

Research

Grants

Randomized Controlled Trial of Lorcaserin for Cannabis use Disorder (Federal Gov)

Aug 1 2018 – July 31 2023

Selected Publications

Original Research, Peer Reviewed

Warren MW, Larner SF, Kobeisy FH, Brezing CA, Jeung JA, Hayes RL, Gold MS, Wang KWW. Calpain and caspase proteolytic markers co-localize with rat cortical neurons after exposure to methamphetamine and MDMA. Acta Neuropath 2007. Sep; 114(3): 277-286. PMC1764700

Voon V, Reynolds B, Brezing C, Gallea C, Skaljic M, Ekanayake V, Fernandez H, Potenza M, Dolan RJ, Hallett M. Impulsive choice and response in dopamine agonist-related impulse control behaviors. Psychopharm 2010. Jan; 207(4): 645-659. PMID: 19838863

Voon V, Pessiglione M, Brezing C, Gallea C, Fernandez M, Dolan RJ, Hallett M. Mechanisms underlying dopamine-mediated reward bias in compulsive behaviors. Neuron 2010. Jan 14; 65(1): 132-142. PMID: 20152119

Voon V, Brezing C, Gallea C, Ameli R, Roelofs K, LaFrance WC Jr, Hallett M. Emotional stimuli and motor conversion disorder. Brain 2010. May; 133(5): 1526-1536. PMC2859149

Brezing C, Derevensky J, Potenza M. Non-substance addictive behaviors in youth: Pathological gambling and problematic internet use. Child and Adol Psych Clin of North America 2010. July; 9(3): 625-641. PMC3673531

Voon V, Gao J, Brezing C, Symmonds M, Ekanayake V, Fernandez H, Dolan RJ, Hallett M. Dopamine agonists and risk: impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease. Brain 2011. May 134(5): 1438-1446. PMC3097893

Voon V, Brezing C, Gallea C, Hallett M. Aberrant supplementary motor cortex and limbic activity during motor preparation in motor conversion disorder. Mov Disord 2011. Nov; 26(13): 2396-2403. PMC4162742

Brezing C, Ferrara M, Freudenreich O. The syndemic illness of HIV and Trauma: Implications for a trauma-informed model of care. Psychosomatics 2014. Epub ahead of print. PMC3673531

Ruglass LM, Shevorykin A, Brezing C, Hu MC, Hien DA. Demographic and clinical characteristics of treatment seeking women with full and subthreshold PTSD and concurrent cannabis and cocaine use disorders. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2017 Sep; 80: 45-51; PMC5575989

Brezing C, Choi JC, Pavlicova M, Brooks D, Mahony A, Mariani JJ, Levin FR. Abstinence and reduced frequency of use are associated with improvements in quality of life among treatment-seekers with cannabis use disorder. Amer J. on Addictions. 2018. Mar; 27(2): 101-107. PMC5846101

Brezing C and Levin FR. The current state of pharmacological treatments for cannabis use disorder and withdrawal. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2018. Jan; 43(1): 173-194. PMC5719115

Book Chapters

Brezing C. Action Selection in Psychogenic Movement Disorders in Hallett M, Lang A, Jankovic J, editors. Psychogenic Movement Disorders and Other Movement Disorders. Cambridge University Press, New York 2011.

Brezing C, Keuroghlian A, Kaufman M. Conversion Disorder in Jones HR, Aminoff M, Burns T, Pomeroy S, editors. The Netter Collections of Medical Illustrations, Volume 7, Nervous System 2nd Edition, Part I, Elsevier, Philadelphia 2013.

Brezing C, Keuroghlian A, Kaufman M. Somatization in Jones HR, Aminoff M, Burns T, Pomeroy S, editors. The Netter Collections of Medical Illustrations, Volume 7, Nervous System 2nd Edition, Part I, Elsevier, Philadelphia 2013.

Keuroghlian A, Brezing C, Kaufman M. Child Abuse in Jones HR, Aminoff M, Burns T, Pomeroy S, editors. The Netter Collections of Medical Illustrations, Volume 7, Nervous System 2nd Edition, Part I, Elsevier, Philadelphia 2013.

Keuroghlian A, Brezing C, Kaufman M. Elder Abuse in Jones HR, Aminoff M, Burns T, Pomeroy S, editors. The Netter Collections of Medical Illustrations, Volume 7, Nervous System 2nd Edition, Part I, Elsevier, Philadelphia 2013.

Keuroghlian A, Brezing C, Kaufman M. Intimate Partner Violence in Jones HR, Aminoff M, Burns T, Pomeroy S, editors. The Netter Collections of Medical Illustrations, Volume 7, Nervous System 2nd Edition, Part I, Elsevier, Philadelphia 2013.

Sugarman D, Brezing C, Greenfield SF. Women and Substance Abuse in Frances R, Mack A, Brady K, editors. The Clinical Textbook of Addictive Disorders 4th Edition, Guilford Press, New York 2013.

Brendel RW, Brezing C, Lagomasino I, Perlis R, Stern T. The Suicidal Patient in Stern TA, et al., editors. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry, Elsevier, United Kingdom, 2015.

Brezing C and Marcovitz D. Stigma and Persons with Substance Use Disorders. Parekh R and Childs EW, editors. Stigma and Prejudice: Touchstones in understanding diversity in healthcare. Springer, Switzerland, 2016.

Brezing C and Levin FR. Cannabis, Nicotine, and Stimulant Abuse in Older Adults. Sullivan M and Levin FR, editors. Addiction in the Older Patient. Oxford University Press, New York, NY 2016.

Brezing C and Levin FR. Cannabinoids to Treat Cannabis Use Disorders. Ivan Montoya, editor. Cannabis Use Disorders. Springer Nature, New York, NY 2018.

Original, non-peer reviewed articles

Brezing C Emerging and current issues in the treatment of substance use disorders. Psychiatric Times. December 18, 2014; www.psychiatrictimes.com/addiction/emerging-and-current-issues-treatment... last accessed on March 8, 2015.

Brezing C and Bisaga, A. Opioid Use Disorder: Update on Diagnosis and Approach to Treatment. Psychiatric Times. April 30, 2015; http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/special-reports/opioid-use-disorder-upda... last accessed on May 9, 2016

Brezing C and Levin, FR. Off-label medications may help patients with cannabis use disorder. Psych News, Psychopharmacology column. December 2, 2016; http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2016.PP12a1; last accessed on January 2, 2017.

Brezing C and Levin FR. Special Report: Treatment of Cannabis Use Disorders. Psychiatric Times. August 2, 2017; http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/special-reports/treatment-cannabis-use-d... last accessed on January 7, 2019