Postdoctoral Trainees

Michelle J. Zaso, PhD
mjzaso@buffalo.edu



Michelle J. Zaso, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Psychology funded by a Pathway to Independence Award (K99 AA029728) through the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Prior to joining the Alcohol Research Lab, she received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Syracuse University and completed her predoctoral clinical internship in addictions and clinical research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

Dr. Zaso’s research focuses on interplay between the individual and their environment in problem drinking. Her current projects are working to characterize the role of affective alcohol cognitions in responsiveness to adverse, alcohol-triggering stressful and traumatic environments. She also examines how individual factors (genetics, affective alcohol cognitions, personality) influence susceptibility to abundant alcohol-facilitating socioenvironments across adolescence and young adulthood. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (F31 AA025833) and the American Psychological Association.

For a complete list of publications, see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1nCRloz51_D5L/bibliography/public/



Select Publications: 

Zaso, M. J., Read, J. P., & Colder, C. R. (2021). Coping-motivated escalations in adolescent alcohol problems following early adversity. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/adb0000788. PMID: 34618492.

Zaso, M. J., & Read, J. P. (2020). Drinking motives as moderators of in-the-moment drinking risks in response to trauma-related distress. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44(12), 2561-2569. doi: 10.1111/acer.14487. PMID: 33084082.

Zaso, M. J., Maisto, S. A., Glatt, S. J., Hess, J. L., & Park, A. (2020). Effects of polygenic risk and perceived friends’ drinking and disruptive behavior on development of alcohol use across adolescence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 81(6), 808-815. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2020.81.808. PMID: 33308411.

Desalu, J. M., Kim, J., Zaso, M. J., *Corriders, S. R., *Loury, J. A., *Minter, M. L., & Park, A. (2019). Racial discrimination, binge drinking, and negative drinking consequences among black college students: Serial mediation by depressive symptoms and coping motives. Ethnicity & Health, 24(8), 874-888. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2017.1380170 PMID: 28931304.

Zaso, M. J., Maisto, S. A., Glatt, S. J., Belote, J. M., & Park, A. (2017). Interaction between the μ‐opioid receptor gene and the number of heavy‐drinking peers on alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41(12), 2041-2050. doi: 10.1111/acer.13523 PMID: 28992386.

Park, A., Kim, J., Zaso, M. J., Glatt, S. J., Sher, K. J., Scott-Sheldon, L. A. J., Eckert, T. L., Vanable, P. A., Carey, K. B., Ewart, C. K., & Carey, M. P. (2017). The interaction between the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) variable number tandem repeat polymorphism and perceived peer drinking norms in adolescent alcohol use and misuse. Development and Psychopathology, 29(1), 173-183. doi: 10.1017/S0954579416000080 PMID: 26902782.

Zaso, M. J., Park, A., Kim, J., Gellis, L. A., Kwon, H., & Maisto, S. A. (2016). The associations among prior drinking consequences, subjective evaluations, and subsequent alcohol outcomes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(3), 367-376. doi: 10.1037/adb0000166 PMID: 27214171.