Reagan R. Wetherill, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Assistant Director, Clinical Core of the Penn-Yale PET Academic Center of Excellence
Department: Psychiatry
Contact information
Center for Studies of Addiction
3535 Market Street, Suite 500
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3535 Market Street, Suite 500
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 746-3953
Publications
Education:
B.S. (Neuroscience)
Vanderbilt University, 2002.
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)
University of Texas at Austin, 2006.
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology)
University of Texas at Austin, 2010.
Permanent linkB.S. (Neuroscience)
Vanderbilt University, 2002.
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)
University of Texas at Austin, 2006.
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology)
University of Texas at Austin, 2010.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Dr. Gehrman is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in Neuropsychology and Alcohol/Drug Treatment.Description of Research Expertise
Guided by neuroscience and clinical neuroimaging techniques, Dr. Wetherill's translational research program is focused on improving treatment outcomes for addictive disorders by (1) identifying individual differences in brain and behavioral vulnerabilities for developing and maintaining addictive disorders, (2) evaluating brain changes following chronic substance use, and (3) identifying mechanisms of treatment effect. Her research has varied across different populations (adolescents, adults, youth at risk, individuals with tobacco use disorder, alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, opioid use disorder, HIV) and study design/approach (longitudinal cohort, randomized clinical trial, human laboratory, molecular imaging, and neuroimaging). Dr. Wetherill is an internationally-recognized expert in alcohol-induced memory impairments, specifically alcohol-induced blackouts, and serves as an expert consultant/witness for the Penn Title IX office and in military and civilian courts.Selected Publications
Wetherill, R.R., Doot, R.K., Young, A.J., Lee, H., Schubert, E.K., Wiers, C.E., Leone, F.T., Mach, R.H., Kranzler, H.R., Dubroff, J.G.: Molecular imaging of pulmonary inflammation in electronic and combustible cigarette users: a pilot study. Journal of Nuclear Medicine Jan 2023 Notes: doi: 10.2967/jnumed.122.264529.Regier, P.S., Gawrysiak, M.J., Jagannathan, K., Childress, A.R., Franklin, T.R., Wetherill, R.R.: Trauma exposure among cannabis use disorder individuals was associated with a craving-correlated non-habituating amygdala response to aversive cues. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports 5: 100098, December 2022.
Franklin, T.R., Spilka, N.H., Keyser, H., Maron, M., Jagannathan, K., Wetherill, R.R.: Impact of the natural hormonal milieu on ventral striatal responses to appetitive cigarette smoking cues: a prospective longitudinal study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports 5: 100119, December 2022.
Doot, R.K., Young, A.J., Nasrallah, I.M., Wetherill, R.R., Siderowf, A., Mach, R.H., Dubroff, J.G. : [18F]NOS PET brain imaging suggests elevated neuroinflammation in idiopathic parkinson’s disease. Cells 11(19): 3081, Sep 2022.
Daviet, R., Aydogan, G., Jagannathan, K., Spilka, N., Koellinger, P.D., Kranzler, H.R., Nave, G., Wetherill, R.R.: Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank. Nature Communications 13(1): 1175, March 2022.
Ekhtiari, H., Zare-Bidoky, M., Sangchooli, A., Janes, A., Kaufman, M.J., Oliver, J., Prisciandaro, J.J., Wüstenberg, T., Anton, R.A., Bach, P., Baldacchino, A., Beck, A., Bjorks, J., Brewer, J., Childress, A.C., Claus, E., Courtney, K., Ebrahimi, M., Filbey, F., Ghahremani, D., Azbari, P.G., Goldstein, R., Goudrian, A., Grodin, E., Hamilton, P., Hanlon, C.A., Hasani Abharian, P., Heinz, A., Joseph, J.E., Kiefer, F., Khojasteh-Zonoozi, A., Kober, H., Kuplicki, R., Li, Q., London, E.D., McClernon, J., Noori, H., Owens, M., Paulus, M., Perini, I., Potenza, M., Potvin, S., Ray, L., Schacht, J., Seo, D., Sinha, R., Smolka, M.N., Spanagel, R., Steele, V., Stein, E., Loeber, S.L., Tapert, S., Verdejo-Garcia, A., Vollstaedt-Klein, A., Wetherill, R., Wilson, S., Witkiewitz, K., Yuan, K., Zhang, X., Zilverstand, A.: A methodological checklist for fMRI drug cue reactivity studies: development and expert consensus. Nature Protocols 17(3): 567-595, March 2022.
Ely, A.V., Keyser, H., Spilka, N., Franklin, T.R., Wetherill, R.R., Audrain-McGovern, J.: An exploration of associations between smoking motives and behavior as a function of body mass index. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports 1: 100008, November 2021.
Ely, A.V., Jagannathan, K., Spilka, N., Keyser, H., Rao, H., Franklin, T.R., Wetherill, R.R.: Exploration of the influence of body mass index on intra-network resting-state connectivity in chronic cigarette smokers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 227: 108911, Oct 2021.
Aydogan, G., Daviet, R., Karlsson, R., Linnér, R.K., Harel, T.A., Kable, J.W., Kranzler, H.R., Wetherill, R.R., Ruff, C.C., Koellinger, P.D., Nave, G. : Genetic underpinnings of risky behavior relate to altered neuroanatomy. Nature Human Behavior 5(6): 787-794, June 2021.
Delgado, M.K., Shofer, F., Wetherill, R.R., Curtis, B., Hemmons, J., Spencer, E., Branas, C., Wiebe, D., Kranzler, H.R.: Accuracy of Consumer‐marketed smartphone‐paired alcohol breath testing devices: A laboratory validation study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 45(5): 1091-1099, May 2021.