Lauren Loeffel, PhD, is a second-year postdoctoral fellow in the Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment within the VA Boston Healthcare System. Dr. Loeffel completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at Emory University and her predoctoral internship at the NYU Langone–Bellevue Clinical Psychology Internship Program. Her research primarily focuses on the biological and psychosocial mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of substance use disorders, using a combination of longitudinal modeling and statistical genetics. Currently, she is working to refine our understanding of the interface between substance use disorders and other forms of psychopathology, especially PTSD. Having provided addiction recovery across various setting, she has witnessed first-hand how stigma and structural barriers impact patient care and, in turn, is also interested in improving patient outcomes through substance use-related policy research. Overall, she is eager to reduce suffering among veterans and their families through her research and clinical work.