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        Paula Riggs, M.D.

Paula Riggs, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado at Denver and the Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC).  She has also been the Director of Psychiatric Services for Adolescents at UCDHSC-affiliated Addiction, Research and Treatment Services (ARTS), for the past decade. Dr. Riggs’ research career has focused on the development and testing of effective pharmacotherapy and behavioral treatment interventions in adolescents with substance use disorders and psychiatric comorbidity. More recently her research has expanded to multi-site effectiveness trials of combined pharmacotherapy and behavioral interventions conducted in community-based treatment settings. She has been the Principal Investigator on a number of NIH/NIDA-funded research grants including a recently completed randomized controlled trial of fluoxetine vs placebo + cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in depressed, substance dependent adolescents. She is also currently the Principal Investigator of a multi-site trial in NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network (CTN): A Randomized Controlled Trial of OROS-MPH for ADHD in Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders. She is the author of numerous publications and educational articles and monographs in the field of adolescent treatment research.  In addition to her clinical treatment research she is also plays an active role in mentoring, teaching, and training medical students, psychiatric residents, and junior faculty within her own academic institution as well as nationally. She is the Principal Investigator of the NIDA/AACAP K 12 Physician Scientist Career Development Award, the purpose of which is to provide training for 5 child psychiatrists to become career investigators in the area of pediatric addiction research.