• PhD, University at Buffalo, SUNY

My research program seeks to: (1) understand the mechanisms that underlie health behavior among people at increased risk for poor health outcomes; (2) explore the role of health inequities on behavioral health among those with medical comorbidities; and (3) address adverse clinical outcomes including pain, mental health, neurocognition, and quality of life. This interdisciplinary research focuses on three areas: (1) the mechanisms and outcomes of and treatments for tobacco use among people with HIV (PWH); (2) cannabis use for symptom management among patients with cancer; and (3) increasing awareness of and access to mental health support in the Black community.

PWH smoke at higher rates than people without HIV and due to the widespread use of antiretroviral therapy, PWH actually lose more life years to tobacco use than HIV. My research seeks to understand: (1) the mechanisms that underlie high smoking rates; (2) why existing treatments are less effective and relapse rates are higher among PWH; and (3) how HIV and smoking may act synergistically and lead to worse clinical outcomes including cancer and impaired immune function. 

More patients with cancer are using cannabis to help manage symptoms related to cancer and our work seeks to understand how and why patients with cancer use cannabis. Specifically, we are studying whether cannabis may reduce opioid use for managing cancer-related pain and the benefits and harms of cannabis use among patients undergoing immunotherapy. We are also examining how inequities in access to cannabis may impact cancer-related outcomes.

Lastly, we are collaborating with a community-based organization, the National Witness Project (Dee Johnson, Director), to understand and address mental health service barriers in Buffalo’s Black community. Through this community-based participatory research we are developing a novel health communication outreach program tailored to strategies for reaching, educating, and navigating the community to mental health services.

• Hubbard AN, Weinberger AH, Levy S, Greene B, Ashare RL. Exploring tobacco, cannabis, and pain-related sleep disturbance among people with and without HIV enrolled in a tobacco smoking cessation trial. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2026 Aug 1;285:113220.
• Greene B, Ghosh S, Colder C, Meghani S, Worster B, Ashare R. Associations between neighborhood disadvantage, cannabis use, and patient-reported outcomes among patients with cancer. Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. 2026 May 23;19:100449.
• Yadav A, Stephens-Shields AJ, Karaj A, Kossenkov AV, Kannan T, Putt ME, Collman RG, Ashare RL. Galantamine for 12 weeks does not improve neurocognition or immune activation in ART-suppressed people with HIV. AIDS. 2026 Apr 1;40(4):449-460.
• Levy S, Meghani S, Worster B, Kilanowski C, Smith D, Case AA, Ashare RL. Cannabis stigma and symptom management considerations in cancer survivors: a mixed-methods exploration of patient perspectives. Support Care Cancer. 2026 Mar 13;34(4):313.
• Nugent SM, Ashare RL, Cullen J, Haque R, Hu J, Lee RT, Meghani SH, Potosky AL, Reboussin BA, Romero-Sandoval A, Wagoner KG, Wang Y, Worster B, Filipski KK, Freedman AN. Leveraging the national cancer institute's collaborative efforts to understand the benefits and harms of cannabis use among individuals with cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2026 Feb 26:djag057.
• Greene B, Schnoll RA, Gross R, Ashare RL. The role of alternative reinforcers in smoking outcomes among people with and without HIV. Psychol Addict Behav. 2025 Jun 5.
• Levy S, Schnoll RA, Wileyto EP, Thompson M, Azad M, Metzger D, Leone F, Ashare RL. Differences in Cognition and Smoking Abstinence Rates Among People With and Without HIV Who Smoke. Nicotine Tob Res. 2025 Sep 23;27(10):1831-1839.
• Levy S, Hirschman K, Matus A, Thomas G, Riegel B, Ashare R. Do coping style and future time perspective relate to surrogate decision-making preparedness? A cross-sectional analysis of heart failure caregivers. Aging Ment Health. 2025 May;29(5):874-880.
• Yadav A, Gionet G, Karaj A, Kossenkov AV, Kannan T, Putt ME, Stephens Shields AJ, Ashare RL, Collman RG. Association of smoking with neurocognition, inflammatory and myeloid cell activation profiles in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. AIDS. 2024 Dec 1;38(15):2010-2020.
• Ashare RL, Worster B, Nugent SM, Smith DM, Morasco BJ, Leader AE, Case AA, Meghani SH. Cannabis and opioid perceptions, co-use, and substitution among patients across 4 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 2024 Aug 15;2024(66):267-274.
• Ellison GL, Helzlsouer KJ, Rosenfield SM, Kim Y, Ashare RL, Blaes AH, Cullen J, Doran N, Ebbert JO, Egan KM, Heffner JL, Lee RT, McClure EA, McDaniels-Davidson C, Meghani SH, Newcomb PA, Nugent S, Hernandez-Ortega N, Salz T, Vidot DC, Worster B, Zylla DM. Perceptions, prevalence, and patterns of cannabis use among cancer patients treated at 12 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 2024 Aug 15;2024(66):202-217.
• Worster B, Meghani SH, Leader AE, Nugent SM, Jones KF, Yeager KA, Liou K, Ashare RL. Toward reducing racialized pain care disparities: Approaching cannabis research and access through the lens of equity and inclusion. Cancer. 2024 Feb 15;130(4):497-504.
• Medaglio D, Bilker WB, Han X, Merlin JS, Plankey M, Martin J, Crane HM, Hojat LS, Bamford L, Schnoll R, Tyndale RF, Gross R, Ashare RL. Nicotine Metabolite Ratio Decreases After Switching Off Efavirenz-Based Therapy in People With HIV Who Smoke. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Jan;115(1):80-85.
• Greene B, Bernardo L, Thompson M, Loughead J, Ashare R. An Embedded Recruitment Trial of Behavioral Economic Strategies to Improve Enrollment Rates in Clinical Research. JMIR Formative Research. 2023 Jul 21;7:e47121..
• Ashare R, Turay E, Worster B, Wetherill R, Bidwell L, Doucette A, et al. Social Determinants of Health Associated with How Cannabis is Obtained and Used in Patients with Cancer Receiving Care a Cancer Treatment Center in Pennsylvania. Cannabis, 2023;6(2):1-12.

• UB Exceptional Scholar—Sustained Achievement Award