• PhD, University of Alabama - Birmingham

EVarQuit. This ongoing NCI-funded randomized controlled trial not only extends our evaluation of an extinction-learning approach to improve treatment outcome but also provides tests of candidate treatment mechanisms. To accomplish the latter, all 320 participants complete two lab sessions evaluating changes in cigarette and food reinforcement and craving, 9 weeks of ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and provide repeated samples to assess the time course of medication (varenicline) levels and its role in treatment response. Collaborators include Drs Martin Mahoney, Stephen Tiffany, Craig Colder, Rachel Tyndale, Jennifer Wray, and Julie Gass. Find out more at quitforgoodwny.com. A CTSA-funded supplement to this trial is evaluating two promising reinforcement approaches for maintaining EMA adherence in the trial. 

Additional active research includes multiple student-led projects, including:

• The development and evaluation of improved assessment of self-reports related to quitting (led by graduate student Sarah Tonkin). 
• A laboratory evaluation of the time course of abstinence from JUUL, a pod-based electronic nicotine delivery system (led by grad student Adam Ferkin).
• A double-blind, placebo controlled examination of the effects of acute caffeine on sustained attention in adolescents (led by grad student Bobby Cooper; in collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Temple).
• A preliminary evaluation of the effects of varenicline on cigarette and food reinforcement in treatment-seeking smokers (led by grad student Schuyler Lawson; in collaboration with the EVarQuit Team). 

The lab also has recent/ongoing/proposed studies related to the following: 

• Multiple aspects of reinforcement, cognition, and creativity in ADHD (with Dr. Greg Fabiano et al.).
• Studies of habituation of reinforcer effectiveness (with Dr. Jerry Richards).
• The world’s first randomized controlled trials to enhance collaboration among early career scholars (funded by NCATS; see http://www.buffalo.edu/innovationlabs.html; collaborators include Drs. Tim Murphy and Katherine Hartmann).

• Tonkin, S., Williams, T., Simms, L., Tiffany, S., Mahoney, M., Schnoll, R., Cinciripini, P., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2019).  Withdrawal symptom, treatment mechanism, and/or side effect? Developing an explicit measurement model for smoking cessation research. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 
• Hawk, L.W., Jr., Fosco, W.D., Colder, C.R., Waxmonsky, J.G., Pelham, W.E., Jr., & Rosch, K.S. (2018). How do stimulant treatments for ADHD work? Evidence for mediation by improved cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12917.
• Brandon, T.H., Unrod, M., Drobes D.J., Sutton, S.K., Hawk, L.W., Simmons, V.N., Brandon, K.O., Roetzheim, R.G., Meltzer, L.R., Miller, R.R., & Cahill, S.P. (2018). Facilitated extinction training to improve pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation: A pilot feasibility trial. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 20, 1189-1197.  DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntx203.
• Fosco, W. D., & Hawk, L. W., Jr. (2017). Relating lab to life: Decrements in attention over time predict math productivity among children with ADHD. Child Neuropsychology, 23, 148-158. DOI:10.1080/09297049.2015.1089982. PMID: 26397814.
• Schlienz, N., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2017). Probing the behavioral and neurophysiological effects of acute smoking abstinence on drug and non-drug reinforcement during a cognitive task. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 19, 729-737. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntw277.
• Motschman, C.A., Gass, J.C., Wray, J.M., Germeroth, L.J., Schlienz, N.J., Hamilton, D.A., Moore, F.E., Rhodes, J.D., Hawk, L.W., & Tiffany, S.T. (2016). Selection Criteria Limit Generalizability of Smoking Pharmacotherapy Studies Differentially Across Clinical Trials and Laboratory Studies: A Systematic Review on Varenicline. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 169, 180-189.
• Rhodes, J.D., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2016). Smoke and mirrors: The overnight abstinence paradigm as an index of disrupted cognitive function. Psychopharmacology, 233(8), 1395-1404.DOI:10.1007/s00213-016-4227-8. PMID: 26875757.
• Rosch, K.S., Fosco, W.D., Pelham, W.E., Jr., Waxmonsky, J.G., Bubnik, M.G., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2016). Reinforcement and stimulant medication ameliorate deficient response inhibition in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44, 309-321.DOI:10.1007/s10802-015-0031-x. PMID: 25985978. PMCID: PMC4654720.
• Hawk, L.W., Jr., Ashare, R.L., Rhodes, J.D., Oliver, J., Cummings, K.M., & Mahoney, M.C. (2015). Does extended pre-quit bupropion aid in extinguishing smoking behavior? Nicotine & Tobacco Research,17, 1377-84. PMID: 25589680.
• Lerman, C., Schnoll, R.A., Hawk, L.W., Jr., Cinciripini, P.M., George, T.P., Wileyto, E.P., Swan, G.E., Benowitz, N.L., Heitjan, D.F., & Tyndale, R.F. on behalf of the PGRN-PNAT Research Group (2015). A randomized placebo-controlled trial to test a genetically-informed biomarker for personalizing treatment for tobacco dependence. Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 3(2), 131-138. PMID: 25588294. PMCID: PMC4480925.
• Schlienz, N., Hawk, L.W., Jr., Tiffany, S.T., O’Connor, R.J., & Mahoney, M.C. (2014). The impact of pre-cessation varenicline on behavioral economic indices of smoking reinforcement. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 1484–1490. DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.05.008. PMCID: PMC4109268 [Available on 2015-10-01].
• Lloyd, D.R., Medina, D.J., Hawk, L.W., Fosco, W.D., Richards, J.B.  (2013). Habituation of reinforcer effectiveness. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 7: 107. DOI:10.3389/fnint.2013.00107. PMCID: PMC3885986.
• Ashare, R.L. & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2012). Effects of smoking abstinence on impulsive behavior among smokers high and low ADHD-like symptoms. Psychopharmacology, 219, 537-547. Appears in the Special Issue on Impulsivity and Compulsivity. DOI:10.1007/s00213-011-2324-2. PMCID: PMC3184469.
• Gass, J.C., Wray, J.M., Hawk, L.W., Mahoney, M.C., & Tiffany, S.T. (2012). The impact of varenicline on cue-specific craving assessed in the natural environment among treatment-seeking smokers. Psychopharmacol, 223, 107-116. DOI 10.1007/s00213-012-2698-9. PMCID: PMC3419339.
• Hawk, L.W., Jr., Ashare, R.L., Lohnes, S.F., Schlienz, N.J., Rhodes, J.D., Tiffany, S.T., Gass, J.C., Cummings, K.M., & Mahoney, M.C. (2012). The effects of extended pre-quit varenicline treatment on smoking behavior and short-term abstinence: A randomized clinical trial. Clin Pharmacol & Ther, 91, 172-180. PMCID: PMC3325094.