Michael Amlung
- Associate Director for Training & Senior Scientist, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment
- Professor, Department of Applied Behavioral Science
Contact Info
Lawrence
1000 Sunnyside Ave.
Lawrence, KS 66045-7599
Biography —
Dr. Michael Amlung is a Professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and an Senior Scientist and Associate Director for Training in the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment. He is also the Director of the Behavioral Economics and Addiction Neuroscience Lab, which conducts research on causes, consequences, and treatment of addictive disorders. His research examines factors that contribute to pathological decision-making in individuals with substance use disorders, the behavioral and brain basis of motivation to use alcohol and other drugs, and the effects of environmental contexts and physiological states on addictive behaviors.
Dr. Amlung received a M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Georgia and completed a NIAAA-funded postdoctoral fellowship in addictions research at the University of Missouri. He was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, where he remains a faculty affiliate of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research. In Summer 2020, Dr. Amlung joined the faculty at KU and moved his laboratory to the Lawrence campus.
In the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at KU, Dr. Amlung serves as chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and a member of the Graduate Studies Committee. Dr. Amlung has served as an Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Addiction from 2018-2021, Special Issue Editor for Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, and Program Chair for the Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction conference sponsored by the Society of Addiction Psychology (APA Division 50).
Teaching —
Dr. Amlung teaches courses and mentors undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science.
Dr. Amlung’s teaching interests include courses in addictions, behavioral economics and neuroeconomics, research methods and data analytic approaches. He is also interested in professional development for faculty and students, including leadership, grant writing, and graduate student mentorship.
Dr. Amlung is deeply committed to his role as a mentor for graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in addictions and behavioral science research.
Selected Publications —
View Complete List of Peer-Reviewed Publications on PubMed
Dr. Amlung’s mentees and postdoctoral fellows are denoted by **
Weinsztok, S.C., Reed, D.R., & Amlung, M. (In Press). Further adaptation of cross-commodity purchase task methodology: The impact of preference rank on demand. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Aston, E. R., Amlung, M. (In Press). Gimmie the gummies: Initial validation of the edible marijuana purchase task. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
**Miller, B. P., Murphy, J. G., MacKillop, J., Martin, L. E., & Amlung, M. (2026). Family history of problem drinking is associated with reduced sensitivity of alcohol demand to next-day responsibilities: A replication and extension. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
**Csölle, K., Amlung, M., Bravo, A.J., Ortet-Walker, J., Vidal Arenas, V., Michelini, Y., Romano E., & Cross-Cultural Addictions Study Team. (2026). Risk perceptions related to driving after use of alcohol and cannabis in a cross-national sample of university students in six countries. Substance Use & Addiction Journal. 47(1):112-122.
**Miller, B.P., Aston, E.R., Spindle, T.R., & Amlung, M. (2026). Pass the keys: Using behavioral economics to explore driving after cannabis use. Substance Use & Addiction Journal. 47(1):134-143.
**Weinsztok, S.C. & Amlung, M. (2025). Research synthesis in behavior analysis I: An introductory guide to conducting systematic reviews. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 124(1): e70040.
**Miller, B.P., **Csölle, K., **Chen, C., **Lester, A., **Weinsztok, S.C., Aston, E.R., Amlung, M. (2025). Exploring the suitability of cannabis use with next-day responsibilities: A behavioral-economic and qualitative study. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 123, 41-56.
Elsayed, M., Marsden, E., Hargreaves, T., Syan, S.K., MacKillop, J., & Amlung, M. (2024). Triple network resting-state functional connectivity patterns of alcohol heavy drinking. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 59(5), agae056.
**Weinsztok, S.C., Reed, D.D., **Miller, B.P., & Amlung, M. (2024). Adaptation of commodity purchase tasks to identify substitutable substance-free alternative activities for alcohol use. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 32(4), 398-409.
Amlung, M., Marsden, E., Hargreaves, T., Sweet, L.H., Murphy, J.G., & MacKillop, J. (2024). Neural correlates of increased alcohol demand following alcohol cue exposure in adult heavy drinkers. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. 340, 111809
**Miller, B.P., Aston, E.R., **Davis, W., Berey, B.L., Dowd, A.N., & Amlung, M. (2024). Examining the effect of cannabis cues on cannabis demand in sleep, driving, and typical drug-use contexts. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 251, 111057.
**Davis, W., **Miller, B.P., & Amlung, M. (2024). Perceptions and attitudes related to driving after cannabis use in Canadian and U.S. adults. Substance Use and Addiction. 45(1):114-123.
**Marsden, E., Murphy, J.G., MacKillop, J., & Amlung, M. (2023). Alcohol cues increase behavioral economic demand and craving for alcohol in non-treatment seeking and treatment-seeking heavy drinkers. Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, 47, 2149-2160.
**Miller, B.P., Reed, D.D., & Amlung, M. (2023). Reliability and validity of behavioral economic measures: a review and synthesis of discounting and demand. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. 120(2), 263-280.
**Weinsztok, S.C., Reed, D. D., & Amlung, M. (2023) Identifying substitute activities for alcohol consumption: a preliminary analysis. Addiction Research and Theory. 31, 209-219.
**Miller, B.P., Murphy, J.G., MacKillop, J., & Amlung, M. (2023). Next-day responsibilities attenuate demand for alcohol among a crowdsourced sample of community adults. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 31(3), 633-642.
**Patel, H.N. & Amlung, M. (2023). Income shock increases preferences for smaller immediate rewards and reduces alcohol demand among a sample of crowd-sourced adults. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 31(3), 605-611.
**Weinsztok, S.C., Reed, D. D., & Amlung, M. (2023). Substance-related cross-commodity purchase tasks: A systematic review. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 37(1), 72-86.
Amlung, M., Owens, M. M., Hargreaves, T., Gray, J. C., Murphy, C. M., MacKillop, J., & Sweet, L. H. (2022). Neuroeconomic predictors of smoking cessation outcomes: A preliminary study of delay discounting in treatment-seeking adult smokers. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 327, 111555.
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
2026-2027
University of Kansas Cancer Center Pilot Grant
Title: Improving Standardized Alcohol Screening to Inform Novel Intervention Approaches in Head and Neck Cancer
Role: Principal Investigator
Total Funding: $50,000
2025-2027
National Institute on Drug Abuse, F31 DA063325
Title: Contextual Factors Influencing Cannabis Use and Behavioral Economic Demand in the Natural Environment
Role: Sponsor (Principal Investigator: Brandon Miller, M.A.)
Total Funding: $80,616
2025-2026
University of Kansas General Research Fund
Title: Mixed Methods Refinement of Behavioral Economic Measures for Emerging Cannabis Products
Role: Principal Investigator
Total Funding: $11,300
2019-2024
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, R01 AA027255-01
Title Using Neuroeconomics to Characterize State-Based Increases and Decreases in Alcohol Value
Role: Principal Investigator
Total Funding: $1,039,256 (USD)