Dr. Lindsay Squeglia: Alcohol, Cannabis, and the Teen Brain

Alcohol and cannabis use are typically initiated during adolescence. This is concerning as the brain is still developing until around age 25. This presentation will cover how the past 2 decades of research have revealed the effect of alcohol and cannabis use on the developing brain. Suggestions for talking to adolescents about substance use, as well as treatment options, will be discussed.
Dr. Lindsay Squeglia
University of South Carolina
Associate Professor
Dr. Lindsay Squeglia is an Associate Professor and licensed clinical psychologist at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is the co-Director of the MUSC Youth Collaborative, and her National Institutes of Health-supported research focuses on: (1) understanding the effects of alcohol and cannabis use on brain development and (2) using neuroscience to improve prevention and treatment of adolescent substance use disorders. She co-leads MUSC's site for the nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) and is on the ABCD Steering Committee, Novel Technology Workgroup, and Community Engagement and Dissemination Workgroup. She has a strong interest in community outreach and education efforts and leads the MUSC High School Teen Science Ambassador Program, providing underrepresented high school students with a three-phase internship experience in academic clinical research. She is the current Chair of the Research Society on Alcoholism’s National Advocacy and Public Education Committee.
Dr. Squeglia is originally from South Carolina and grew up in the Charleston area. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Experimental Psychology at the University of South Carolina and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the San Diego State University/University of California San Diego (UCSD). She completed her clinical internship in neuropsychology at the University of California Los Angeles and her postdoctoral fellowship in neuroimaging at UCSD. In 2021, she received a Fulbright Scholar Award to build a cross-national collaboration between the US and Australia to improve health outcomes globally for youth struggling with problematic substance use.