Bio

Dr. Blonigen is an Investigator and an Associate Director at the Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He is also an Affiliate Investigator with the VA National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans, and a Clinical Associate Professor (Affiliated) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota and is a former VA Career Development Awardee in Clinical Sciences R&D. He is licensed as a clinical psychologist in the State of California.

Dr. Blonigen’s research mission is to identify and develop innovations to increase access and engagement in substance use and mental health care for vulnerable populations. In particular, he is interested in testing the effectiveness and implementation potential of mobile health and peer-based interventions for justice-involved and homeless veterans. He is currently leading or co-leading multisite trials of behavioral interventions for justice-involved and homeless veterans. He is also funded by VA HSR&D to tailor smartphone applications for self-management of unhealthy drinking for veteran primary care patients and use of peer specialists to increase patient engagement with these apps.

In addition to research, Dr. Blonigen is actively involved in mentoring and teaching VA research fellows and Stanford University residents. These roles include serving as a faculty mentor for the Stanford Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program, as well as directing the research training program for clinical psychology interns at VA Palo Alto. He is a member of several VA management and oversight committees and has served as a grant reviewer for national and international funders. He is an invited speaker at national conferences and cyberseminars devoted to substance use and mental health research, and he holds editorial positions for leading addiction, personality, and assessment journals.