Will M. Aklin, PhD

Will Aklin

Will M. Aklin, Ph.D., is Chief of the Clinical Research Grants Branch of the Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and director of the Behavioral Therapy Development Program. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland—College Park. Dr. Aklin’s areas of research include development of theory-derived targeted treatments; studies that integrate behavioral/pharmacological treatment, and validation and optimization of digital therapeutic interventions. Dr. Aklin has led several NIDA flagship initiatives including the Racial Equity Initiative and the Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH in partnership with NIAAA and NCI on the development and testing of behavioral therapies for drug and alcohol use disorders. Dr. Aklin is the recipient of the College on Problem of Drug Dependence (CPDD)’s prestigious J. Michael Morrison Award, and is a leader across NIH, and has led several NIH Common Fund initiatives, including Science of Behavior Change: Use-Inspired Research to Optimize Behavior Change Interventions and Outcomes, Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative, as well as partnerships with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on digital therapeutics and device-based treatments for substance use disorders.