From Dr. Mahoney:
I am very excited to be recruiting 1 to 2 PhD students during this upcoming application cycle for Fall 2026 admission! The Clinical Psychology PhD program at The University of New Mexico (UNM) is absolutely stellar and accredited by both APA and PCSAS as a Clinical Science model. We also have a new PhD area: Diversity and Health Data Science Across the Lifespan. I am open to recruiting students for either PhD program as I am affiliated with both; UNM has great funding for PhD students!
My program of research focuses on exploring risk, maintenance, and protective factors for the symptoms and diagnoses of co-occurring PTSD and SUD in the realm of trauma and addiction primarily among women following exposure to violence and secondarily among veterans of all gender identities using mixed methods. As such, I am also affiliated with the Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA) at UNM and all of the phenomenal faculty and staff there!
The intention with my research is to inform and enhance existing evidence-based assessment instruments and interventions as well as developing new ones. I’m particularly interested in created integrated digital health interventions, brief face-to-face therapies, and developing behavioral assessment tools.
PhD students in my lab have the opportunity to work on 4 active pilot studies that focus on the experimental self-administration of alcohol, qualitative scale development, alcohol-related IPV using EMA, and the testing of a pilot clinical trial. These studies are being conducted to gather pilot data for larger grants. In addition, I am submitting an R01 award application to NIDA focused on veterans and co-occurring PTSD and cannabis use, and planning a multisite study focused on campus sexual assault and IPV for Fall 2026.
I’m also very much open to mentoring student grants and awards! My current PhD student at UNM, Reagan Fitzke, just received an NoA from NIAAA for her F31 project focused on protective behavioral strategies for alcohol and cannabis co-use among college women sexual assault survivors. She’s a rock star and we’re excited to see what she finds!
Please reach out to me via email (ColinMahoney@unm.edu) if you have questions and are interested in applying! Individuals from historically underrepresented or marginalized groups are especially encouraged to apply! Lastly, if you’re reading this but already have your advanced degrees, feel free to share with post-bac or undergraduate RAs you know are applying this cycle and may be interested in our work, thank you!
MPWR Lab 