Nicholas A. Livingston, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Livingston received his PhD from the University of Montana and completed his predoctoral internship at VA Boston Healthcare System (rotations: Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program, Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, and Women's Trauma Recovery Program). He subsequently completed the 2-year VA Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment at VA Boston, with an emphasis in substance use disorder (SUD) and PTSD research and treatment. Dr. Livingston is currently a Principal Investigator in the National Center for PTSD, Behavioral Science Division, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. His clinical appointment is in the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program, VA Boston Medical Center, JP. Primary clinical expertise includes evidence-based SUD and PTSD treatment, and patient centered adaptations to evidence-based care.

Primary research interests include substance use and disorder, treatment access and outcomes, and adverse events (e.g., overdose); the longitudinal course of trauma, PTSD, and interrelated psychiatric sequelae; and health disparities. Current funding supports examinations of the impacts of COVID-19 and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) policy changes on access to care and patient outcomes (e.g., relapse, mortality; PCORI COVID-2020C2-11081; PI: Livingston), the long-term impacts of combat and other traumas among OEF/OIF/OND veterans (W81XWH-22-S-TBIPH2; PIs: Marx & Bovin), and various studies focused on VA health services and patient outcomes. Current priorities include improving access to MOUD and treatment retention, substance use and relapse tracking using electronic medical record data (via Natural Language Processing and Large Language Models), modeling risk for acute and substance-attributable death among veterans with SUD, and identifying and addressing health disparities.

Dr. Livingston is also a primary or co-mentor on early career development awards (e.g., K, VA CDA-2) and core research training faculty for the Boston University NIMH T32, VA Medical Informatics Fellowship, VA Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment, and other psychology training programs at VA Boston Healthcare System.

Publications

  • Published 8/21/2025

    Fonda JR, Loeffel LB, Livingston NA, Knoff AA, Bravman V, Gradus JL, Adams RS. Sex-Specific Associations Between Deployment-Related Traumatic Brain Injury and Nonfatal Drug Overdose Among a National Cohort of Post-9/11 Veterans. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2025 Aug 21. PMID: 40845918.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/17/2025

    Rosenfeld EA, Malek N, Lockett M, Edward D, Hooper V, Harper KL, Herbitter C, Thompson SM, Ceja A, Saty M, Chang CJ, Collazo EN, Ong L, Stave C, Cudd A, O'Reilly A, Livingston NA. Protocol for a scoping review of PTSD and minority stress interventions for LGBTQIA +?adults. Discov Psychol. 2025; 5(1):54. PMID: 40688725.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/30/2025

    Jones KF, Mandavia AD, Gurewich D, Wyse JJ, Sung ML, Becker WC, Livingston NA. Characteristics of Veterans Receiving Medication for Opioid Use Disorder: An Observational Cohort Study. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Jun 30. PMID: 40588710.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/23/2025

    Mandavia AD, Fonda JR, Banducci AN, Ameral VE, Sistad Hall RE, Loeffel LB, Roth CE, Simpson TL, Stein MD, Marx BP, Hyde J, Davenport M, Meng F, Livingston NA. Sex and race-ethnicity influences on opioid overdose deaths among veterans diagnosed with opioid use disorder between 2016 and 2021. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Sep 01; 274:112764. PMID: 40578052.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/9/2025

    Crowe ML, Livingston NA, Keane TM, Marx BP. Measurement invariance of the PTSD checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) in a veteran sample. Psychol Assess. 2025 Sep; 37(9):454-460. PMID: 40489149.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Psychologist, National Center for PTSD
    VA Boston Healthcare System

Education

  • University of Montana, PhD