Nicholas A. Livingston, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Livingston is a PI within the VA’s Behavioral Science Division of the National Center for PTSD, a staff psychologist at VA Boston Healthcare System’s Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. His research focuses on complementary areas of substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comorbidity, treatment access and outcomes, and predicting and preventing adverse events (e.g., overdose death, suicide). Dr. Livingston also studies the disproportionate risk of suicide, overdose and alcohol-attributable death among vulnerable veteran populations. He is a thought leader on the subject of mental health disparities among LGBTQ+ individuals and veterans, in particular.

He has received funding to support examinations of the impacts of federal policy changes governing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) on access to care, treatment retention, and patient outcomes (PCORI LTF-2024C2-39670 & 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. His current research priorities include improving access to patient-centered SUD and PTSD treatment, deriving mortality phenotypes and modeling risk of death among veterans, and leveraging large language modeling and AI to identify novel markers of risk using electronic medical record data.

Dr. Livingston is a mentor on numerous early career development awards (e.g., K, VA CDA-2) and is core 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 5/4/2026

    Mandavia AD, Coppola EC, Maloney M, Portnoy GA, Presseau C, Iverson KM, Adams RS, Livingston NA. Differences in Intimate Partner Violence Screening, Violence Exposure, and Risk of Lethality Among Veterans with Substance Use Disorders. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 May 04. PMID: 42082854.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/20/2026

    Rentería R, Mitzner J, Kaziyev D, Livingston NA, Bettin E, Feinstein BA. Intersectional discrimination, identity conflict, and posttraumatic stress symptoms among bisexual+ people of color. J Trauma Stress. 2026 Mar 20. PMID: 41860751.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/19/2026

    Salim SR, Harper KL, Livingston NA, Feinstein BA, Hahn CK, Messman TL. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, antibisexual stigma, and alcohol use and binge drinking among young bisexual+ women who experienced sexual violence. Psychol Addict Behav. 2026 Mar 19. PMID: 41854675.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/15/2025

    Nomamiukor FO, Collazo EN, Harper KL, Neilson EC, Ellis AE, Simiola VL, Cook JM, Livingston NA. How masculinity and treatment impact posttraumatic stress disorder recovery in sexual minority men with sexual trauma: Findings from a randomized clinical trial. Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2025 Dec 15. PMID: 41641008.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/26/2025

    Cascalheira CJ, DeFiori K, Kalkbrenner MT, Beaver K, Chang CJ, Upham M, Livingston NA, Shipherd JC, Kauth MR, Kaysen D, Simpson TL. Factor Structure and Factorial Invariance of Scores on the PCL-5, PHQ-8, and GAD-7 Across Veterans by Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Assessment. 2025 Nov 26; 10731911251389202. PMID: 41292452.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 84 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Psychologist, National Center for PTSD
    VA Boston Healthcare System

Websites

Education

  • University of Montana, PhD
  • University of Montana, MA
  • University of Utah, BS

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