Denise Hien Appointed Inaugural Helen E. Chaney Chair in Alcohol Studies

The Rutgers University Board of Governors today appointed Denise Hien, a leader in the field of post-traumatic stress and addictions, as the inaugural holder of the Helen E. Chaney Chair in Alcohol Studies.

Hien is director of Rutgers University’s Center of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Studies (CAS) and associate dean for academic affairs and professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP). Her work has shaped current evidence-based treatment of addictions and trauma-related psychiatric disorders and their comorbidity, particularly among women. She has received sustained funding for over 20 years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and has served as a reviewer and work group member for federal funding institutions. 

Hien joined Rutgers as CAS director in October 2017 and has increased the center’s visibility in shaping the national conversation about traumatic stress and its role in the development and maintenance of alcohol and other substance use disorders. Over her career, she has served on the doctoral faculties of the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and the City College of New York. Within each of these institutions, she has held numerous leadership roles in academic and research administration.

Hien received her B.A. in psychology from Cornell University, and her M.S., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her postdoctoral training in substance use research at the Division on Substance Use Disorders at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she has retained a longstanding appointment, now as adjunct senior research scientist.

Hien is strongly committed to diversity, as demonstrated by her research and leadership in expanding the pipeline for minority students in STEM, and her mentoring of junior faculty.

The university established the Helen E. Chaney Chair in Alcohol Studies in 2019 with a generous gift from the estate of Helen E. Chaney. Hien is serving a three-year renewable term, which commenced July 1, 2020.