9th Annual Scientific Meeting
Detroit, Michigan, USA | July 18-20, 2025
The RSMj 9th Annual Meeting will be held in Detroit, MI, from July 18 - 20, 2025, at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. As we did last year, the meeting will be held in collaboration with the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, a joint research centre of McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.
Proposal Submissions are now closed.
If you have any questions, email RSMj conference submission chair, Jeff Wardell, directly at JWardell@yorku.ca
Keynote Speakers
James MacKillop, Ph.D.
Dr. James Mackillop is Director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, a joint research centre of McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. He is also Director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. His research investigates the nature and treatment of substance use disorders and related conditions, including cannabis use disorders. Dr. McKillop’s work is translational, using methodologies that are consilient across levels of analysis, from basic science to clinical applications. At the basic end of the spectrum, his research seeks to dissect the behavioral phenomena using neuroimaging. At the applied end of the spectrum, his work exports insights from behavioral studies to improve treatment and public policy. Across these domains, his research investigates the role of genetic variation in behavioral, brain imaging, and clinical phenotypes. His work often applies behavioral economics and neuroeconomics to understand addictive behavior. Beyond addiction, his research focuses on medical cannabis more broadly, investigating both its potential therapeutic benefits and associated risk profile.
Erin Bonar, Ph.D.
Dr. Erin Bonar is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Kathy Fant Brzoznowski Research Professor in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations and Professor with tenure in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She is the Director of Research Strategy for the Michigan Innovations in Addiction Care through Research and Education program (MI-ACRE). Dr. Bonar studies ways to prevent and treat substance use disorders spanning developmental periods of adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood, with a particular expertise in addressing cannabis use. Her work uses novel technologies including social media, telemedicine, and patient portal approaches. Her intervention work often employs Motivational Interviewing and she is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. She is also the Cannabis and Substance Use Content Area Expert at the CDC-funded University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center where she leads statewide efforts to evaluate the impact of recreational cannabis legalization in Michigan.