Adrienne Johnson, PhD

Publications by Dr. Adrienne Johnson

Adrienne Johnson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) in the Department of Medicine, General Internal Medicine, UW-CTRI. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in health psychology and the treatment of individuals with neurological disorders.

Dr. Johnson received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She then worked for two years at UW-CTRI as a health counselor helping individuals quit smoking. Using skills she learned while working as a health counselor, Johnson went on to obtain her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Cincinnati, with a focus in health psychology. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Postdoctoral Fellowship in Women’s Health at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital.

Dr. Johnson’s research focuses on reducing the negative impacts of smoking and better understanding the role of smoking on brain health, particularly Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. She was awarded a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging as well as a Developmental Grant from the University of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center to support her research. This funding will help Dr. Johnson develop two motivational interventions for smoking cessation in older adults consisting of: (1) a novel patient-informed motivational message promoting smoking cessation, and (2) clear access routes to evidence based smoking cessation treatments.