Northern Center for Learning and Health (NCLH)

Mission Statement

The mission of the NCLH laboratory is to advance the understanding and application of behavioral principles to address the complex challenges of substance abuse, unemployment, and poverty. Through rigorous, collaborative research, we aim to develop and evaluate interventions to reduce these societal problems and train the next generation of researchers and practitioners by equipping students with the skills to tackle these complex issues. Recent focus has included substances such as opioids, cocaine, and alcohol.

Funding

This research is funded by an R01 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Ongoing Projects (last updated October, 2025)

Current IRB protocols: (1) Contingency Management to Enhance Office-Based Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and (2) Long-Term Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder

How can students get involved?

Masters Students

The NCLH supports funded Graduate Research Assistant positions for students enrolled in Northern Michigan University's MS in Psychology program. Graduate Research Assistants in the NCLH work with Dr. Forrest Toegel (Psychological Science) and his research team at NMU and collaborating institutions on grant-funded projects. Current projects evaluate reinforcement-based procedures to combat drug addiction and promote healthy behavior among adults living with interrelated problems of substance use disorders, unemployment, and poverty. Graduate Research Assistants attend regular meetings with the research team at Northern Michigan University and collaborating institutions, and assist monitoring project progress, analyzing data, and preparing presentations, papers, and talks based on the obtained results.

Undergraduate Students

The NCLH supports funded and unfunded Undergraduate Research Assistant positions for Psychology majors enrolled in Northern Michigan University Department of Psychological Science. Undergraduate researchers in the NCLH work with Dr. Forrest Toegel (Psychological Science), attend regular meetings with the research team at Northern Michigan University, and assist with tasks that support ongoing research projects. Experienced undergraduate student researchers may be granted additional opportunities to contribute to analyzing data or preparing presentations, papers, and talks based on results from work conducted in the NCLH.

Contact Dr. Forrest Toegel (ftoegel@nmu.edu) for more information.

Current IRB protocols: (1) Contingency Management to Enhance Office-Based Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and (2) Long-Term Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder

Publications from the Northern Center for Learning and Health

Drug/Alcohol Use Disorders and Employment

Orme, S., Zarkin, G. A., Dunlap, L. J., Luckey, J., Toegel, F., Novak, M. D., ... & Silverman, K. (2025). Cost and cost-effectiveness of abstinence-contingent wage supplements for adults experiencing homelessness and alcohol use disorder. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 209569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2024.209569

Toegel, F., Toegel, C., & Silverman, K. (2024). Contingency management as a maintenance intervention in the long‐term treatment of substance use disorders. Addiction, 119(9), 1515–1516. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16534

Ware, O. D., Novak, M. D., & Toegel, F. (2024). Frequent Use of Contingency Management and Opioid Treatment Programs that Provide Treatment for More than Only Opioid Use Disorder. Journal of Drug Issues, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00220426241238957

Novak, M. D., Toegel, F., Holtyn, A. F., Rodewald, A. M., Arellano, M., **Baranski, M., Barnett, N. P., Leoutsakos, J., Fingerhood, M., & Silverman, K. (2023). A therapeutic workplace for adults with alcohol use disorder who are experiencing homelessness: A randomized clinical trial. Preventive Medicine, 107655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107655

Orme, S., Zarkin, G. A., Luckey, J., Dunlap, L. J., Novak, M. D., Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., & Silverman, K. (2023). Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Abstinence Contingent Wage Supplements. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 109754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109754

Schwartz, L. P., Toegel, F., Devine, J. K., Holtyn, A. F., Roma, P. G., & Hursh, S. R. (2023). Latent factor structure of behavioral economic heroin and cocaine demand curves. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000594

Toegel, F., Holtyn, A. F., Silverman, K. (2022). Increased reinforcer immediacy can promote employment-seeking in unemployed homeless adults with alcohol use disorder. The Psychological Record, 72, 119-124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00431-0. Published Online September 2020.

Bertz, J. W., Panlilio, L. V., Stull, S. W., Smith, K. E., Reamer, D., Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., ... & Preston, K. L. (2022). Being at work improves stress, craving, and mood for people with opioid use disorder: Ecological momentary assessment during a randomized trial of experimental employment in a contingency-management-based therapeutic workplace. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 152, 104071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2022.104071

Novak, M. D., Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Leoutsakos, J., & Silverman, K. (2022). Abstinence-contingent wage supplements to promote drug abstinence and employment: Post-intervention outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109322

Toegel, F., Novak, M. D., Rodewald, A. M., Leoutsakos, J., Silverman, K., & Holtyn, A. F. (2022). Technology-assisted opioid education for out-of-treatment adults with opioid use disorder. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. http://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000769

Bertz, J. W., Smith, K. E., Panlilio, L. V., Stull, S. W., Reamer, D., Murville, M., Sullivan, M., Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Epstein, D. H., Phillips, K. A., & Preston, K. L. (2021). Quality of life during a randomized trial of a therapeutic-workplace intervention for heroin dependence: Web-based mobile assessments reveal effects of drug abstinence and access to paid work. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dadr.2021.100011

Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Novak, M. D., & Silverman, K. (2021). Factors associated with obtaining employment among opioid use disorder patients enrolled in a therapeutic workplace intervention. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108907

Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Novak, M. D., Leoutsakos, J., Fingerhood, M., & Silverman, K. (2021). Remotely delivered incentives to promote buprenorphine treatment engagement in out-of-treatment adults with opioid use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108786

Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Arellano, M., Subramaniam, S., & Silverman, K. (2021). Employment outcomes of substance use disorder patients enrolled in a therapeutic workplace intervention for drug abstinence and employment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108160

Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Subramaniam, S., Arellano, M., Leoutsakos, J., Fingerhood, M., & Silverman, K. (2020). Financial incentives promote engagement in employment services for unemployed adults in treatment for opioid use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 212, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107982

Toegel, F., Holtyn, A. F., Subramaniam, S., & Silverman, K. (2020). Effects of time-based administration of abstinence reinforcement targeting opiate and cocaine use. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 1726-1741. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.702

Holtyn, A. F., Toegel, F., Subramaniam, S., Jarvis, B. P., Leoutsakos, J. M., Fingerhood, M., & Silverman, K. (2020). Abstinence-contingent wage supplements to promote drug abstinence and employment: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 74, 445-452. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-213761

Silverman, K., Holtyn, A. F., & Toegel, F. (2019). The utility of operant conditioning to address poverty and drug addiction. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 42, 525-546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-019-00203-4

** = mentored student of the Toegel Laboratory

HIV Medication Adherence

Toegel, C., Toegel, F., & Silverman, K. (2025). Patterns of HIV viral suppression in a clinical trial evaluating a contingency management intervention. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1-16. http://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.70030

Novak, M.D., Holtyn, A.F., Toegel, F., Rodewald, A. R., Leoutsakos, J., Fingerhood, M. & Silverman, K. (2024). Long-Term Effects of Incentives for HIV Viral Suppression: A Randomized Clinical Trial. AIDS and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04249-z

Toegel, F., Rodewald, A. R., Novak, M. D., Pollock, S., Arellano, M., Leoutsakos, J., Holtyn, A. F., & Silverman, K. (2021). Psychosocial interventions to promote undetectable HIV viral loads: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials. AIDS and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-021-03534-z

Pollock, S., Toegel, F., Holtyn, A. F., & Silverman, K. (2020). Effects of incentives on viral suppression in people living with HIV who use cocaine or opiates. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 212, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108000

Toegel, F., Holtyn, A. F., Pollock, S., Rodewald, A. M., Leoutsakos, J., Fingerhood, M. & Silverman, K. (2020). Effects of incentivizing viral suppression for previously incarcerated adults living with HIV. HIV Research & Clinical Practice, 21, 1-10. http://doi.org/10.1080/25787489.2020.1735816

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