Hannah Szlyk

Hannah Szlyk

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Additional Titles & Roles

  • Assistant Professor- Research Faculty

Education & Training

  • BA: Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, 2009
  • MSSW: Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, NY, 2011
  • Post Masters Clinical Fellowship: The Menninger Clinic, Houston, TX, 2013
  • PhD: Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 2018
  • T32 Postdoctoral Fellow: The Brown School at Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2020

Major Awards

  • Postdoctoral fellow; T32 MH019960-23 Cabassa (PI), 2018
  • Outstanding Citizen recipient, Center for Research and Clinical Training at Washington University in St. Louis, 2024
  • Top 550 (#51) questions for Humanity’s Last Exam; a project aimed at measuring how close we are to achieving expert-level AI systems, 2025
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Areas of Clinical Interest

adolescent and young adult mental health; body image; depression and suicidal ideation; psychosocial stressors; impact of stress from marginalization/ being minoritized; healthy coping; psychodynamic therapy; solution-focused brief therapy; CBT and DBT

Research Interests

Studies how technology can be used to amplify health equity – not perpetuate disparities – in behavioral and mental health; mixed methods research; community- based collaborations; digital literacy; equity in research

Visit lab website

Key Publications

    • Xu KY, Bello JK, Buss J, Jones HE, Bierut LJ, Stwalley D, Szlyk HS, Martin CE, Kelly JC, Carter EB, Krans EE, Grucza RA, (2025 Jan). Buprenorphine and postpartum contraception utilization among people with opioid use disorder: a multi-state analysis. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 20(1): 1.
      Read publication »Buprenorphine and postpartum contraception utilization among people with opioid use disorder: a multi-state analysis.
    • Cardoso JB, Szlyk HS, Goldbach J, Swank P, Zvolensky MJ, (2018 Aug). General and Ethnic-Biased Bullying Among Latino Students: Exploring Risks of Depression, Suicidal Ideation, and Substance Use. J Immigr Minor Health. 20(4): 816-822.
      Read publication »Afrocentric Norms and Substance Use Behaviors Among Black Young Adults.
    • Hamilton JL, Kruzan KP, Szlyk H, Reyes-Portillo J, Biernesser C, Jensen M, Zelazny J, Primack B, Torous J, Weigle P. Who Is Most at Risk?: Identifying the Risks for Mental Health Problems Related to Social Media. InHandbook of Children and Screens 2025 (pp. 157-164). Springer, Cham.
    • Berg CJ, Schleicher NC, Cavazos-Rehg PA, Romm KF, LoParco CR, Cui Y, Wang Y, McCready DM, Chakraborty R, Henriksen L. Neighborhood demographics in relation to marketing and regulation-related factors among cannabis retailers in 5 US cities. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2024 Dec 1;265:112471.
    • Kasson E, Vázquez MM, Li X, Doroshenko C, Szlyk HS, Montayne A, Fitzsimmons-Craft E, Wilfley D, Taylor CB, Cavazos-Rehg P. A Pilot Study of Factors Influencing Engagement with an mHealth Intervention Among Teens with Eating Disorder Symptoms. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science. 2024.
    • Hamilton, J.L., Torous, J., Szlyk, H.S. et al. Leveraging Digital Media to Promote Youth Mental Health: Flipping the Script on Social Media-Related Risk. Curr Treat Options Psych 11, 67–75 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-024-00315-y

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    Funded Research Projects

    National Institutes of Health/DHHS/NIH K01 DA058750 (PI Szlyk) 8/2023-7/2028
    Leveraging mHealth to Increase Health Equity among Black Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder and Commonly Occurring Mental Health Disorders

    Washington University Public Health Institute Next Steps Pilot Funding (MPIs: Szlyk, Earll, Lee) 02/01/2025 – 1/31/2026
    Peer e-coaching to support people with substance use disorders and who experience housing instability

    Washington University Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences Seed Grant (MPIs: Szlyk Lew, Thompson) 07/2024 – 06/2025
    Characterizing patterns of behavior among adolescent cannabis users with co-occurring depression symptoms

    Washington University Partnership Development & Sustainability Support Funding Program (MPIs: Szlyk, Cavazos-Rehg, & Davis) 03/2024 – 02/2025

    Mobile Recovery Care: Bringing Healing to Communities
    Washington University Here & Next Interdisciplinary Funding- Tier 2 (MPI: Szlyk & Wang) 10/2023- 11/2024
    Leveraging AI to optimize mHealth’s impact for reducing opioid-related overdose deaths in Missouri

    Washington University Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity Seed (MPI: Szlyk & Cavazos-Rehg) 07/ 2023 – 06/ 2024
    Perspectives of Black peer coaches on the barriers and facilitators to recovery from Opioid Use Disorder and commonly occurring mental health disorders

    K12 DA041449-05 Washington University Career Development Program in Drug Abuse and Addiction
    Bierut & Cavazos-Rehg (MPIs), Role: Scholar
    05/2022- -08/2023
    Continued Recovery from Opioid Use Disorder among Pregnant and Postpartum People

    R24 DA051988, Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers(RCCs)
    Kelly & Hoeppner (MPIs), Role: Pilot study co-awardee (w/Cavazos-Rehg)
    03/2022-03/2023
    A Digital Therapeutic Intervention to Link Pregnant and Postpartum Women with OUD to RCCs

    New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, Rutgers University
    Anestis (PI), Role: Co-Principal Investigator
    07/2021-7/2022
    Preventing firearm suicide by phone: An examination of means safety practices across US crisis centers