Senior Research Scientist
Graduated Loyola University Chicago, 2011 (PhD and MA, Sociology) and Indiana University, 2016 (MA, Clinical Research)
Specialty areas: qualitative and mixed methods; program evaluation; behavioral health services; recovery supports; harm reduction; implementation science
Dr. Dennis Watson is Senior Research Scientist at Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute—Chicago and affiliated faculty in the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science at the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago. His research primarily focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral health interventions. Various federal, state, and local funders, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arnold Ventures, and the Fairbanks Foundation, have supported his research. A considerable body of his work has focused on harm reduction, recovery support services, and treatment linkage interventions for people who use illicit substances or who have a substance use disorder. His prior research focused on the Housing First model of permanent supportive housing which has helped guide housing services implementation in the United States and abroad. His most recent work investigates the effectiveness of peer support and treatment linkage services delivered through both in-person and virtual modalities in emergency medicine and community-based settings. Dr. Watson received his master’s and doctorate degrees in sociology from Loyola University Chicago in 2011. In 2016, he completed a master’s degree in clinical research from Indiana University as part of his postdoctoral training. Before joining Chestnut Health Systems, Dr. Watson was a tenured faculty member at both Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the University of Illinois Chicago.
Selected Publications:
Watson, D. P., Tillson, M., Taylor, L., Xu, H., Ouyang, F., Beaudoin, F. L., O'Donnell, D., & McGuire, A. B. (2024). Results From the POINT Pragmatic Randomized Trial: An Emergency Department-Based Peer Support Specialist Intervention to Increase Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Linkage and Reduce Recurrent Overdose. Substance Use & Addiction Journal, 45(3), 378–389. https://doi.org/10.1177/29767342231221054
Watson, D. P., Ray, B., Phalen, P., Duhart Clarke, S. E., Taylor, L., Swartz, J., & Gastala, N. (2024). Fentanyl Exposure and Detection Strategies Utilized by Clinical Trial Participants Seeking Linkage to Opioid Use Disorder Treatment at a Syringe Service Program. Journal of Medical Toxicology, 20(1), 13–21. PMCID: PMC38048033. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-023-00979-7
Watson, D. P., Phalen, P., Medcalf, S., Messmer, S., & McGuire, A. (2023). Evaluation of post-discharge engagement for emergency department patients with opioid use history who received telehealth recovery coaching services. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 18(1), 9. PMCID: PMC9922103. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-023-00523-4
Watson, D. P., Weathers, T., McGuire, A., Cohen, A., Huynh, P., Bowes, C., O’Donnell, D., Brucker, K., Gupta, S. (2021). Evaluation of an emergency department-based opioid overdose survivor intervention: Difference-in-difference analysis of electronic health record data to assess key outcomes. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 221, 108595. PMCID: PMC8026710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108595
Watson, D. P., Ahonen, E. Q., Shuman, V., Brown, M., Tsemberis, S., Huynh, P., Ouyang, F., & Xu, H. (2018). The Housing First Technical Assistance and Training (HFTAT) Implementation Strategy: Outcomes from a mixed methods study of three programs. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, & Policy, 13, 32. PMCID: PMC6151006. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-018-0172-3
Watson, D. P., Ray, B., Robison, L., Huynh, P., Sightes, E., Walker, L., Brucker, K., & Duwve, J. (2018). Lay responder naloxone access and Good Samaritan law compliance: Postcard survey results. Harm Reduction Journal, 15, 18. PMCID: PMC5889526. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-018-0226-x
Watson, D. P., Adams, E. L., Shue, S., Coates, H., McGuire, A., Chesher, J., Jackson, J., & Omenka, I. (2018). Defining the external implementation context: An integrative systematic literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 18, 209. PMCID: PMC5870506. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3046-5
Watson, D. P., Shuman, V., Kowalsky, J., & Golembiewski, E. (2017). Housing First and harm reduction: A rapid review and document analysis of the U.S. and Canadian open-access literature. Harm Reduction Journal, 14, 30. PMCID: PMC5442650. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-017-0158-x
Watson, D. P., Orwat, J., Wagner, D., Shuman, V., & Tolliver, R. (2013). The Housing First Model (HFM) Fidelity Index: Designing and testing a tool for measuring integrity of housing programs that serve active substance users. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 8, 16. PMCID: PMC3655861. https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-597X-8-16
Watson, D. P. (2012). The evolving understanding of recovery: What the sociology of mental health has to offer. Humanity and Society, 36, 290–308. PMCID: PMC3592967. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597612458904
Selected Grants and Contracts:
Multiple Principal Investigator: Project STAMINA: Development and testing of a health navigation approach for linking syringe service program clients to medication assisted treatment (Arnold Ventures, 2019–2023)
Multiple Principal Investigator: Project POINT: Effectiveness and scalability of an overdose survivor intervention (National Institute on Drug Abuse: R33DA045850, 2018–2021)
Multiple Principal Investigator: Developing SUPPORT, a community-driven, recovery-oriented system of care (National Institute on Drug Abuse: R34DA041640, 2016–2019; NCE through 2020)
Principal Investigator: Pilot testing of an eLearning strategy for Housing First implementation (National Institute on Drug Abuse: R34DA036001, 2014–2017)
Principal Investigator: Housing First model fidelity and implications for substance abuse treatment (National Institute on Drug Abuse: R36DA027770, 2009–2011)
Appointments and Awards:
Recovery Day Celebration Award for Research resulting in “Sustained Recovery” through better Treatment, Presented by Public Advocates on Community re-Entry (2018)
NIH Loan Repayment Program (Renewal application), Funding approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2016)
Induction, Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, Beta Zeta Chapter (2016)
NIH Loan Repayment Program (Renewal application), Funding approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2015)
NIH Loan Repayment Program (Renewal application), Funding approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2014)
Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) Scholar designation, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (2013)
NIH Loan Repayment Program, Funding approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2012)
President’s Medallion, competitively awarded to one student nominee from each school within the university for excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service, Loyola University Chicago (2010)
Peter Whalley Award for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship, Recognizing Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service, Department of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago (2009)
Related Links:
Evaluation of the DOJ-funded Phoenix Low Barrier Recovery Home (LBRH)
Phoenix Recovery Support Services will implement a 15-bed recovery housing program in Cook County, Illinois. Utilizing a Low Barrier Recovery Home Model (LBRHM), the program will prioritize providing stable housing to individuals regardless of their substance use.
PATH to Reducing Burnout among Peers Who Deliver Harm Reduction Services: Improving Workforce and Service System Outcomes through a Combined eLearning and Group Consultation Intervention
PATH (Peer Advanced Training in Harm reduction) is a workforce intervention that uses virtual education and case-based learning approaches to support PRSSs who deliver HR services.
Qualitative synthesis of barriers and facilitators to an emergency department (ED)-based HF screening program
The primary objective of our proposed study is to determine the barriers and facilitators to an emergency department (ED)-based heart failure (HF) screening program. This qualitative work will be used to help guide the development and implementation of an intervention.
Evaluation of Cook County Health's Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities Project Evaluation
Cook County Health has been funded to train, deploy, and engage community health workers to work with target populations in Suburban Cook County. The goal of the program is to strengthen community resilience to fight COVID-19 by addressing health disparities in priority populations.
Evaluation of Cook County Health's Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP)
The primary objectives of this project are to (1) evaluate the Cook County Recovery Learning and Action Network (LAN) as a community coalition with a goal for actionable change and (2) conduct an implementation feasibility evaluation of a real-time recovery housing inventory.
Recovery Management Checkups for Primary Care (RMC-PC) Experiment
Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) in primary care for risky adult alcohol use has been demonstrated effective in reducing use among heavy alcohol users. While the process also identifies 5-10% of the patients who have substance use disorders (SUD) that require referral to alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment, the most recent meta-analysis indicates that the procedures had little to no effect on actual treatment linkage and utilization.
Bell, J., Taylor, L., & Watson, D. P. (2023). Cook County health community health workers for COVID response and resilient communities: Sustainability activities report. Chestnut Health Systems.
Brown, B., Omenka, I., & Watson, D. P. (2014, November). Using the housing first model (HFM) fidelity index to evaluate the current supportive housing system in Indiana. [Conference session]. 2014 Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA.
Dewey, J. M., & Watson, D. P. (2025, August). Community Health Worker High School Pipeline Program (Evaluation Report). Chestnut Health Systems Lighthouse Institute, Chicago, IL.
Dewey, J. M., & Watson, D. P. (2025, October). Peer Engagement to Enhance Recovery (“PEER”) Program (Evaluation Report). Chestnut Health Systems Lighthouse Institute, Chicago, IL.
Drazdowski, T. K., Coetzer-Liversage, A. P., Stein, L. A. R., Tilson, M., Watson, D. P., Hoffman, L. A., Hogue, A., Castedo de Martell, S., Hagaman, A. M., Greene, R. N., Satcher, M. F., Hibbard, P. F., Dewey, J. M., Sheidow, A. J., & Vest, N. (2025). Supporting linkage facilitators working with persons with opioid use disorder: Challenges, advances, and future directions. Frontiers in Public Health, 13, Article 1587101. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1587101
Franceschini, D., Swartz, J. A., Watson, D. P., Mackesy-Amiti, M., Taylor, L., Zhao, P., Messmer, S., Jimenez, A. D., & Gastala, N. (2025). Syringe service program-based telemedicine linkage to opioid use disorder treatment: Results from a pragmatic randomized trial of the STAMINA intervention. Substance Use: Research and Treatment, 19, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/29768357251372336
Kahn, J. H., Hart, M. K., Watson, D. P., Allen, C. B., Singh, R. R., Grella, C. E., & Dennis, M. L. (2025). Recent incarceration and minoritized racial status as barriers to the effectiveness of Recovery Management Checkups. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 20(53). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-025-00684-4
Watson, D. P., Hudson, M., & Taylor, L. (2025, October). Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities evaluation report: Year 4 extension period. Chestnut Health Systems Lighthouse Institute, Chicago, IL.