Dr. Catharine Fairbairn

Biography

Catharine Fairbairn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her doctoral training in clinical-health psychology spans multiple disciplines, encompassing fields such as social psychology and biostatistics with a transdisciplinary perspective. As an independent investigator, she focuses on social emotional processes driving alcohol use, employing innovative methods to advance addiction science. Her research examines how alcohol's social emotional rewards contribute to the etiology of alcohol use disorder. At the Alcohol Research Laboratory, she applies lab-based alcohol-administration procedures and ambulatory measures to assess the factors motivating heavy drinking. Fairbairn's work also includes research synthesis and meta-analysis, utilizing machine learning methods and developing biosensing technology for alcohol assessment. In addition, she is involved in creating social-network-based alcohol treatment programs enhanced by biosensor recovery support. Catharine is dedicated to mentorship and offers various opportunities for graduate students in technology-linked research methods and social neuroscience, preparing them for future careers in research and academia.

Research Interests

Experience