Heather M. Gray, PhD is Director of Academic Affairs at the Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She received her PhD in social psychology from Harvard University in 2006 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Boston University Health and Disability Research Institute.

Dr. Gray joined the Division during 2008. She has collaborated with her Division colleagues to study the development of, and recovery from, addictive disorders. In particular, she has studied how social networks and personal identities relate to alcohol and other drug use behavior. She has completed program evaluation to document how people change their lives after completing substance use disorder and wellness interventions. In collaboration with Internet and land-based gambling operators in the United States and internationally, Dr. Gray has studied how people gamble and respond to interventions designed to promote responsible gambling.

In her role as Director of Academic Affairs at the Division, Dr. Gray serves as Course Director of our annual live course, Addiction Medicine: A Case-based Approach. She also serves as Course Director for a Harvard Medical School online Continuing Medical Education (CME) course, Gambling Disorder in Your Practice: Information and Resources. This course aims to provide non-specialists with tools for assessing and responding to gambling disorders among their patients. Dr. Gray serves as the Senior Editor of The BASIS (The Brief Addiction Science Information Source). She encourages others to help advance the Division’s mission by coordinating the Division’s Undergraduate Summer Mentorship and Visiting Scholars programs, which bring undergraduate students and researchers to the Division to become partners in our ongoing research projects.


Current Projects

Principal Investigator: Assessing Cultures of Recovery in Tribal Communities (NARCH XII)

Principal Investigator: Exploring a Lottery-promoted Gambling Disorder Screening Day Intervention

Project Director: Project Build Up Learning Academies

Principal Investigator: Responsibility, Research, and Resources: 2024 Plan for Responsible Gambling Activities

Principal Investigator: Responsible Drinking Extension

Project Director: Statewide Capacity Building & Technical Assistance for Problem Gambling Treatment Services


Selected Publications

2023

Edson, T. C., Slabczynski, J. M., Lee, T. G., McAuliffe, W. H. B., & Gray, H. M. (2023). A meta-analytic investigation of problem gambling and self-harm: A causal inference perspective. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 37(7), 946–960. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000858

Gray, H. M., Beu Rae, M., Anderson, C., Nelson, S. E., LaPlante, D. A., Whelshula, M. M., & Bowman, M. (2023). Recommendations for optimizing xaʔtus (First Face) for Mental Health training: Insights from key informants. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research (Online)30(2), 22–54. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.3002.2023.22

Gray, H. M. & LaPlante, D. A. (2023). Calling for worldwide adoption of Gambling Disorder Screening Day. Addiction Research & Theory, 31(6), 379-382. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2023.2189246

LaPlante, D. A., Lee, T. G., Slabczynski, J. M., Shaffer, H. J., & Gray, H. M. (2023). Five barriers to defining responsible drinking. Addiction Research & Theory, 31(4), 231-238 https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2022.2135703

Louderback, E. R., LaPlante, D. A., Abarbanel, B., Kraus, S. W., Bernhard, B. J., & Gray, H. M. (2023). Examining responsible gambling program awareness and engagement trends and relationships with gambling beliefs and behaviors: A three-wave study of customers from a major gambling operator. Journal of Gambling Studies, 39(1), 401–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-022-10109-7

2022

Gray, H. M., Louderback, E. R., LaPlante, D. A., Abarbanel, B., Kraus, S. W., & Bernhard, B. J. (2022).Who holds a shared responsibility view of minimizing gambling harm? Results from a multiwave survey of casino gamblers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 36(4), 347-357. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb000076

Louderback, E. R., Gray, H. M., LaPlante, D. A., Abarbanel, B., & Bernhard, B. J. (2022). A comparison of two GameSense implementation approaches: How program awareness and engagement relate to gambling beliefs and behaviors. Journal of Gambling Studies, 38(1), 153-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10013-6

Nelson, S. E., Edson, T. C., Grossman, A., Louderback, E. R., Gray, H. M., & LaPlante, D. A. (2022). Time out: Prediction of self-exclusion from daily fantasy sports. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 36(4), 318-332. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000829

Shaffer, H. J., Gray, H. M., Slabczynski, J. M., Lee, T. G., & LaPlante, D. A. (2022). Stakeholder definitions of responsible drinking: a call to define an ambiguous construct. Addiction Research & Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2022.2081839

2021

Abarbanel, B., Kraus, S., Huang, Q., Gray, H. M., Louderback, E. R., LaPlante, D. A., & Bernhard, B. J. (2021). Association between employee department and responsible gambling program perceptions: Extension and follow-up study. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 4(5), 582-600. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-07-2020-0116

Abarbanel, B., Xu, T., Kraus, S., Gray, H., Louderback, E., LaPlante, D., & Bernhard, B. (2021). Association between casino resort employee department and responsible gambling program perceptions: A three-year follow-up study. International Gambling Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2021.2007976

Gray, H. M., Edson, T. C., Nelson, S. E., Grossman, A. B., & LaPlante, D. A. (2021). Association between gambling and self-harm: A scoping review. Addiction Research & Theory, 29(3), 183-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2020.1784881

Gray, H. M., Juviler, J., & LaPlante, D. A. (2021). Gambling industry employees’ experiences with an onsite responsible gambling program. Journal of Gambling Studies, 37(2), 369-386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09969-8

Gray, H. M., Louderback, E. R., LaPlante, D. A., Abarbanel, B., & Bernhard, B. J. (2021). Gamblers’ beliefs about responsibility for minimizing gambling harm: Associations with problem gambling screening and gambling involvement. Addictive Behaviors, 114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106660

Gray, H. M., Wiley, R. C., Williams, P. M., & Shaffer, H. J. (2021). A scoping review of “responsible drinking” interventions. Health Communication, 36(2), 236-256. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1733226

Gray, H. M., Wiley, R. C., Williams, P. M., & Shaffer, H. J. (2021). Understanding responsible drinking is in the service of evidence-based public health: A response to Petticrew et al. (2020). Health Communication, 36(2), 260-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1827542

LaPlante, D. A., Whelshula, M., Gray, H. M., & Nelson, S. E. (2021). Understanding American Indian youth in residential recovery from substance use disorder: Risk and protective experiences and perceived recovery support. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 28(1), 39–70. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2801.2021.39

Whelshula, M. M., LaPlante, D. A., Nelson, S. E., & Gray, H. M. (2021). Recommendations for improving adolescent addiction recovery support in six northwest tribal communities. Journal of Community Psychology, 49(7), 2922-2937. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22665

2020

Edson, T. C., Gray, H. M., Nelson, S. E., & LaPlante, D. A. (2020). Prevalence and correlates of self-harm among a sample of repeat DUI offenders. Addiction Research & Theory, 28(3), 231-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2019.1622685

Gray, H. M., Keating, L., Shaffer, H. J., & LaPlante, D. A. (2020). Observations of the first GameSense-branded responsible gambling centre in a US casino. Health Education Journal, 79(1), 104-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896919863121

Shaffer, H. J., Gray, H. M., Nelson, S. E., & LaPlante, D. A. (2020). Technology, the Internet, and gambling: How the medium can facilitate addiction, adaptation, and intervention. In M. N. Potenza, K. Faust, & D. Faust (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Digital Technologies and Mental Health: Second edition (Second ed., Vol. 1, pp. 135-142). Waltham, MA: Academic Press.

2019

Abarbanel, B., Gray, H. M., LaPlante, D. A., & Bernhard, B. J. (2019). Association between employee department and responsible gambling program perceptions. International Gambling Studies, 19(3), 471-488. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2019.1615528

Gray, H. M., LaPlante, D. A., Abarbanel, B., & Bernhard, B. J. (2019). Gamblers’ perceptions of stakeholder responsibility for minimizing gambling harm. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-0056-4

LaPlante, D. A., Gray, H. M., & Nelson, S. E. (2019). Should we do away with responsible gambling? Perspectives from research scientists. In H. J. Shaffer, A. Blaszczynski, R. Ladouceur, P. Collins, & D. Fong (Eds.), Responsible gambling: Primary stakeholder perspectives (pp. 35–57). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med-psych/9780190074562.003.0002

Nelson, S. E., Edson, T. C., Singh, P., Tom, M., Martin, R. J., LaPlante, D. A., Gray, H. M., & Shaffer, H. J. (2019). Patterns of daily fantasy sport play: Tackling the issues. Journal of Gambling Studies, 35(1), 181-204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-09817-w

2018

LaPlante, D. A., Gray, H. M., Williams, P. M., & Nelson, S. E. (2018). An empirical review of gambling expansion and gambling-related harm. SUCHT, 64, 295-306. https://doi.org/10.1024/0939-5911/a000563

Nelson, S. E., LaPlante, D. A., Gray, H. M., Tom, M. A., Kleschinsky, J. H., & Shaffer, H. J. (2018). Already at the table: Patterns of play and gambling involvement prior to gambling expansion. Journal of Gambling Studies, 34(1), 275–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-017-9711-5

2017

Gray, H. M., Nelson, S. E., Shaffer, H. J., Stebbins, P., & Farina, A. R. (2017). How do homeless adults change their lives after completing an intensive job-skills program? A prospective study. Journal of Community Psychology, 45(7), 888-905. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21900

2016

Gray, H. M., Shaffer, P. M., Nelson, S. E., & Shaffer, H. J. (2016). Changing social networks among homeless individuals: A prospective evaluation of a job- and life-skills training program. Community Mental Health Journal, 52(7), 799–808. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-014-9817-5

2015

Gray, H. M., Jónsson, G. K., LaPlante, D. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (2015). Expanding the study of internet gambling behavior: trends within the Icelandic lottery and sportsbetting platform. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(2), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9427-0

Gray, H. M., Tom, M. A., LaPlante, D. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (2015). Using opinions and knowledge to identify natural groups of gambling employees. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(4), 1753–1766. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-014-9490-1

2014

LaPlante, D. A., Nelson, S. E., & Gray, H. M. (2014). Breadth and depth involvement: Understanding Internet gambling involvement and its relationship to gambling problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28(2), 396-403. doi:10.1037/a0033810

Planzer, S., Gray, H. M., & Shaffer, H. J. (2014). Associations between national gambling policies and disordered gambling prevalence rates within Europe. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 37(2), 217-229. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2013.11.002

2012

Gray, H. M., LaPlante, D. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (2012). Behavioral characteristics of Internet gamblers who trigger corporate responsible gambling interventions. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26(3), 527-535. doi:10.1037/a0028545

LaPlante, D. A., Gray, H. M., LaBrie, R. A., Kleschinsky, J. H., & Shaffer, H. J. (2012).Gaming industry employees’ responses to responsible gambling training: A public health imperative. Journal of Gambling Studies, 28(2), 171-191. doi:10.1007/s10899-011-9255-z

Nelson, S. E., Gray, H. M., Maurice, I. R., & Shaffer, H. J. (2012). Moving ahead: Evaluation of a work-skills training program for homeless adults. Community Mental Health Journal, 48(6), 711-722. doi:10.1007/s10597-012-9490-5

2011

Gray, H. M., LaPlante, D. A., Bannon, B. L., Ambady, N., & Shaffer, H. J. (2011). Development and validation of the Alcohol Identity Implicit Associations Test (AI-IAT). Addictive Behaviors, 36(9), 919-926. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.05.003

2010

Gray, H. M., & Tickle-Degnen, L. (2010). A meta-analysis of performance on emotion recognition tasks in Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychology, 24(2), 176-191. doi:10.1037/a0018104

LaPlante D. A., Gray, H. M., Bosworth, L., & Shaffer, H. J. (2010). Thirty years of lottery public health research: methodological strategies and trends. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26(2), 301-329. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9185-1