Kenneth A Perkins, PhD

Faculty

Kenneth A Perkins, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry, Epidemiology, and Psychology

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.

Pittsburgh

15213

Email perkinska@upmc.edu

Website

Kenneth Perkins Career Summary

Education & Training

PhD

Clinical Psychology, University of Iowa

Clinical Psychology, University of Mississippi Medical Center/VA Medical Center

Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine, University of Pittsburgh

Professional Affiliations

Fellow, Society of Behavioral Medicine

Fellow, American Psychological Association

Fellow, Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Selected Honors & Awards

Ove Ferno Award, Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

MED-Associates Brady-Schuster Award for Outstanding Behavioral Science Research Contributions, APA Division 28, Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse

Outstanding New Researcher Award, Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy

Research Interests

Behavioral factors in drug use; Methods to test novel treatments; Drug effects promoting dependence

Selected Research Publications & Products

Perkins KA. The 2022 Ferno Award Address: CrEATE, an efficient crossover evaluation of addiction treatment efficacy. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 2023, 25(1):77-85. (Editors Choice) PMID: 35671343. Doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac139
Perkins KA. Acute nicotine reinforcement requires ability to discriminate the stimulus effects of nicotine. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2022 (June); 30(3), 253268. PMID: 33119384. doi: 10.1037/pha0000433
Shoaib M & Perkins KA. Preclinical and clinical research on the discriminative stimulus effects of nicotine. Neuropharmacology, 2020, Jun;170:108063. PMID: 32220607. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108063
Perkins KA. Research on behavioral discrimination of nicotine may inform FDA policy on setting a maximum nicotine content in cigarettes. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 2019, 21 (suppl 1), S5-S12. PMID 31867642; doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz136
Perkins KA, Karelitz JL & Boldry MA. Nicotine acutely enhances reinforcement from non-drug rewards in humans. Frontiers in Psychiatry (Addictive Disorders section), 2017, 8, 65. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00065. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00065. Open access link: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00065/full

Clinical Interests

Selected Clinical Publications & Products

Perkins KA (2025) Cognitive-behavioral therapy for smoking cessation: A practical guide to the most effective strategies, 2nd edition (Book). New York: Routledge, 2025.
Perkins KA. Procedures for Conducting a Crossover Evaluation of Addiction Treatment Efficacy (CREATE) for Novel Medications in Smoking cessation (Manual). University of Pittsburgh, 2013, revised 2016.

Education Interests

Medical education in tobacco use; Undergraduate research mentoring; Graduate student addiction research mentoring

May 6, 2020

Faculty

Kenneth Perkins, PhD, Receives Prestigious Division 28 MED Associates Brady-Schuster Award from the American Psychological Association

The Department of Psychiatry is delighted to congratulate Kenneth Perkins, PhD, who has been honored by the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Perkins received the APA’s Division 28 MED Associates Brady-Schuster Award, which honors a senior scientist who conducts outstanding research underscoring the fundamental importance of behavioral science to psychopharmacology or substance use disorder . An expert...

June 22, 2018

Publications

Findings by Drs. Kenneth Perkins, Roy Chengappa, and Jessica Gannon Test Novel Compound for Smoking Cessation in Smokers with Schizophrenia

Most smokers want to quit, but most who try ultimately do not succeed, even using therapeutics to aid in cessation. Dozens of cessation medications have been tested for potential efficacy during the past 30 years, yet the FDA has approved only three first-line drugs for this use: nicotine replacement, bupropion, and varenicline. Preclinical research shows that compounds acting at α7 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) can...