Enzo G. Plaitano, BA, NRP
Enzo is a 4th year PhD Candidate at TDI and Predoctoral Fellow at the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH). Formerly, he was a Predoctoral Trainee in the NIH-NIDA T32 Science of Co-occurring Disorders Training Program within CTBH before transitioning to his own award. Enzo’s NIH-NIDA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship Grant (1F31DA062393) and CTBH P30 Pilot Grant (P30DA029926) focus on identifying modifiable momentary predictors of substance use in high-risk emergency medical services clinicians. This work is informed by his lived experience as a licensed paramedic. Enzo understands the toll of this tough profession on his own mental health and sees the stress of this job contribute to mental health and substance use problems in his coworkers, impacting their lives, families, and healthcare careers. Therefore, his research methods leverage ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and intensive longitudinal analysis to assess risk factors for substance use and mental health symptoms in real life environments. He plans to use these findings to develop and test robust digital health interventions to support this high-risk population. Enzo’s mentors include Drs. Catherine Stanger, Lisa Marsch, Nicholas Jacobson, and Madelyn Frumkin at CTBH. Enzo also collaborates with experts at the National Registry of EMTs, National Association of EMTs, and the National Center for PTSD, receiving wide-spread, national media attention for this novel, pioneering research. His free time is often spent traveling to new destinations or outside skiing, hiking, and biking around New England. Enzo also continues to work clinically as a licensed paramedic and ski patroller in a nearby town.