Dessa Bergen-Cico – David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

Professor Dessa Bergen-Cico - David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

Dessa Bergen-Cico, is a Professor in the Department of Public Health, and Coordinator of the Addiction Studies programs at Syracuse University. In addition Dr. Bergen-Cico is an Affiliated Investigator with the Veterans Administration Center for Integrative Healthcare and Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the Council of Europe’s International Drug Policy Academy.

Research & Scholarship

Dessa’s teaching and research interests focus on a.) alcohol, other drugs, and addictive behaviors, b.) geo-politics of drugs and drug policy, c.) traumatic stress, and d.) the use of mindfulness-based practices for prevention and recovery.

Dessa’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Veterans Administration Health Services Research and Development Service, and the National Science Foundation. She has published over 50 scholarly articles and book chapters in addition to her book, War and Drugs: The Role of Military Conflict in the Development of Substance Abuse (Paradigm 2012; Routledge, 2015).

Select Honors and Fellowships

Dessa has twice been selected as a Fulbright Research Scholar to study addictive behaviors, trauma and the use of mindfulness-based practices for prevention and recovery.

As a Fulbright Scholar in 2015-2016 she conducted research and taught in the Republic of Georgia and in 2020 she conducted research in Thailand and the Golden Triangle. Dessa was also awarded a Rotary International Peace Studies Fellowship where she completed a Peace Studies Post-Graduate Certificate at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

PHP 318 Dynamics of Addiction: Alcohol, Other Drugs, Sex and Gambling

PHP 321 Prevention in Addiction Services

PHP 402 Implementing and Evaluating Health Programs

PHP 405 Science and Practice o Mindfulness

PHP 408 Addictions in Cultural Context

PHP 412 Global Perspectives in Alcohol and Other Drug Policies

Graduate

PHP 605 Science and Practice o Mindfulness

PHP 612 Global Perspectives in Alcohol and Other Drug Policies

PHP 618 Dynamics of Addiction: Alcohol, Other Drugs, Sex and Gambling