Joao P. De Aquino, MD
Assistant Professor of PsychiatryCards
Additional Titles
Assistant Chief of Inpatient Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU), Psychiatry
Assistant Director for Research Affairs, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU), Psychiatry
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Titles
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Assistant Chief of Inpatient Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU), Psychiatry; Assistant Director for Research Affairs, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU), Psychiatry
Biography
Dr. De Aquino is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and Assistant Director for Research Affairs at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit. In addition to treating persons with substance use disorders and co-occurring medical and psychiatric disorders, he combines behavioral pharmacology, computerized psychophysical techniques, and clinical trial methods to develop novel therapeutics for pain and addiction.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit
- Division of Addictions
- Janeway Society
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Lab
- Psychiatry
- Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids
- Yale New Haven Health System
Education & Training
- Advanced Research Fellowship
- Yale University & VA VISN-1 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) (2021)
- Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship
- Yale University (2019)
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Yale University (2018)
- Residency
- Yale School of Medicine
- MD
- Federal University of Ceara, School of Medicine (2012)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
ORCID
0000-0001-7357-8215- View Lab Website
Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Gabriel P. A. Costa, MD
Mehmet Sofuoglu, MD, PhD
Julio Nunes, MD
R. Ross MacLean, PhD
Brian Pittman
Julia Meyerovich
Analgesics, Opioid
Buprenorphine
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
Cannabis
Chronic Pain
Methadone
Publications
Featured Publications
Opioid-induced analgesia among persons with opioid use disorder receiving methadone or buprenorphine: A systematic review of experimental pain studies
De Aquino JP, Parida S, Avila-Quintero VJ, Flores J, Compton P, Hickey T, Gómez O, Sofuoglu M. Opioid-induced analgesia among persons with opioid use disorder receiving methadone or buprenorphine: A systematic review of experimental pain studies. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2021, 228: 109097. PMID: 34601272, PMCID: PMC8595687, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109097.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricHighs and lows of cannabinoid-dopamine interactions: effects of genetic variability and pharmacological modulation of catechol-O-methyl transferase on the acute response to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in humans
Ranganathan M, De Aquino JP, Cortes-Briones JA, Radhakrishnan R, Pittman B, Bhakta S, D’Souza D. Highs and lows of cannabinoid-dopamine interactions: effects of genetic variability and pharmacological modulation of catechol-O-methyl transferase on the acute response to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in humans. Psychopharmacology 2019, 236: 3209-3219. PMID: 31187152, DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05273-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricAlcohol Use Disorder and Chronic Pain: An Overlooked Epidemic
De Aquino J, Sloan M, Nunes J, Costa G, Katz J, de Oliveira D, Ra J, Tang V, Petrakis I. Alcohol Use Disorder and Chronic Pain: An Overlooked Epidemic. American Journal Of Psychiatry 2024, 181: 391-402. PMID: 38706339, PMCID: PMC11521207, DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20230886.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricFrom taboo to treatment: The emergence of psychedelics in the management of pain and opioid use disorder
Weleff J, Nunes J, Costa G, Sofuoglu M, MacLean R, De Aquino J. From taboo to treatment: The emergence of psychedelics in the management of pain and opioid use disorder. British Journal Of Clinical Pharmacology 2024, 90: 3036-3053. PMID: 38627909, PMCID: PMC11480258, DOI: 10.1111/bcp.16045.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricAssessing pain in persons with opioid use disorder: Approaches, techniques and special considerations
Nunes J, Costa G, Weleff J, Rogan M, Compton P, De Aquino J. Assessing pain in persons with opioid use disorder: Approaches, techniques and special considerations. British Journal Of Clinical Pharmacology 2024, 90: 2985-3002. PMID: 38556851, DOI: 10.1111/bcp.16055.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricThe impact of cannabis on non-medical opioid use among individuals receiving pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies
Costa G, Nunes J, Heringer D, Anand A, De Aquino J. The impact of cannabis on non-medical opioid use among individuals receiving pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. The American Journal Of Drug And Alcohol Abuse 2024, 50: 12-26. PMID: 38225727, DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2023.2287406.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsAltmetricFatty Acid Amide Hydrolase, Neurodevelopment, and Alcohol: Illuminating the Intricacies of the Endocannabinoid System in Addiction Susceptibility
De Aquino J. Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase, Neurodevelopment, and Alcohol: Illuminating the Intricacies of the Endocannabinoid System in Addiction Susceptibility. Biological Psychiatry 2023, 94: e19-e21. PMID: 37558315, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.06.027.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsQuantitative sensory testing of pain in persons with opioid use disorder on opioid agonist treatment: a scoping review
Oliveira D, Costa G, Fontenele R, Córdoba-Delgado M, Funaro M, Campbell C, Fiellin D, Angarita G, De Aquino J. Quantitative sensory testing of pain in persons with opioid use disorder on opioid agonist treatment: a scoping review. Pain Medicine 2025, 27: 243-253. PMID: 40990827, PMCID: PMC13017201, DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnaf132.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsCannabis use frequency is associated with emotion dysregulation among persons receiving long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain: A psychophysiological study
De Aquino J, Costa G, Nunes J, Hudak J, Odette M, Garland E. Cannabis use frequency is associated with emotion dysregulation among persons receiving long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain: A psychophysiological study. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 275: 112812. PMID: 40779835, PMCID: PMC12396927, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112812.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricThe Role of Childhood Trauma in Chronic Pain and Substance Use Among Individuals Receiving Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Costa G, Ra J, Meyerovich J, Pittman B, Nunes J, De Aquino J. The Role of Childhood Trauma in Chronic Pain and Substance Use Among Individuals Receiving Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Journal Of Addiction Medicine 2025, 20: 351-358. PMID: 40728216, PMCID: PMC13166079, DOI: 10.1097/adm.0000000000001553.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetric
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Brain Emotion Circuitry-Targeted Self-Monitoring and Regulation Therapy (BE-SMART)
IRB ID0407026910RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date06/30/2022Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge16 years - 24 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Featured
honor Associate Member
12/11/2024National AwardAmerican College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)DetailsUnited Stateshonor Leadership Academy
12/08/2024National AwardUnited States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP)DetailsUnited Stateshonor NIH R01 Research Project Grant Program
05/01/2024National AwardNational Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)DetailsUnited Stateshonor Laughlin Fellowship
10/29/2018National AwardAmerican College of Psychiatrists (ACP)DetailsUnited States
Activities
activity Janeway Society
06/01/2022 - PresentCommitteesMemberDetailsCouncil Memberactivity College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
05/06/2022 - PresentCommitteesCommittee MemberDetailsHuman Research Committeeactivity Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
12/01/2022 - PresentJournal ServiceEditorial Board Memberactivity Frontiers Psychiatry Addictive Disorders
04/01/2021 - PresentJournal ServiceEditorial Board Memberactivity British Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
2023 - PresentJournal ServiceGuest Editor
Honors
honor MIT/NIDA Substance Use Disorder Ventures Program
08/12/2024National AwardMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)DetailsUnited Stateshonor NIH Early Career Reviewer
12/01/2023National AwardNational Institute of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific ReviewDetailsUnited Stateshonor ASCP New Investigator Award
03/10/2023National AwardAmerican Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP)DetailsUnited Stateshonor ISCTM New Investigator Award
02/15/2023National AwardInternational Society of CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM)DetailsUnited Stateshonor COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists
01/12/2023Yale School of Medicine AwardDoris Duke Foundation and Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI)DetailsUnited States
News & Links
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News
- September 16, 2026
De Aquino, MacLean Awarded NIH Grant to Study Psilocybin as an Adjunct to Physical Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain
- August 21, 2026
De Aquino Awarded NIH R01 Grant to Study How Alcohol Shapes Pain in Co-Occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and Chronic Pain
- July 08, 2026
Yale Psychiatry Faculty, Trainees Contribute to Book 'AAAP Review of Addiction Psychiatry'
- June 26, 2026
De Aquino Delivers Presidential Keynote at 2026 CPDD Annual Meeting
Get In Touch
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Contacts
Locations
VA Connecticut Healthcare
Lab
950 Campbell Avenue
West Haven, CT 06516