Golfo K. Tzilos Wernette, Ph.D.

Department of Family Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
1018 Fuller St.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104-1213

Golfo Tzilos Wernette, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist at the Ypsilanti Health Center where she provides short-term psychological intervention to adults in the community seeking primary care services. She received a B.S. in Biopsychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Wayne State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University, where she was also a research faculty member.

Her clinical research interests include technology-delivered approaches for health promotion and the reduction of health risk behaviors (e.g., alcohol/drug use, STIs/HIV risk behaviors) among vulnerable populations. Her current NIH-funded work is focused on screening and brief motivational interventions that target these health risks in pregnant/perinatal women and in emerging adults. Her research efforts include designing interventions to reduce health risk behaviors among vulnerable groups including low-income perinatal women.

Golfo is a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in the Department of Family Medicine. She speaks Greek fluently.

Clinical Interests

• Motivational interviewing
• Emerging adults
• Women's health

Research Interests

• Technology-delivered, brief interventions for health promotion and risk reduction.
• Preventive interventions targeting alcohol/drug use, HIV/STI risk, and intimate partner violence in vulnerable groups.
• Reducing health risk behaviors among emerging adults and women.

Department Areas

• Behavioral Health and Primary Care Psychiatry
• Preventive Medicine
• Reproductive and Women’s Health

Advanced Degree

• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich., 2010

Residency

• Clinical Psychology, Brown University, 2010

Fellowship

• Alcohol Treatment & Early Intervention Research, Brown University, Center for Alcohol & Addiction Studies, 2013

Technology-Based Intervention for Reducing Sexually Transmitted Infections and Substance Abuse During Pregnancy (PI) [Press release] [Protocol paper]

Computerized Intervention for Reducing Intimate Partner Violence for Perinatal Women Seeking Mental Health Treatment (Site PI) 

Latest Publications

• Tzilos Wernette G, Plegue M, Mmeje O, Sen A, Countryman K, Ngo Q, Prosser L, Zlotnick C. (in press).  Reducing sexual health risks and substance use in the prenatal setting: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials.
• Creech, S. K., Pulverman, C. S., Shin, M. E., Roe, K. T.,Tzilos Wernette, G., Orchowski, L. M., Kahler, C. W., Shea, M. T., Zlotnick, C. (in press). An open trial to test acceptability and feasibility of a computerized intervention for women veterans with sexual trauma histories seeking primary care treatment. Violence Against Women.

Key Publications

1. Tzilos G, Ondersma S, Grekin E, Beatty J, Chase S. Commission vs. receipt of violence during pregnancy: associations with substance abuse variables. J Interpers Violence 2010;25(10):1928-40. PMCID: PMC3826822. DOI: 10.1177/0886260509354507
2. Tzilos G, Sokol R, Ondersma S. A Randomized Phase I Trial of a Brief Computer-Delivered Intervention for Alcohol Use During Pregnancy. J Womens Health 2011;20(10):1517-24. PMCID: PMC3233214. DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2011.2732
3. Tzilos G, Zlotnick C, Raker C, Kuo C, Phipps M. Psychosocial factors associated with depression severity in pregnant adolescents. Arch Womens Ment Health 2012;15(5):397-401. PMCID: PMC4026299. DOI: 10.1007/s00737-012-0296-9
4. Tzilos G, Hess, L, Kao C, Zlotnick C. Characteristics of perinatal women seeking treatment for marijuana abuse in a community-based clinic. Arch Womens Ment Health 2013;16(4):333-37. PMCID: PMC3723351. DOI: 10.1007/s00737-013-0358-7
5. Tzilos G, Reddy M, Caviness C, Anderson B, Stein M. Getting higher: Co-occurring drug use among marijuana using emerging adults. J Addict Dis 2014;33(3):202-9. PMCID: PMC4224674. DOI: 10.1080/10550887.2014.950024
6. Ondersma S, Beatty J, Svikis D, Strickler R, Tzilos G, Chang G, Divine G, Taylor A, Sokol R. Computer-delivered screening and brief intervention for alcohol use in pregnancy: A pilot randomized trial. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2015;39(7):1219-26. PMCID: PMC4490994. DOI: 10.1111/acer.12747
7. Gold M, Tzilos G, Stein LAR, Anderson B, Stein M, Ryan C, Zuckoff A, DiClemente C. A randomized controlled trial comparing computer-assisted motivational intervention to didactic educational counseling to reduce unprotected sex in female adolescents. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol 2016;29(1):26-32. PMCID: PMC4670811. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2015.06.001
8. Zlotnick C, Tzilos G, Miller I, Seifer R, Stout R. Randomized controlled trial to prevent postpartum depression in mothers on public assistance. J Affect Disord 2016;189:263-268 PMCID: PMC4641029. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.09.059

9.  Tzilos G, Caviness C, Anderson B, Stein M. Stimulant use and associated health risks among student and non-student emerging adults. Emerging Adulthood 2016; 4(4):298-302. DOI: 10.1177/2167696815617077

10. Tzilos G, Reddy M, Caviness C, Anderson B, Stein M. Mostly Smokers: Identifying Subtypes of Emerging Adult Substance Users. Subst Use Misuse (in press).