Our Team

We have assembled a first-class team that are ready to advance how telehealth impacts outcomes for gamblers and gamers.
KRI’s Scientific Advisory Board is composed of leading scientists in addiction and related fields. The board’s responsibility is to ensure the highest standards in research are met. The volunteer Scientific Advisory Board provides valued guidance and knowledge on all aspects of the research.
Our Team

Leadership Team
Kindbridge Research Institute provides advisory services to policymakers at all levels of government by providing the most up-to-date findings in our field of study. We perform prevalence studies as a way to measure health in a population. We also can provide consulting to inform regulations and legal frameworks around state gaming and gambling policies.
Mark Lucia
Program Manager (Military and Data)
Mark Lucia is a versatile leader with a strong background in strategy and operations, currently serving as a Program Manager focused on Military and Data. He began his journey at KRI on the Military Research Associate Program and was fundamental in shaping and growing the program to what it is today. In this role, he designs and implements strategic initiatives that bridge the gap between military service and academic pursuits in the mental health field. Additionally, Mark chairs the Military Gambling Awareness Committee, where he crafts innovative strategies to raise awareness and support for military personnel affected by gambling-related challenges.
Throughout his career, Mark has demonstrated a unique ability to align strategic vision with operational execution. He has optimized multimillion-dollar projects at Amazon, spearheaded logistics and security operations for NATO missions, and led cross-functional teams to achieve high-impact results. With a keen understanding of analytics and process improvement, Mark has consistently driven both top-line growth and operational efficiency across diverse settings.
Mark holds dual master’s degrees in Business Administration and Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, which complement his deep expertise in both strategy and operations. His experience across multiple sectors, including non-profit, corporate, and military environments, highlights his ability to deliver sustainable solutions and foster collaboration to meet complex organizational goals.
Mark Lucia
Program Manager (Military and Data)
Dr. Nathan Smith
Executive Director
Ph.D., Psychiatric Epidemiology
Dr. Nathan D. Smith is the founding Executive Director of Kindbridge Research Institute, a nationally recognized scientist and science communicator, and a leader in the field of behavioral addiction research and theory. His work reflects a belief in the power of simple, direct methodological approaches to understand complicated human phenomena, and an unwavering focus on producing practical solutions to real-world problems.
Each year, Dr. Smith travels throughout the US to give scientific and public talks on mental health and addiction, meet with leaders in the science and politics of mental health, and oversee the many Kindbridge Research Institute projects taking place throughout the United States. He makes a special effort to balance his time between meeting with scientific experts, and experts with lived experience of addiction.Dr. Smith holds a PhD in Psychiatric Epidemiology from the University of Florida, a master’s degree from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University. He lives north of Boston with his wife and two sons.Dr. Nathan Smith
Executive Director
Dishi Umfleet
Operations Director
Dishi Umfleet is a highly accomplished executive with a successful track record of driving exceptional performance and revenue enhancement. She is currently the Operations Director at Kindbridge Research Institute where she manages strategic partnerships and develops long-term operational strategies. Additionally, Dishi is a Board Member for Go! Southampton, where she focuses on improving the commercial districts within Southampton through economic and social initiatives in partnerships with local authorities and businesses.
With a hands-on approach to leadership, Dishi draws out the best in an organization and has proven adaptability to international environments with a global success trail. Her specialties include business and sales leadership, operational consulting, and rapid, sustainable change initiatives driving top-line growth and bottom-line profit improvement.Prior to her current roles, Dishi was the Business Owner of The Docks Coffee House in Hampshire, UK, where she honed her skills in management, product diversification, and business to business sales strategies. She also spent 6 years and 4 months at Renoir Consulting, serving as the Executive Vice President for the Turkey region and responsible for business generation and management.With over a decade of experience in business leadership, revenue enhancement, and executive coaching, Dishi Umfleet has become a respected figure in the Greater Southampton Area and beyond.Dishi’s academic journey began in 2005 when she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Psychology from Demontfort University. Fast forward to 2021, she continued her pursuit of knowledge and personal growth by obtaining a certificate in The Science of Well-being from Yale University. Furthermore, she became a certified Happiness Practitioner by completing the program at the Museum of Happiness in 2022.Dishi Umfleet
Operations Director
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Tim Fong
MD, Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry
Dr. Fong is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
Dr. Fong completed his undergraduate and medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago. He then came to UCLA and finished his residency in adult general psychiatry in 2002 and was the first accredited addiction psychiatry fellow at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute (2002-2004).
He is the co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program (UGSP). The purpose of this program is to examine the underlying causes and clinical characteristics of gambling disorder in order to develop effective, evidence-based treatment strategies.
Since 2009, he has been the director of the UCLA Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, a one-year accredited program that provides clinical training in addiction psychiatry.
Finally, he is part of the faculty leadership of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, a multidisciplinary effort to examine the full impact of cannabis on the body, mind and brain.
Dr. Tim Fong
Dr. Jeremiah Weinstock
Ph.D., Psychology
Dr. Jeremiah Weinstock is a professor in the Psychology department at Saint Louis University, focusing on addictive behaviors with an emphasis on gambling disorder and exercise as an intervention. As an academic clinical psychologist, he is expert in addictions treatment and prevention research with a specific emphasis on gambling disorder and the utility of exercise as an intervention strategy for all addictions. He frequently conducts clinical trainings on gambling disorder treatment and on the development and implementation of contingency management for the treatment of substance use disorders.
Dr. Jeremiah Weinstock
Dr. Lia Nower
J.D., Ph.D.
Lia Nower, J.D., Ph.D., is a Professor and Director of the Center for Gambling Studies. A clinician and attorney who specializes in gambling disorder and behavioral addictions, she is also Director of the Addiction Counselor Training Certificate Program, a member of the leadership team of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center (RARC) and a research affiliate with the Sydney University Gambling Treatment Unit in the Brain and Mind Centre.
Dr. Nower’s research focuses on online gambling and video gaming, sports wagering, psychometric measurement, the etiology and treatment of gambling and gaming disorder, and gambling-related policy issues.
She currently serves as a Regional Assistant Editor for International Gambling Studies and an Associate Editor for Addiction and Addictive Behaviors journals. Dr. Nower is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on Problem Gambling in Washington, D.C., where she also chairs the research committee and received the 2019 research award.
Dr. Nower has also co-authored several policy initiatives, including a model for self-exclusion programs and an industry framework for informed-choice and responsible gambling. She co-edited the book The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Disordered Gambling (2013).
KRI’s Scientific Advisory Board is composed of leading scientists in addiction and related fields. The board’s responsibility is to ensure the highest standards in research are met. The volunteer Scientific Advisory Board provides valued guidance and knowledge on all aspects of the research.
Dr. Lia Nower