Biography
Jill Williams is a Board Certified Addictions Psychiatrist specializing in treatment of tobacco and other addictions in mentally ill populations.  She is an Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Addictions Psychiatry at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry.  She is also affiliated with the UMDNJ-School of Public Health Tobacco Dependence Program in New Brunswick and a member of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

Dr. Williams conducts research on smokers with serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and was the recipient of a NIDA Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award.  Her research examines differences in nicotine intake,  cigarette puffing and nicotine craving in individuals with schizophrenia in hopes that these discoveries will lead better treatments in the future.  She has received research funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the American Legacy Foundation. 

She lectures extensively on changing mental systems to incorporate tobacco dependence treatment and works with consumers to increase their knowledge about tobacco illness and the hope of treatment.  She has participated in several important national and state initiatives related to tobacco and mental health.   She is the Co-Founder and Medical Director of CHOICES, a consumer driven initiative to outreach smokers with mental illness in the community via mental health peer counselors (www.njchoices.org).  CHOICES was awarded “Innovation In Programming Award” by Mental Health America, June 2007, Washington, D.C. and was also featured on Chiming In, a podcast from Mental Health America.  Dr Williams was also a Director and Writer, of the Smoke Alarm Video: The Truth about Smoking and Mental Illness produced by the Clubhouse of Suffolk from a grant from the NY State Department of Health. 

Dr. Williams has also received grant funding to develop specialized trainings in tobacco dependence for mental health professionals and is the CME Course Director for a UMDNJ-RWJMS 2-day training conference for Psychiatrists, Advanced Practice Nurses and other Mental Health Professionals.