He is associate director of the USC-Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory (USC-HEAL), which conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection between drug abuse, emotion, and health-related behaviors. He earned his B.A. in Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Ph.D. in Psychology at Columbia University. Dr. Kirkpatrick completed postdoctoral training in neuropsychopharmacology at the University of Chicago.