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IU addictions Grand Challenge announces next phase of projects at one-year anniversary of launch

For Immediate Release Nov 8, 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Fifteen new projects have been awarded funding as part of phase two of Indiana University’s Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge.

The projects – including the impact of opioid addictions on the labor market, examinations of stigma and a study of how a more effective version of naloxone might be created – represent the innovative, cross-disciplinary work that is the hallmark of IU’s Grand Challenge initiatives.

A pile of white pills
Responding to the Addictions Crisis is the third of IU’s Grand Challenge initiatives.

Responding to the Addictions Crisis – the third of IU’s Grand Challenge initiatives – was announced in October 2017. Sixteen projects were undertaken in phase one of the initiative, with many of them already reporting results.

“By hosting public forums telling stories of addiction to reduce stigma; surveying thousands of Hoosiers to inform policy recommendations; sharing fresh perspectives with members of the Indiana delegation; and testifying in front of the Senate Committee on Aging, IU’s Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge has set a pace for progress that understands lives are on the line,” said Faith Kirkham Hawkins, associate vice president for strategic research initiatives at IU.

“Phase two of this Grand Challenge will further inform and implement strategies to help the countless families, employees and businesses suffering as a result of the addictions crisis,” she added. “IU will continue forging this path the only way we can be successful: working together with state and local government, business and nonprofit leaders serving on the front lines.”

In the spring, a team of IU researchers published their findings on legal and policy best practices in response to the opioid epidemic. CARE Plus, a community-based addiction reduction plus policy innovations program, hired and trained two full-time addiction recovery coaches. Those coaches have expanded existing programs to include peer recovery coaching services and links to treatment, and they developed a free text messaging platform to support recovery of women with substance use disorders.

In the fall, the university held a naloxone training and distribution event in partnership with state agencies and community and business partners. Most recently, as part of the Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge, the university hosted the Indiana Public Health Conference. The conference provided a forum for people from diverse perspectives to work together to achieve a shared goal of addressing Indiana’s most pressing public health issues. The theme for the 2018 conference was harm reduction, a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use.

The full list of projects funded in phase two follows, listed alphabetically by last name of the principal investigator(s).

  • Telehealth Recovery and Resilience Program – Opioid Extension 9TRPP-O in Adolescent and Young Adult Trauma Survivors, Zachary Adams, IU School of Medicine.
  • Noninvasive Deep Neurostimulation Treatment for Addiction, Joshua Brown, IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
  • Characterizing the Course of Long-Term Opioid Use Disorder Recovery and the Impact of Medication-Assisted Treatment on Opioid Use Disorder Recovery, Melissa Cyders, School of Science at IUPUI.
  • IN-PORT: Indiana Networks of Prescribers of Opioids and Related Treatments, Hank Green, IU Network Science Institute.
  • Accelerating Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic by Repurposing a Cannabinoid CB2 Agonist, Andrea Hohmann, Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science and IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
  • Vitamin D and Opioid Use: From Real-World Data to Clinical Practice, Xin Li, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI.
  • Chemical Surveillance System for the Synthetic Drug Crisis, Nicholas Manicke, School of Science at IUPUI.
  • Opioid Addiction and Public Stigma: An Assessment of Rural and Urban Indiana Communities, Brea Perry, IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology.
  • Hidden Mortality and Multilevel Influences in Indiana’s Opioid Epidemic: Hot Spots and Hot Links, Bernice Pescosolido, IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology.
  • Advanced Analytics for IU’s Addictions Grand Challenge, Titus Schleyer, IU School of Medicine.
  • Indiana Addictions Law and Policy Surveillance Project, Ross Silverman, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI.
  • Opioid Addictions and the Labor Market: Hiring and Training During an Epidemic, Kosali Simon, IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington, and Katy Börner, IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering.
  • Developing a Better Naloxone, Alex Straiker, IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorders, Ellen Vaughan, IU School of Education in Bloomington.
  • The Long-term Consequences of Opioid Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Bryan Yamamoto, IU School of Medicine.

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