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COBRE News

The Unconference Report: A Community-Led Conversation about Substance Use, Harm Reduction, and Recovery Research in Rhode Island

COBRE investigators joined researchers and community members on Thursday, March 7, 2024 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM for an “Unconference: A Community-Led Conversation about Substance Use, Harm Reduction and Recovery Research in Rhode Island.” The…
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The Center for Health and Justice Transformation (CHJT) and COBRE investigator, Justin Berk, were featured in The Providence Journal’s Sunday Edition

The Center for Health and Justice Transformation (CHJT) and COBRE investigator, Justin Berk, were featured in The Providence Journal's Sunday Edition on June 19th. To read more about the Center and read the article, please visit this link
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COBRE investigator, Dr. Ju Park, was featured in Filter magazine’s article on Xylazine test strips

Dr. Ju Park was recently featured in Filter, a harm reduction magazine, for her study published in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine. The research assesses the reliability of xylazine test strips and highlights the need for a centralized,…
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COBRE investigator, Dr. Jaclyn White Hughto, Receives Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring in Public Health

The Brown School of Public Health has honored Dr. Jaclyn White Hughto, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Epidemiology, with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring in Public Health. The annual award recognizes…
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COBRE investigator, Dr. Justin Berk, receives prestigious award

Dr. Justin Berk was selected for the ASCI's 2025 Young Physician-Scientist Awards (YPSAs). The YPSAs recognize physician-scientists who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research.
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COBRE Investigators, Dr. Josiah Rich and Dr. Brandon del Pozo, are quoted in STAT’s Part 6 of The War on Recovery, a yearlong investigation into how the U.S. denies lifesaving medications to people with opioid addiction.

The War on Recovery ‘I want help’: Behind bars, pleas for addiction medications often go nowhere By Lev Facher Read Full Article  
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COBRE poster presentations at The Rhode Island IDeA Symposium

The Rhode Island IDeA Symposium was held on October 22, 2024 and featured a poster session and lunchtime panel discussions. COBRE investigators Elijah McCray and Juan Turbidez (pictured)  presented a poster titled: Survey Results from…
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Community Design Workshop

The Community Design Workshop, hosted by the COBRE, brought together community members, researchers, and public health experts to tackle the opioid crisis through innovation and design. Over four sessions, participants engaged in a collaborative…
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Trailblazing RI opioid research center wins millions to study addiction. What they hope to learn.

By Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal "PROVIDENCE – The opioid crisis is proving to be a moving target. It's morphed through the years from people becoming ensnared by the prescription painkiller Oxycontin to users seeking heroin and…
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In Defense of Drug Decriminalization—Yes, in Oregon

By Abdullah Shihipar, Alexandria Macmadu, Ph.D., and Brandon, Marshall, Ph.D.,   "In November 2020, facing a record-breaking overdose crisis, voters in Oregon decided to take a chance on a novel approach to drug use in this country. That…
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What can Massachusetts and Rhode Island learn from Portugal decriminalizing drugs? Forum offers detailed look

By Lurdes C. da Silva   "After hitting rock bottom - with one in 10 people hooked on heroin and hundreds of thousands addicted to other types of drugs - Portugal decriminalized drugs 22 years ago and has seen dramatic…
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The MATPharm Study: A Pharmacy-Based Approach to Addiction Care

Watch a short video about the MATPharm study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0LjY2Ti5zE  
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A roadblock to life-saving addiction treatment is gone. Now what?

By Martha Bebinger "For two decades — as opioid overdose deaths rose steadily — the federal government limited access to buprenorphine, a medication that addiction experts consider the gold-standard for treating patients with an opioid…
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Health Care in U.S. Correctional Facilities — A Limited and Threatened Constitutional Right

By Marcella Alsan, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Crystal S. Yang, J.D., Ph.D., James R. Jolin, Lucy Tu, and Josiah D. Rich, M.D., M.P.H.   "The U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a right to health care. Yet since 1976, the Supreme Court has…
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Physician-Delegated Unobserved Induction with Buprenorphine in Pharmacies

By Traci Green, Ph.D., Rachel Serafinski, M.A., Seth A. Clark, M.D., M.P.H., Josiah D. Rich, M.D., M.P.H, Jeffrey Bratberg, Pharm.D. "Inadequate access to buprenorphine impedes care in the current opioid crisis. Pharmacists may be able…
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Mayor De Blasio Announces 1st Overdose Prevention Center services to open in NYC.

Press Release issued on Tuesday, November 30th: MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES NATION’S FIRST OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTER SERVICES TO OPEN IN NEW YORK CITY Overdose Prevention Center services offer safe, clean places where people who use drugs…
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Standing Order Naloxone Distribution in Massachusetts

Dr. Avik Chatterjee recently published "Broadening access to naloxone:  Community predictors of standing order naloxone distribution in Massachusetts" in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. They found that Naloxone by standing order in Massachusetts…
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Dr. Dahianna Lopez on Public Health America

COBRE Pilot Project Awardee, Dr. Dahianna Lopez spoke with Dr. William Latimer on Bronxnet's Public Health America. Dr. Dahianna Lopez, a tenure-track assistant professor at the College of Nursing at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Lopez…
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Opioids Overdose Rescue Training Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPSXWy3OfzI We would love for you to view and share this virtual, on-demand, YouTube-hosted SciToons’ Opioids Overdose Rescue training video so that more and more people can learn about opioids, naloxone,…
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With Innovation – There is Hope

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Doctors, advocates press Massachusetts legislature for safe drug consumption sites ‘empirically proven to save lives’

By:  Benjamin Kail | bkail@masslive.com From:  www.masslive.com "Years ago, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone believed supervised consumption sites for drug users were a bad idea. But the 55-year-old mayor — who admitted Monday…
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Vermont, Rhode Island decriminalized a lifesaving opioid treatment. Should Massachusetts?

From:  The Berkshire Eagle BURLINGTON, Vt. — "Most of the people who come through the doors of Community Health Centers of Burlington addicted to opioids and looking for help already have tried the most effective medication the center…
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We need treatment, not more of the same.

Providence Journal - August 5th Josiah “Jody” Rich is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Brown University. Rosemarie Martin is an associate professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Brown University…
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Fact Sheet on Fentanyl Test Strips

The Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA), a recipient of ONDCP’s Model Acts grant, has just released a new fact sheet on fentanyl test strips. LAPPA’s new fact sheet outlines how states can make this important harm…
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From Hell to Hope:  An RI Addict’s story of hope during national surge in overdose deaths

WARWICK — Anthony Perito, 39, says he was in elementary school when he started using drugs. “I was a big fan of Fred Flintstones chewables,” the multivitamin supplement for children, he said ... Read More here www.providencejo…
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Public Health Out Loud: How to Prevent an Overdose

Substance use and overdoses are an epidemic in this country, and Rhode Island is not immune. But efforts to combat substance use are often highly misunderstood. This week’s episode sheds light on some of those efforts, commonly referred to…
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To truly reimagine safety, we must end the war on drugs

by Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance   "Over the past year, we have witnessed visceral examples of how the systems that purport to protect and support us too often cause harm, especially to communities…
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College Dating Violence and Substance Misuse

Dating violence is a serious issue on many college campuses throughout the country. Unfortunately, substance misuse can make a troubled relationship even more volatile. A study that surveyed 72 female college students, titled “Daily…
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Physician-pharmacist collaboration may increase adherence to opioid addiction treatment

NIH-supported pilot study found team-based approach may improve buprenorphine care. A collaborative approach to treating opioid use disorder that relies heavily on community pharmacists is feasible and may increase adherence and participant…
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Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research Substance Use Research Core

The Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research Substance Use Research Core (CFAR SURC) is the only CFAR Core in the nation that focuses specifically on the intersection of substance use and HIV. The SURC is composed of 16 faculty members,…
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Medication-assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Rhode Island: Who Gets Treatment, and Does Treatment Improve Health Outcomes?

By Mary A. Burke and Riley Sullivan "Since the early 2000s Rhode Island has been among the states hardest hit by the opioid crisis. In response, the state has made it a priority to expand access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for…
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“The stakes are life and death”: Addiction treatment’s Covid-19 challenge

The government eased access to drug addiction treatment during the pandemic. Now that could go away. When the Covid-19 pandemic forced much of the US to lock down in the spring of 2020, officials and experts worried the necessary social…
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Promising findings from a study on the effect of long-term buprenorphine use for opioid use disorder

"Findings from this study and previous clinical trials of long-acting, injectable formulations of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder have shown this medication can decrease opioid use and opioid-related overdose deaths. This study found that…
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The COBRE on Opioids and Overdose is thrilled to welcome its newest Pilot Awardees, Dr. David Sobel and Dr. Brendan Jacka.

Brendan Jacka, PhD, is an Investigator in Epidemiology at the Centers for Epidemiology and Environmental Health at Brown University. His pilot project, titled, “Trauma and stressor-related disorders among layperson opioid overdose…
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Jaclyn White Hughto

Dr. White Hughto Led Study that Found Association Between Negative Media Portrayals of Transgender People and Adverse Mental Health Outcomes

Coverage by PRWeb, November 23,2020 Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Epidemiology, Jaclyn White Hughto led a study that found that frequent exposure to negative depictions of transgender people in the media was significantly…
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My Husband Invented Naloxone, My Son Died of Overdose. Oregon Gives Me Hope.

I hope that the historic move to decriminalize drug possession in Oregon is the start of a new era for US drug policy.
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Evidence Based Strategies for Abatement of Harms from the Opioid Epidemic

Jointly produced by several national addiction experts, this comprehensive report contains recommendations and evidence-based strategies for investment of litigation settlement funds to end the opioid crisis and mitigate future harms. This report was…
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Here’s How to Use $50 Billion in Opioid Settlement Money to Help People

By Arnold Ventures A new set of opioid abatement recommendations, developed by an interdisciplinary team led by Harvard health economist Dr. Richard Frank, helps states and cities understand how to use settlement funds to address opioid-related…
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In Shadow of Pandemic, U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Resurge to Record

Drug deaths in America, which fell for the first time in 25 years in 2018, rose to record numbers in 2019 and are continuing to climb, a resurgence that is being complicated and perhaps worsened by the coronavirus pandemic...
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‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic

Washington Post Suspected overdoses nationally jumped 18 percent in March, 29 percent in April and 42 percent in May, data from ambulance teams, hospitals and police shows. "Nationwide, federal and local officials are reporting alarming…
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Innocent Prisoners Are Going to Die of the Coronavirus

Once the virus gets inside prison doors, "it will go through the prison like a hot knife through butter," said Rich, the Brown professor. Soon enough, transmission will run in the other direction. As prisoners are infected, they will infect the otherwise healthy staff, who return to their families...
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We must release prisoners to lessen the spread of coronavirus

Unless government officials act now, the novel coronavirus will spread rapidly in our jails and prisons, endangering not only prisoners and corrections workers but the general public as well.
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Dr. Jon Soske

Dr. Jon Soske from RICARES speaks at COBRE Bi-weekly meeting about Stigma

The COBRE welcomed Dr. Jon Soske on Monday, March 9th to speak about Stigma, Discrimination, and Addiction: Ideas for Systemic Interventions. Dr. Jon Soske is the Community Engagement and Education Coordinator at RICARES. A person in long-term…
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Physician Heal Thyself

Doctors have own problems in recovering from opioid abuse, including denial of access to key medication By Chiara Eisner, Globe Correspondent When Dr. Sylvester Sviokla speaks to physicians at Harvard about the dangers of opioid addiction,…
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Dr. Geoff Capraro, co-founder of NaloxBox talks about being a hero

Geoff Capraro, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Brown and co-founder of NaloxBox, whose mission is to furnish naloxone as a community rescue asset so anyone can rescue victims of opioid overdose...
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NASEM Makes a Major Plea for Harm Reduction in Drug Policy

The Health and Medicine panel of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released its report Opportunities to Improve Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Services on January 23.
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goualo-richCourtesy of Nick Willing

Dr João Goulão Visits Providence to Share Life-saving Model

Dr João Goulão from Lisbon, Portugal visited Providence in early January. A medical doctor by profession, Dr. Goulão has over 30 years’ experience regarding drug-related issues, working in this field since 1987 as general practitioner, and since then his professional life has been devoted to drugs and health.
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Will Emergency Holds Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths?

Written by COBRE Affiliated scientists Elizabeth Samuels, MD, MPH, MHS, Otis Warren, MD, Corey Davis, JD, MSPH and Paul Christopher, MD. The opioid overdose crisis has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States since 1999. As part…
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Rhode Island Hospital receives $11M to establish an opioid research center

Federal funding will allow for creation of a center to help combat opioid epidemic Rhode Island Hospital announced today that it has received an $11.8 million federal grant to address the nation’s opioid epidemic by establishing the Center…
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COBRE on Opioids and Overdose ‘Hackathon’

A hackathon is any event of any duration where people come together to solve problems. Hacking involves finding creative solutions to problems. It does not have to include technology.
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This website is supported by the COBRE on Opioids and Overdose funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20GM125507. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.