November 07-09, 2023
Virtual 2023 Symposium on Substance Use Research
About the Symposium
The annual Symposium on Substance Use Research (SOSUR) focuses on leveraging research, knowledge, and insight on substance use from across the country. This year it will be held on November 07-09, via Zoom. The virtual format will include expert keynotes, panels, and research presentations on a wide variety of substance use topics (see below for the agenda.) There is no cost to attend and it is open to the public.
2023 SOSUR will be co-hosted by:
- the Rural Drug Addiction Research (RDAR) COBRE
- the COBRE on Opioids and Overdose
- the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI)
- the West Virginia INBRE (WV-INBRE) at Marshall University
- the COBRE Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation (CADRE) at Brown University
About our Partnership
In September 2019, two newly funded COBREs (the COBRE on Opioids and Overdose at Rhode Island Hospital and the Rural Drug Addiction Research COBRE at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) began small efforts to collaborate with one another, with the intention of increasing access to research around substance use and addiction science more broadly. This started with phone calls between Center PIs and administrators and quickly expanded to shared programming, as we saw synergies across almost all areas of our work. Our early goal to share information across COBREs has grown into a significant partnership that includes hosting joint seminars, events, workshops, trainings, and our annual symposium.
During the organization of our first virtual symposium in 2020, a third collaborator emerged and the symposium expanded to include the expertise and support of an IDeA-CTR: the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI). In planning for our second virtual symposium in 2021, the COBRE for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation (CADRE) at Brown University and the West Virginia INBRE joined as symposium sponsors. Their addition expanded our efforts to include all three types of IDeA-funded programs and increased opportunities to collaborate on substance use-focused research and intervention development across our institutions. We are excited to announce that the 2023 Virtual Symposium on Substance Use Research will again include participation from these five partners.
We are appreciative to all of the faculty, staff, and students who have contributed to this joint endeavor and who have engaged in this knowledge-sharing effort. We hope that this partnership will increase future collaborations across our programs and continue to grow our collective memberships as we build on the resources and expertise that the COBRE, CTR and INBRE programs provide. We look forward to expanding these partnerships, as we grow our successful IDeA-State collaborations with other centers across the US in the coming years.
The Symposium Agenda
Pre-Symposium Activities: Tuesday, November 07, 2023
10:00am – 11:00am CT (11:00am –12:00pm ET)
Pre-Symposium Workshop - Designing Effective Preventions/Interventions and Considerations in Clinical Trials
This virtual workshop will include discussion on various aspects of designing successful clinical trials focused on preventions and interventions. Panelists will draw from their experiences to provide insights on the coordination of effective programs, considerations regarding community participation and sampling, and reflections on planning trial infrastructure and sustainability. The panel will also discuss some specific considerations in designing clinical trials, including factors to consider in developing grant applications, key features of clinicaltrials.gov reporting requirements, and the importance of translational impact when disseminating clinical trial findings.
10:30am – 11:30am CT (11:30am – 12:30pm ET)
Panel Discussion on Health Impacts of State Policies, Drug Decriminalization and Service Access
In the US system of government, individual states have wide authority to create drug policies that can profoundly impact health. In this session, panelists will examine the evolving range of state-level policy responses that address substance use, addiction, and overdose. Taking up issues such as syringe service programs, overdose prevention centers, Medicaid expansion, and treating incarcerated populations, they will discuss where approaches adhere to, or depart from, the best available research. Panelists will suggest research agendas and partnerships that can help states protect and improve the health of people with substance use disorders.