2024 Symposium on Substance Use Research | Rural Drug Addiction Research Center

November 6-7, 2024

Virtual 2024 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 6-7, 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.

2024 SOSUR will be co-hosted by:

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 Virtual 2024 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

Day One: Wednesday, November 6, 2024

9:00am – 10:00am CT (10:00am – 11:00am ET)
Keynote 1

George Koob, PhD, Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) | "Changing the Conversation about Alcohol in the United States"
In this keynote, Dr. Koob will explore the extent of the pathophysiology associated with alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder, the challenges in addressing alcohol misuse and closing the treatment gap, and the resources available from NIAAA with particular emphasis on the Health Care Professional’s Core Resource on alcohol.

George F. Koob, PhD, is an internationally-recognized expert on alcohol and stress, and the neurobiology of alcohol and drug addiction. He is the Director of NIAAA and also a Senior Investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse where his laboratory is studying the neurobiology of drug and alcohol addiction.

10:30am – 11:30am CT (11:30am – 12:30pm ET)
Panel Discussions
1A: Use & Misuse of Plant-Based Drugs

Christopher McCurdy, PhD
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Florida
Jenny Wilkerson, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Texas Tech University
Sandeep Nayak, MD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University
Shanna Babalonis, PhD
Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky

1B: Women's Health

Qiana Brown, PhD
Assistant Professor of Social Work at Rutgers University
Lauren Micalizzi, PhD
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University
Tierney Lorenz, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Danielle Davidov, PhD
Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at West Virginia University

1:00pm – 2:00pm CT (2:00pm – 3:00pm ET)
Short Research Presentations 1
This session will feature research presentations, 10-15 minutes each, on various topics relating to substance use.

2:30pm – 3:30pm CT (3:30pm – 4:30pm ET)
Short Research Presentations 2
This session will feature research presentations, 10-15 minutes each, on various topics relating to substance use.

Day Two: Thursday, November 7, 2024

9:00am – 10:00am CT (10:00am – 11:00am ET)
Keynote 2

Diana Martinez, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University | "The Neurocircuitry of Habit and Change in Substance Use Disorders"
A key part of substance use disorder (SUD) is the difficulty people face in modifying their habitual drug use – even as circumstances change and their use leads to harm or worsening health. Symptoms that elicit habitual use and impede recovery include craving, withdrawal, and stress. In this keynote, Dr. Martinez will review the impact of pharmacotherapy on these factors and the ability to interrupt the cycle of SUD.

Diana Martinez is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who focuses on substance use disorders. Much of her work has used imaging to better understand the brain regions involved in recovery and relapse.

10:30am – 11:30am CT (11:30am – 12:30pm ET)
Panel Discussions
2A: Alcohol and Inflammation

Mollie Monnig, PhD
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University
Leon Coleman, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Tamara Phillips, PhD
Professor and Chair of Behavioral Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University
Joyce Besheer, PhD
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

2B: Rural Health

Raj Masih, MD
Lead Coordinator at the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy
Alexandria Macmadu, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Brown University
Gordon Smith, MD
Stuart M. and Joyce N. Robbins Distinguished Professor of Epidemiology at West Virginia University
Mary Emery, PhD
Director of Rural Prosperity Nebraska at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

1:00pm – 2:30pm CT (2:00pm – 3:30pm ET)
Rapid-Fire Poster Session
This will be an energetic, fast-paced session showcasing a multitude of projects in substance use research.

This event is supported by the Rural Drug Addiction Research COBRE at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln [P20GM130461], the COBRE on Opioids and Overdose at Rhode Island Hospital [P20GM125507], the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute [5U54GM104942], the WV-INBRE at Marshall University [P20GM103434], and the COBRE Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation at Brown University [P20GM130414]. All are funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.