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 4-5, via Zoom. The virtual format will include expert keynotes, panels, and research presentations on a wide variety of substance use topics (see agenda below). SOSUR is free and open to the public.
We are now accepting abstracts for short research presentations and the rapid-fire poster session. View the call for abstracts and submit using the button below.
Register for the Symposium View Call for Abstracts Contact Us
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2026
We are currently developing the programming for the SOSUR 2026 Pre-Conference Workshop. Additional details, including session topics and speakers, will be announced soon. Please check back for updates.
DAY ONE: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2026
DAY ONE: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2026
9:00am – 10:00am CT (10:00am - 11:00am ET)
Keynote 1: From Prediction to Process: Rethinking Substance Use Through Dynamic Behavioral States
Brenda Curtis, PhD
Dr. Brenda Curtis is a Senior Investigator in the Translational Addiction Medicine Branch at the NIDA Intramural Research Program, where she leads a research section focused on advancing technology-enabled approaches to substance use and recovery.
In this talk, Dr. Curtis will present a framework that conceptualizes substance use and recovery as dynamic transitions between latent behavioral states, inferred from real-world data streams including language, mobile sensing, and digital phenotyping. Drawing on recent work integrating AI and intensive longitudinal data, it outlines how state-aware models can enable more precise, adaptive, and scalable interventions.
10:30am - 11:30am CT (11:30am - 12:30pm ET)
Panel 1: Cannabis and THC in the Age of Continued Legalization
Margaret Haney
Professor of Neurobiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Daniele Piomelli
Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine
Staci Gruber
Director, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaing Core & Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND); Associate Professor of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Wesley Raup-Konsavage
Assistant Professor, Penn State University - College of Medicine
Patrick Habecker
Research Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
12:30pm - 1:30pm CT (1:30pm - 2:30pm ET)
Short Research Presentations 1
This session will feature research presentations, 10-minutes each, on various topics relating to substance use.
2:00pm - 3:00pm CT (3:00pm - 4:00pm ET)
Short Research Presentations 2
This session will feature research presentations, 10-minutes each, on various topics relating to substance use.
DAY TWO: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2026
DAY TWO: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2026
9:00am – 10:00am CT (10:00am - 11:00am ET)
Keynote 2: TBA
10:30pm - 11:30pm CT (11:30pm - 12:30pm ET)
Rapid-Fire Poster Session
This will be an energetic, fast-paced session showcasing a multitude of projects in substance use research.
1:00pm - 2:00pm CT (2:00pm - 3:00pm ET)
Panel 2: Tools that Travel: Transforming Substance Use Treatment and Research
Alex Sokolovsky
Assistant Professor, Brown University
Stephanie Carreiro
Vice Chair of Research and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Sheena Sayres
State Opioid Response Program Director, West Virginia University Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry
Jay Mason
Director, Community Programs and Project ECHO, WV Clinical and Translational Science Institute
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.