Virtual 2026 Symposium on Substance Use Research | Rural Drug Addiction Research Center

The image is a promotional banner with a blurred background blending dark red and blue hues, creating an abstract, gradient effect. On the left, there are triangular wireframe shapes in orange, while on the right, similar patterns appear in blue. Centered prominently in large, bold white letters is the acronym "SOSUR." Directly below, in smaller white text, are the words "Symposium on Substance Use Research." Further down, another line of text reads "Virtual Co-Hosted Event • November 4-5, 2026" in white.

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's virtual event will include pre-conference workshops (November 2) with expert keynotes, panel discussions, and research presentations (November 4-5) covering 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

2026 SOSUR CO-HOSTS

COBRE Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation (CADRE)

West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI)

Rural Drug Addiction Research COBRE (RDAR)

Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose

West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (WV-INBRE)

Healthy Idaho Clinical and Translational Research (CTR-D) Program

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2026

9:00AM – 10:30AM CT (10:00AM - 11:30AM ET)

Pre-Conference Workshop 1:

Beyond the Protocol: Practical Coordinator Skills for SUD Clinical Research

Smiling woman with blonde hair and a striped sweater, standing in a bright indoor space with large windows.

Meghan Reeves

Director, IDeA State Consortium for Clinical Research Resource Center (ISCORE-RC), West Virginia University

Smiling woman with styled hair and patterned top, neutral background.

Lacey Kelley

Clinical Research Nurse, West Virginia University

12:00PM - 1:30PM CT (1:00PM - 2:30PM ET)

Pre-Conference Workshop 2:

A Primer on the State of the Art in Ecological Momentary Assessment and Just-In-Time Behavioral Interventions

Man with glasses, gray hair, and a suit smiling, with a blurred office background.

Bilal Khan

Professor, Lehigh University Health Data Warehouse

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

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

G. Lucy Wilkening

Clinical Associate Professor, Idaho State University College of Pharmacy

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], the COBRE Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation at Brown University [P20GM130414], and the Healthy Idaho Clinical and Translational Research (CTR-D) Program [P20GM155898]. 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.