Institute for Addiction Science Newsletter: September Updates

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SEPTEMBER 2022 VOLUME 30

In This Issue

September Update from the Institute
Upcoming Events
Job Opportunities
Faculty Publications
IAS Faculty Members in the News

SEPTEMBER UPDATE FROM THE INSTITUTE

Welcome to the September Issue of the IAS Newsletter!

It is hard to fathom fall is just around the corner with this summer heat wave hitting us here in Southern California! The Institute, however, is in full fall swing this semester. We are definitely buzzing with energy as we continue to progress IAS programs and initiatives forward.

Last month, we welcomed Dr. Morgan Philbin from Columbia University who was our special invited guest for our August Distinguished Speaker Series event. In case you missed her excellent talk on "Cannabis policy implementation and outcomes among minoritized youth and young adults in the United States", her presentation can be viewed here.

This month, on September 28th, we are excited to welcome Frederick Barrett, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Barrett will be talking about "The Neuropsychopharmacology of Psychedelic Drugs". Please see below for more information or click here to register for the talk! Lunch and parking will be provided for in-person attendees. We hope to see you there!

Excitedly, IAS is working closely with our recently convened Community Advisory Board (CAB) which consists of key stakeholders who work directly with Los Angeles County residents. As the largest county in the nation, IAS has the opportunity to expand the reach of our work and our mission to better the lives of people touched by addiction. A recent example is the veto of SB57 by the Governor. While the passing of this bill would have made efforts in providing safe consumption resources more feasible with legislative level support, the veto of this bill does not entirely halt efforts in Los Angeles County and IAS is still committed to helping with community strategies in reducing harm, preventing overdoses, and providing resources. The CAB will be integral in providing insight into the needs of the community by providing ongoing feedback on IAS activities and offer guidance through their lenses of experience and expertise.

In our last issue, we announced the awarding of a $1.3 Million NIH training grant that was awarded to Dr. Daryl Davies from the School of Pharmacy. The USC Rising STARS (Scientific Training in Alcohol Research and other Substances) Program is a novel and innovative approach to strengthen diversity in researchers in Addiction Science. This training program will match world class researchers from USC, Cal State University, Los Angeles, and Charles R. Drew Medical University with underrepresented minority undergraduate trainees. It is our hope that this type of training opportunity will propel this future generation of addiction scientists into graduate-level training and careers in the field of addiction science.

Speaking of graduate-level training, later this month, our Masters in Addiction Science program will be open to start accepting applications for the Fall 2023! Bridging the gap between science, practice, and policy, this new transdisciplinary program will offer courses within USC Keck School of Medicine, USC School of Pharmacy, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, and other departments across the university, truly offering an integrated degree that gives a multi-perspective approach to understanding addiction.

As always, we are very appreciative of your continued support of the Institute for Addiction Science and look forward to continuing to share our ongoing and upcoming projects and activities with you.

Warmest Regards,
Adam Leventhal, John Clapp, Daryl Davies, Ricky Bluthenthal, Terry Church, Vickie Williams and Loba Ojo

UPCOMING EVENTS

This talk will be in-person at the Soto Street Building, Room 116
1845 N. Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90032

Upon arrival, please see the receptionist and obtain a parking permit to place on your dashboard. Lunch will be served outside in the courtyard immediately following the talk.

Virtual option also available.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Research Team - Department of Population and Public Health Sciences

The Department of Population and Public Health Sciences is in search of: A dependable, flexible, and detail-oriented person is needed to join a research team at the University of Southern California to participate in new pilot studies related to substance use, including studies related to cannabis use during pregnancy. These studies are investigating harm reduction approaches to substance use, including how expanding cannabis legalization may worsen existing maternal health disparities.

Employment Involves:
(1) Data collection. Conducting one-on-one interviews and focus groups with study participants (e.g., people who inject drugs, women who use cannabis during pregnancy, young women who vape, health providers and midwives);
(2) Data analysis. Conducting data analysis (e.g., thematic analysis, grounded theory using ATLAS.ti);
(3) Project management. Supporting all study-related project and data management (e.g., Institutional Review Board submissions and related protocols, managing and storing data according to HIPAA, managing
transcription of data).

Excellent English writing and speaking skills are required, and bilingual in English and Spanish writing and speaking skills are ideal. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational capabilities, superb problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to work independently while managing multiple tasks. Opportunities for mentorship and support in writing manuscript writing and peer-reviewed publications are available. Flexible hours on some evenings and weekends may be needed (e.g., conducting research interviews to accommodate study participants’ schedules). The majority of the work will be conducted remote from 9am-5pm Monday through Friday). Prior experience in a research environment is preferred.Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in the social sciences or in a health related field is preferred.

For more information or to apply, please email Rachel Carmen Ceasar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at rceasar@usc.edu.

PUBLICATIONS FROM IAS FACULTY

Below are selected publications from the previous month (August 2022) from faculty members and scholars of the Institute for Addiction Science.

Benowitz, N. L., Goniewicz, M. L., Halpern-Felsher, B., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Ling, P. M., O'Connor, R. J., Pentz, M. A., Robertson, R. M., & Bhatnagar, A. (2022). Tobacco product use and the risks of SARS-COV-2 infection and COVID-19: Current understanding and recommendations for future research. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 10(9), 900–915. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2213-2600(22)00182-5

Blanchette, J. G., Pacula, R. L., Smart, R., Lira, M. C., Pessar, S. C., & Naimi, T. S. (2022). The Cannabis Policy Scale: A new research and surveillance tool for U.S. states. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.21-00462

Cohrs, A. C., Husnul Khotimah, D. E., Dick, A. W., Stein, B. D., Pacula, R. L., Druss, B. G., Kim, K., & Leslie, D. L. (2022). Spatial and temporal trends in the diagnosis of opioid-related problems in commercially-insured adolescents and young adults. Preventive Medicine, 163, 107194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107194

Dai, H. D., Ratnapradipa, K., Michaud, T. L., King, K. M., Guenzel, N., Tamrakar, N., Puga, T., & Sussman, S. (2022). Vaping Media Literacy, harm perception, and susceptibility of e-cigarette use among youth. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.05.012

DiGuiseppi, G. T., Fedorova, E. V., Lankenau, S. E., Davis, J. P., & Wong, C. F. (2022). Egocentric network characteristics and cannabis use in a sample of young adult medical cannabis patients and non-patient users. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.21-00286

Doran, N., Myers, M., Luczak, S., Trim, R., Strong, D., & Tully, L. (2022). Non-daily Cigarette Smoking: Stability and transition to abstinence in young adults. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac189

Harlow, A. F., Stokes, A. C., Brooks, D. R., Benjamin, E. J., Leventhal, A. M., McConnell, R. S., Barrington‐Trimis, J. L., & Ross, C. S. (2022). Prospective association between e‐cigarette use frequency patterns and cigarette smoking abstinence among adult cigarette smokers in the United States. Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16009

Harlow, A. F., Vogel, E. A., Tackett, A. P., Cho, J., Han, D.-H., Wong, M., Cockburn, M. G., Sussman, S. Y., Unger, J. B., Leventhal, A. M., & Barrington-Trimis, J. L. (2022). Adolescent use of flavored non-tobacco oral nicotine products. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-056586

Ihenacho, U., Hamilton, A. S., Mack, W. J., Wu, A. H., Unger, J. B., Pathak, D. R., Hirko, K. A., Houang, R. T., Press, M. F., Schwartz, K. L., Marcus, L. R., & Velie, E. M. (2022). Lifetime personal cigarette smoking and risk of young-onset breast cancer by subtype among non-Hispanic black and white women in the Young Women's Health History Study. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-022-06675-4

Kelley, M. A., Lev, R., Lucas, J., Knight, T., Stewart, E., Menchine, M., & Doctor, J. N. (2022). Association of Fatal Overdose Notification Letters with prescription of benzodiazepines. JAMA Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.3372

Kennedy, A. J., George, J. S., Rossetti, G., Brown, C. O., Ragins, K., Dadiomov, D., Trotzky-Sirr, R., Sanchez, G., Llamas, H., & Hurley, B. (2022). Providing low-barrier addiction treatment via a telemedicine consultation service during the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles, county: An assessment 1 year later. Journal of Addiction Medicine, Publish Ahead of Print. https://doi.org/10.1097/adm.0000000000001034

Lee, B. P., Dodge, J. L., & Terrault, N. A. (2022). Geographic density of gastroenterologists is associated with decreased mortality from alcohol-associated liver disease. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2022.07.020

Riehm, K. E., Cho, J., Smail, E. J., Pedersen, E., Lee, J. O., Davis, J. P., & Leventhal, A. M. (2022). Drug use trajectories among U.S. adults during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 154, 145–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.07.055

Roberts, M. E., Tackett, A. P., Singer, J. M., Wagner, D. D., Lu, B., Wagener, T. L., Brinkman, M., Klein, E. G., Vickerman, K. A., Wold, L. E., Gumina, R. J., & Mohler, P. J. (2022). Dual use of e-cigarettes and cannabis among young people in America: A new public health hurdle? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.22-00027

Strayer, T. E., Spalluto, L. B., Burns, A., Lindsell, C. J., Henschke, C. I., Yankelevitz, D. F., Moghanaki, D., Dittus, R. S., Vogus, T. J., Audet, C., Kripalani, S., Roumie, C. L., & Lewis, J. A. (2022). Using the framework for reporting adaptations and modifications-expanded (frame) to study lung cancer screening adaptations in the Veterans Health Administration. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1862731/v1

Tran, D. D., Davis, J. P., Ring, C., Wang, J., Fitzke, R. E., Leventhal, A. M., & Pedersen, E. R. (2022). Associations between depression, stress, and e-cigarette use among OEF/OIF veterans. Military Psychology, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2022.2114278

Yao, M., Luczak, S. E., Saldich, E. B., & Rosen, I. G. (2022). A population model‐based linear‐quadratic gaussian compensator for the control of intravenously infused alcohol studies and withdrawal symptom prophylaxis using transdermal sensing. Optimal Control Applications and Methods. https://doi.org/10.1002/oca.2934

ADDICTION SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

This section highlights a few news articles from the month highlighting research or programming from an IAS member or IAS research program, as well as articles related to addiction science.

Fentanyl From the Government? A Vancouver Experiment Aims to Stop Overdoses
The New York Times, August 3rd, 2022

Safe Injection Sites For Drug Use Could Soon Be Legal In California
LAist, August 4th, 2022

FDA Warns Manufacturer for Marketing Illegal Flavored Nicotine Gummies
FDA, August 18th, 2022

USC Receives $1.3 Million NIH Training Grant to Enhance Diversity in Addiction Science
USC News, August 22nd, 2022

ASHES, Vol. 18(9) - Sweet tooth or sweet lung: Young adults' relationship with vaping and diet
BASIS, August 23rd, 2022

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