Research

Research Program

My first area of research addresses the social, structural, and ethical dimensions of conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for substance use disorders. While RCTs generate compelling empirical evidence for novel interventions, they are particularly challenging to conduct in the field of substance use, where participants face stigmatization, criminalization, and barriers to care. My previous studies in this area have drawn on qualitative studies nested within multisite RCTs for opioid use disorder to understand the research experiences of people who use drugs (PWUD). This body of work has examined how lay expertise and drug-related stigma shape medication perceptions and randomization preferences; the instrumental, social, and altruistic motivations behind decisions to participate in research; how place and localized treatment contexts across jurisdictions shape study participation; and how the trial itself can function as a meaningful turning point in participants' therapeutic trajectories. These studies carry theoretical implications for understanding the production of medical knowledge, as well as pragmatic implications for the conduct of research with structurally vulnerable populations. Building on this foundation, a recently completed NIH-funded project examined how research staff (i.e., coordinators and assistants) in pragmatic substance use trials navigate the structural and ethical challenges of enrolling and retaining marginalized populations. Current work in this area extends these questions into the context of stimulant use disorders, for which there are no approved pharmacotherapies, which makes the social and ethical dynamics of trial participation especially consequential.

A second component of my research concerns substance use and health inequities. My work has explored how different forms of work, including informal and precarious labor, shape health outcomes among PWUD, with the broader goal of generating empirical evidence for low-threshold work opportunities suited to marginalized populations. Additional analyses have addressed issues around healthcare access, including dental care among PWUD in a presumed “universal” healthcare context, the role of social networks in HIV-related care engagement, and access to injectable opioid agonist treatment among PWUD with complex needs.

A third, emerging focus of my research focuses on PWUD involved in the carceral system. I am engaged in NIH-funded research studies examining MOUD and HIV access, preceptions, and implementation in jail setttings. As principal investigator, I’m leading a study on the role of pharmacists in supporting buprenorphine treatment continuity following reentry from jail, a population that faces elevated risk of overdose and treatment disruptions immediately following release.