In the News
University of Michigan researchers from a wide range of disciplines are working together to formulate and answer critical questions about opioids. These collaborative efforts have placed U-M at the forefront of opioid research.
Media Mention: Addiction is a lifelong disease and not a moral failing
Rethinking addiction: Dr. Chad Brummett discusses how the opioid epidemic has opened up research opportunities to better manage these powerful drugs, including efforts to use data to improve clinical care. Listen to the podcast episode
Faculty Feature: Six faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences
Six University of Michigan professors are among 120 new members inducted into the National Academy of Sciences for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Twenty-four international members also were recognized. Among the U-M inductees is Dr....
It’s easier now to treat opioid addiction with medication – but use has changed little
Abrupt policy shift removed a unique barrier to prescribing buprenorphine, but didn’t lead to a sharp rise in prescribing by the end of the first year. For years, even as opioid overdose deaths dramatically increased, doctors and other prescribers in the United States...
Take A.C.T.I.O.N. Naloxone Training Travels to Community High School for First All-Teen Training
On Wednesday, April 10th, Dr. Gina Dahlem, Clinical Associate Professor at University of Michigan School of Nursing, brought the Take A.C.T.I.O.N. Naloxone In-Person Training to Community High School, where a group of students grades 9-12 gathered together to learn...
Media Mention: Real-Time Opioid Overdose Data Improves Safety Response from Community
Opioid overdose deaths have grown ten-fold in Michigan since 2000, and the opioid epidemic continues to be a major public health crisis impacting thousands of Michiganders and their loved ones. To improve coordinated community response to opioid overdoses, University...
Faculty Feature: U-M Announces New Department Professorship
The Department of Psychiatry nominated and the Regents have approved Maureen Walton, PhD, MPH as the inaugural Toby Brzoznowski Research Professor effective March 1, 2024. Dr. Walton is Professor and the Associate Chair for Research and Research Faculty Development in...
Media Mention: Fighting Michigan’s opioid crisis with new needles, purer drugs, respect for addicts
One strategy in Michigan’s fight against opioids is ‘harm reduction’ — the acknowledgement that just-say-no doesn’t always work. In Grand Rapids, one harm reduction program tests drugs, alerting the user of what’s in the sample. The program, Red Project, has found...
Anesthesiologists to study whether CBD use impacts need for opioids after surgery
Members of the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists (MSA) are among those joining forces to launch the largest clinical trial yet to determine whether administering cannabidiol (CBD) before and after surgery can reduce the need for opioids following total knee...
Media Mention: With the decline in youth mental health comes another concerning trend, study finds
Many young people have reported having poor mental health during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Their experiences are affirmed by a new study finding that the rate of prescribing antidepressants to this group also spiked during the same period. The number of young...
Update: A New OPEN: Overdose Prevention Engagement Network (OPEN)
This year, the Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network and the Michigan Opioid Collaborative have integrated to create the Overdose Prevention Engagement Network (OPEN). The new OPEN will focus on supporting community and healthcare organizations through the key pillars...