Annual substance use and addiction conference examines community solutions
May 15, 2022
The Penn State Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) hosted its third annual conference, “Community Approaches to Substance Use and Addiction” on Monday, May 3. Held virtually via Zoom and drawing over 120 attendees throughout the day, the conference kicked off with a welcome from Paul…News Topics: CSUASubstance Use
Sam Quinones talks fentanyl and the opioid crisis in virtual discussion
Apr 12, 2022
The Social Science Research Institute's Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) and the Criminal Justice Research Center hosted a virtual talk with Sam Quinones on March 23, titled "True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth with Sam Quinones.” During the talk,…
Penn State team leads effort to prevent youth substance misuse in PA
Apr 11, 2022
A team of Penn State experts from Evidence-based Implementation and Intervention Support (EPIS) is leading the five-year Opioid Misuse Prevention Project (OMPP) to support community-based partnerships throughout Pennsylvania to help prevent substance misuse and promote healthy development in young…
Annual substance use and addiction conference to be held virtually on May 2
Apr 5, 2022
Penn State’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) will host its third annual conference, “Community Approaches to Substance Use and Addiction,” on Monday, May 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. via Zoom. The annual conference of the CSUA brings together researchers, policymakers,…News Topics: CSUASubstance Use
Journalist and storyteller Sam Quinones to present virtual talk March 23
Feb 24, 2022
SSRI's Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction and the Criminal Justice Research Center will host a virtual talk with Sam Quinones on Wednesday, March 23, from noon to 1:30 p.m., titled "True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth with Sam Quinones." Quinones is a journalist,…News Topics: CSUASubstance Use
Can wearable technology predict the negative consequences of drinking?
Jan 27, 2022
“How much have you had to drink?” might seem like a simple question, but it is not always easy to answer. Although there are general guidelines about responsible alcohol consumption, a person’s level of intoxication depends not only on the number of drinks they consume but also on the alcohol…
Examining the opioid epidemic through the lens of crime data
Jan 25, 2022
The opioid overdose epidemic in the United States remains a critically important public health issue that continues to worsen as time goes on. The estimated death toll in 2021 has reached the historical high of 100,000 overdose deaths from all drugs and over 75,000 deaths from opioid overdoses. We…
How can body weight affect the mortality risk of excessive drinkers?
Jan 25, 2022
While research has long shown a higher risk of death linked to alcoholism for people with overweight, a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence has found that people with underweight who drink excessively may be at an even higher risk of dying from heart disease, cancer and…
How understanding neighborhoods can help reduce tobacco use
Jan 4, 2022
A Penn State researcher testing a new way to assess tobacco use with a neighborhood mapping platform and in-person interviews has found that community engagement is key to addressing risky health behaviors. Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United…
E-cigs with cigarette-like nicotine delivery may help smokers quit
Dec 9, 2021
Electronic cigarettes with cigarette-like nicotine delivery may help some people stop smoking cigarettes, according to a new study by Penn State College of Medicine and Virginia Commonwealth University researchers. By switching to e-cigarettes, the researchers said tobacco users may reduce their…News Topics: PRISubstance Use
Youth with mental illness, substance-misuse histories at risk of opioid misuse
Nov 23, 2021
Opioid misuse is a devastating problem in the U.S. and a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. Penn State College of Medicine researchers found young people with certain mental health conditions and histories of substance misuse may have an increased risk of being diagnosed…
Penn State receives a five-year, nearly $6 million grant to study factors promoting early childhood development
Oct 18, 2021
The effects of genetics, home environment, and prenatal substance use on child health and brain development are largely unknown, even though pregnancy and early childhood are incredibly important periods of growth. To address this knowledge gap, Penn State was recently awarded a five-year, $5.8…
Education project to help improve data on drug overdose deaths
Sep 27, 2021
A new Penn State-led project is educating coroners, medical examiners, and others in the death certifier community in Pennsylvania about the reporting of substances associated with accidental overdose. The project, known as the Death Certifier Education Project, is a collaborative effort with the…
Can mindful yoga reduce opioid dependence?
Sep 27, 2021
With more than 100 people dying from opioid overdoses each day in the U.S., new approaches to treating opioid-use disorders are needed. Emma Rose, assistant research professor with Penn State's Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, is leading a study that adds twice-weekly mindfulness-…
Five faculty members join Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction
Sep 13, 2021
Penn State’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA) recently announced five new co-funded faculty members who will join the consortium in the 2021-22 academic year: Kristina Brant, Sarah Brothers, Brandy Henry, Jennifer Nyland, and Sujeong Park. Kristina Brant will start her position as…News Topics: CSUASubstance Use
HHD professor and graduate students “rappel for recovery”
Sep 7, 2021
As part of National Recovery Month, Hobart ‘Bo’ Cleveland, SSRI cofunded faculty member and professor of human development and family studies, Erik Dolgoff, graduate student in human development and family studies, and Samuel Wakely Stull, graduate student in biobehavioral health, recently…
Life Unites Us' campaign receives grant from PA Department of Drug and Alcohol
Aug 18, 2021
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol (DDAP) recently awarded multiple faculty members, staff and units from Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State College of Medicine's Project ECHO and Addiction Center for Translation, and additional Penn State campuses a $4.5 million contract to continue…News Topics: Substance UseCSUA
Consortium on Addiction and Substance Use changes name
Aug 9, 2021
The Social Science Research Institute’s Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse has changed its name to the Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction (CSUA). Approved earlier this year and informally announced during CSUA’s annual conference in May, the name change better reflects the consortium’s…News Topics: CSUASubstance Use
Engage Podcast highlights project
Jun 28, 2021
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute released the latest episode of its Engage Podcast discussing research into e-cigarettes. Andrea Hobkirk, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavior health, discusses her work into how the brain responds to flavored e-cigarettes…News Topics: CTSISubstance Use
Human development and family studies professor joins Recovery Rising initiative
Jun 22, 2021
H. Harrington ‘Bo’ Cleveland, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and SSRI cofunded faculty member, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs’ Recovery Rising initiative. Recovery Rising works to foster a resilient, diverse and…
Training scientists in substance use prevention the focus of $3.2 million grant
Jun 13, 2021
A $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will fund the continuation of Penn State's Prevention and Methodology Training (PAMT) program, which focuses on training the next generation of scientists in preventing substance use and addiction. Effective strategies to prevent…News Topics: Substance UsePrevention Research Center
Annual substance-use conference examines cross-systems solutions
May 26, 2021
The Penn State Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA) hosted its second annual conference, “Addressing Substance Use: Cross-Systems Solutions,” on Monday, May 3. Held virtually via Zoom and drawing over 120 attendees throughout the day, the conference kicked off with a welcome from Stephanie…News Topics: CCSASubstance Use
How drunk is 'drunk?' New scale helps predict negative drinking effects
May 24, 2021
The words young adults use to describe how they feel when they have been drinking alcohol are a key to understanding whether they will engage in risky behaviors such as driving under the influence. A new scale for researchers developed at Penn State has been shown effective in gauging how young…News Topics: Substance UseSubstance Abuse
Consequences of COVID-19 on adolescent behavior
May 12, 2021
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely reported, but less is known about the indirect consequences on health-related behaviors. Researchers recently discovered that while there was a decline in physical activity in adolescents during stay-at-home orders, there were no changes in the…