Events

This event will be held on Zoom; please register to receive an e-mail confirmation with the Zoom link. COVID-19 has intensified the already unprecedented overdose crisis in the U.S., with preliminary SAMHSA data showing a 30% increase in overdoses between 2019 and 2020. Other research has reported negative health outcomes related to substance use and COVID-19 including increased alcohol use, elevated positive substance use screens and patients with substance use disorder (SUD) presenting in acute medical settings, and elevated risk for COVID and of adverse COVID outcomes among people with SUD, and illumination of the effects of structural racism related to COVID outcomes, especially among Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities. At the onset of the pandemic, in response to the need for COVID mitigation strategies, federal SUD treatment regulations were modified to ensure continued access to services, including flexible telehealth processes and extended prescriptions for buprenorphine and methadone. This seminar presents emerging research from New York State focused on the intersection of COVID-19 and substance use highlighting the relationship of behavioral health and SUD, policymaker perceptions of communication with providers regarding regulatory changes, successes and challenges to the implementation of SUD regulatory changes and impact on health equity, and overall access to SUD services. Speakers will focus on policy and service delivery implications informed by these new findings. Moderator: Aimee Campbell, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatric Social Work in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a Research Scientist in the Division on Substance Use Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). Dr. Campbell’s research focuses on the development and testing of individual and program level interventions for substance use disorders, co-occurring mental health disorders, and HIV prevention and treatment, including the leveraging of technology-based platforms, with the objective of increasing adoption and implementation of evidence-based treatments. She has been involved in treatment research for substance use disorders, primarily in community settings and in partnership with community providers and consumers, for over 20 years – including collaborations with diverse partners to identify substance use disorder treatment best practices with Tribal communities. She received her master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University School of Social Work.

CSCI Columbia Stem Cell Initiative Seminar Series with Christine Seidman “Steps and Missteps in Building a Human Heart” Thomas W. Smith Professor of Medicine and Genetics Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital     Thursday November 4, 11:30 AM Hosted by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, PhD     Zoom link: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us/j/99391110376?pwd=eS9KSTg2ZEk1RU40QjE2NnlybjA3QT09 Meeting ID: 993 9111 0376 Passcode: 381142   For more info: ll3129@cumc.columbia.edu