PNW Node Co-Investigator Mary Hatch Receives UW Departmental Award On June 17, 2026, Mary Hatch, PhD, was awarded the UW Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Research Mentor Award, which recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in research mentoring of faculty members and trainees, including students, residents, fellows, and postdocs. Faculty mentors selected for this award have demonstrated a sustained commitment to fostering the creative, scholarly, professional and personal development of their mentees. Dr. Hatch is Co-Investigator of the NIDA National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network’s Pacific Northwest Node and Director of the Clinical Trials Consultation and Technical Assistance Program (C-TAP). Congratulations, Dr. Hatch! The PNW Node has two new publications out, both related to CTN-0082: “Not a monolith”: Type-specific MOUD awareness and rural willingness among direct service providers and clients. Laschober TC, et al. Poster presented at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) annual meeting, June 14-17, 2026. This poster describes the results of a survey of CBO providers and clients across 13 Southern U.S. CBOs (FL, GA, LA, MS, and TN) that found that, compared with methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone awareness was lower for both providers and clients, though providers were more aware of all types of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) than clients. Additionally, providers reported greater willingness to refer for buprenorphine and naltrexone than clients reported willingness to be referred. These types of misalignments can hinder MOUD uptake and contribute to high overdose rates and limited MOUD access in…

A recent publication by Health System Node faculty, Stacy Sterling, DrPH, MSW, MPH, was selected as one of the top Quality Improvement/Implementation Science publications in the Journal of General Internal Medicine: A Randomized Trial of Alcohol Telemedicine in Primary Care: Pharmacotherapy and Referral Outcomes. J Gen Intern Med. 2026 Jan;41(1):6-15. Dr. Sterling presents this project in this JGIM webinar (if you’re not already a JGIM/SGIM member, you must register, but it’s straightforward and free). A new study led by Anh Nguyen, PhD, Health System Node faculty and Investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research, published in JAMA Psychiatry showed that experiencing health plan disenrollment after initiating medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)—such as buprenorphine or naltrexone—is a significant risk factor for elevated mortality. Losing or changing insurance coverage disrupts continuous treatment and significantly increases the likelihood of fatal overdoses and all-cause mortality. This important work was recently highlighted by Dr. Yngvild Olsen, former Director of the SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, in her expert testimony before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the overdose crisis.

The Southwest Node is hosting an upcoming webinar, featuring speakers Kamilla Venner, PhD, and Aimee Campbell, PhD, MSW, and reviewing results from CTN-0096. Partnering with Tribal Serving Programs to Enhance Culture in the Delivery of Substance Use Disorder Treatment June 9, 2026 | 11am EDT | Download flyer This project looked at adding culture to care for Alaska Native and American Indian people who had problems with opioid use. The care was medication treatment. We wanted to see if culture would help more people start and stay in treatment. We worked with four clinics. We invited Alaska Native and American Indian people to be on our Collaborative Board to help us with this project. Two American Indian women led groups at each clinic. Each clinic chose its own way to include culture in medication treatment. After culture was added, Alaska Native and American Indian customer-owners were more likely to start treatment and more likely to stay in treatment. These results suggest that including culture can help improve services for Alaska Native and American Indian people. Join the Zoom session here!Meeting ID: 977 4576 0996Passcode: SWCTN

On behalf of the CTN New York Node and our academic partners, including Dr. Denise Hien at Rutgers University, big congratulations to Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Swarbrick on her New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) Trailblazer in Wellness Award! Dr. Swarbrick is the Associate Director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies and a Research Professor at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. The Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies and the larger Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology community celebrate Dr. Peggy Swarbrick, deserving recipient of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) Trailblazer in Wellness Award! This honor is part of the organization’s Diamond Courage & Compassion Awards, recognizing leaders who have made outstanding contributions to behavioral health systems over their remarkable three-quarters of a century history. Dr. Swarbrick will be recognized in April at the NJAMHAA75 Spring Conference. We applaud her unwavering dedication, indelible impact, and continuous efforts to advance wellness and recovery-focused care! Read more about Dr. Swarbrick and her award here! Posted on April 10, 2026.