What’s New in the CTN?

Join the CTN Northeast Node for the next installment of their long-running Science Series: Innovations in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment February 26, 2026, 12-1pm ETPresenter: Sarah Wakeman, MD This session will review changes in the opioid overdose crisis and innovations in opioid use disorder treatment, including novel approaches to initiating buprenorphine, use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine, and strategies for methadone initiation in general medical settings. Register for the Science Series session here! Posted on January 27, 2026

The CTN-0135 Aim 2 manuscript has been published in JAMA Open Network: Kawasaki SS, Liebschutz JM, Murray-Krezan C, Switzer GE, Nash S, Jeong K, Winstanley EL. Barriers to Buprenorphine Initiation in Patients Using Fentanyl. JAMA Netw Open 2026 ;9(1):e2552136. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.52136. PMID: 41490107; PMCID: PMC12771233. Find it in the CTN Dissemination Library The Appalachian Node will be facilitating a symposium at the 2026 annual meeting of the College on the Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) [June 13-17 in Portland, Oregon] on science communication. Our symposium will summarize multimedia strategies we…

The NY Node held a full-day in-person meeting in New York City on Oct. 17, 2025. The annual meeting brought together more than 90 participants from New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. The goal of the meeting was to understand clinical and research priorities of service providers and public health partners, identify key areas for collaboration, and shape the Node’s research agenda within the national CTN. Attendees represented major health systems and FQHCs, governmental and public health agencies, community-based treatment and low barrier programs, and academic trainees and investigators. The…

CTN-0151 at AMERSA 2025 CTN-0151 was featured at the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA) 2025 conference with the poster: “Stakeholder Perspectives on Community Pharmacists’ Prescribing and Management of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Under a Collaborative Pharmacy Practice Agreement,” presented by Greater Intermountain Node Clinical Research Coordinator, Melissa Tysko. The poster highlighted CTN-0151’s goal to develop a model for community pharmacist-managed buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. As part of the study, researchers conducted qualitative interviews with stakeholders in community pharmacy and MOUD treatment—including…

Long-time Pacific Northwest Node member Andy Saxon, MD is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Achievement and Service Award from the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP). This honor is presented to an outstanding member of the community who works in the field of addiction and who has contributed significantly to the science, teaching, treatment, and/or advocacy related to substance use disorders and co-occurring mental illness. Before his entry into psychiatry, Dr. Saxon completed an internal medicine internship and worked for four years as an emergency room physician. Following a general psychiatry…

CTN-0082 update CTN-0082 had another paper published: Predicting Willingness to Use MOUD: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned-Behavior. Lancaster C, et al. Journal of Drug Issues 2025 (in press). The paper reports on a study that used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to assess willingness to use 3 medications (methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) for opioid use disorder (MOUD) among people who use opioids (PWUOs). Findings partially supported the TRA but not TPB, with positive attitudes associated with greater…

Join the Health Systems Node on December 4 for this virtual seminar: The Right Support at the Right Time: Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) for Substance Use with Dr. Kristina Phillips December 4, 2025 10 am – 11 am PT Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) represent a cutting-edge approach to promoting healthier behaviors, including the reduction of substance use. By delivering personalized, real-time support precisely when individuals need it most, JITAIs have the potential to transform the landscape of mobile health (mHealth). In this seminar, Dr. Kristina Phillips will introduce the conceptual and methodological…

Stacy Sterling, DrPH, MSW, MPH, and Derek Satre PhD, Health System Node faculty, hosted the International Network on Brief Intervention for Alcohol or Other Drugs (INEBRIA) conference in San Francisco, CA on September 24-26, 2025.  INEBRIA is dedicated to evaluating the effectiveness of brief interventions in different settings with different types of patients. A great turn out, with more than 130 researchers from around the world in attendance. Research by Kelly Young-Wolff, PhD, MPH, Health System Node faculty, and Research Scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research,…

The Greater Southern California Node has a new publication out about CTN-0143 (Social Determinants of Health: Needs and Consequences Associated with Substance Use Disorders): A scoping review of interventions addressing social determinants of health and their influence on opioid use disorder outcomes. Cousins SJ, et al. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2025;276:112858. Over the past decade, opioid overdose deaths have risen sharply. The Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework can guide interventions to improve opioid use disorder (OUD) outcomes. Understanding which SDOH-focused interventions work — and how they affect OUD —…

Dr. Kathleen Brady, principal investigator of the CTN Southern Consortium Node, was recently named one of the top most influential people in Charleston, South Carolina, by Charleston Magazine! From the article: The Researcher: Kathleen Brady, MD Medical research is that nerdy enterprise most of us don’t pay attention to, until we need it. Given that nearly 17% of Americans over age 12 faced a substance [use] disorder in the last year, chances are you’ll need it. Enter Dr. Kathleen Brady, vice president for research and distinguished professor and MUSC [Medical…

The CTN Pacific Northwest Node team took some time out on October 2nd and 3rd to do some goal-setting for the coming year. As a reward for all their hard work, they participated in a Paint and Sip at Canvas in Redmond, funded by a University of Washington School of Medicine Well Being grant! Check out the incredible artwork of this multi-talented Node team! Pictured: (Back, left to right) Kai Orozco, Brenda Stuvek, Michelle Ingalsbe, Mary Hatch(Front, left to right) Tanja Laschober, Sharon Garrett Posted on October 13, 2025