IU to fund 16 projects as part of spending $50 million to address addictions

Leaders from the university and IU Health joined Gov. Eric Holcomb in October at the Statehouse to announce the Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenges Initiative. They said it would focus on broad areas, such as collecting data and developing policies based on science, but did not provide details. Monday’s announcement spelled out who will be doing what.

For instance, Hsien-Chang Lin, an associate professor in the School of Public Health in Bloomington, will investigate the implications of policies designed to decrease the availability of prescribed opioids. His goal is to improve those policies to increase their impact for both rural and urban communities in Indiana.

Joan Duwve, chief medical officer for the state and associate dean of practice at IU’s Fairbanks School of Public Health in Indianapolis, will organize the 2018 Indiana Public Health Conference. The goal is to advance a comprehensive public health approach to combat addiction by engaging leaders from across the state.

“From expanding the state’s capacity to identify and treat addiction, to creating a much-needed statewide database on opioid use, or investigating the policy implications that shape this crisis, these projects will help us make meaningful progress on behalf of Hoosier families and communities across our state,” said Robin Newhouse, dean of the IU School of Nursing. She is leading the Responding to the Addictions Crisis initiative.