My research explores substance use disorder treatment from health services and health policy perspectives. Much of my work focuses on improving access to medications for opioid use disorder, including in problem-solving courts. I typically use mixed method, qualitative method, or legal epidemiological approaches to research. To ensure research rigor, I typically work with interdisciplinary research teams. For example, I lead the UCF Court Health Services & Policies Workgroup.
To date, I have led several grant-funded projects, including projects funded by NIH JCOIN, the Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator, the Health Foundation of South Florida. I have also served as coinvestigator and local lead researcher on several federally funded projects, including from the NIH NIDA, AHRQ, and HRSA.
I routinely publish my research in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, with research appearing in leading health service/policy journals (e.g., Health Affairs, JAMA Network Open) and substance use disorder journals (e.g., Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Substance Abuse, the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, the Journal of Addiction Medicine). I also frequently disseminate my research via invited speaking engagements and at national or regional peer-reviewed academic/professional conferences.
I am the author of the book The Opioid Fix: America’s Addiction Crisis and the Solution They Don’t Want You to Have (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020), which won two national awards: The IPPY’s (Bronze) and the Forward Indies (Gold.) I am also the author of an interactive, electronic textbook, Health Law & Ethics (Cognella University Press, 2022.)