Vinod Agarwal
By Keith Pierce
The Virginia Higher Education Opioid Consortium (VHEOC) seeks faculty interested in working across academic disciplines to address the opioid crisis. Led by Vinod Agarwal, deputy director, Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, the Old Dominion University team will benefit from participation in paid collaborative interdisciplinary research.
VHEOC is a partnership of five Virginia state-supported universities working together to support local efforts to prevent and treat opioid and other substance use disorders with cutting-edge academic resources. Other member institutions are George Mason University, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, which serves as the fiscal agent of VHEOC.
The mission of the consortium is to assist Community Services Boards (CSBs) in addressing the opioid crisis with evidence-based research to prevent opioid misuse, disorder and overdose nationally and globally. This model provides CSBs a dedicated channel to access research expertise and technical assistance from VHEOC member universities.
Research is funded under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration State Opioid Response grant to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (VDBHDS).
"This is a wonderful opportunity for interested faculty to work with and learn from researchers from other fields on meaningful research," Agarwal said. "It is also a great way for the University to expand its reach by leveraging its expertise in health, sciences, business and education as it relates to addressing a worldwide crisis."
The grant runs from May 13, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2020, and includes four one-year optional renewals. VDBHDS is providing VHEOC up to $750,000 per year, subject to availability of funds.
To learn more or to join the ODU research team, contact Vinod Agarwal at vagarwal@odu.edu or 683-3526.
