NC Summit on Reducing Overdose

Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, PhD, MPH

Drug Scientist and Activist at the University of North Carolina

Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta is a street drug scientist and activist at the University of North Carolina with 2 decades of experience in overdose epidemiology and prevention. His lab analyzes street drug samples and large datasets to address public health challenges, and his research is primarily funded by the US Food and Drug Administration.  He also is the co-founder of multiple non-profit organizations, most recently Remedy Alliance For The People (remedyallianceftp.org), a groundbreaking non-profit bulk distributor of overdose reversal medications. Prior to UNC, he was the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Epidemico, Inc., a successful multi-national public health informatics startup based out of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Dasgupta holds degrees from Princeton, Yale, and UNC. In recognition of his groundbreaking work in overdose prevention, Dr. Dasgupta was named to 2023 TIME 100 Next list of emerging leaders globally.

Stephen Murray, MPH, NRP

Overdose Researcher, Harm Reduction Program Manager and the Director of the SafeSpot Overdose Hotline at Boston Medical Center

Stephen Murray, MPH, NRP, is an overdose researcher, Harm Reduction Program Manager and the Director of the SafeSpot Overdose Hotline at Boston Medical Center. In 2021, he retired as a Lieutenant at a large regional ambulance service in Western Massachusetts, and had served as a first responder since 2013, having worked both as a firefighter and paramedic. He regularly shares for a national audience about his lived experience as a person who used drugs and overdose survivor. Stephen provides expert technical assistance around the topics of overdose prevention, emergency medical services and harm reduction to a variety of organizations, county and state governments across the country, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency and the National Governors Association. He has guest lectured at over a dozen universities including Harvard University, Northeastern University, University of Southern California, University of California San Diego Medical School, UMASS Medical School, Georgetown University, Boston University, and has had research published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, Substance Use & Addiction Journal, American Journal of Public Health and Health Promotion Practice. In September 2023, he was featured in the multiple award-winning Episode 809 (“The Call”) on This American Life.

These sessions review basic components of the National Opioid Settlement in North Carolina and other states, and may include discussions about data trends, implementation guidance and reporting requirements and perspectives from local North Carolina governments implementing settlement-funded strategies.

These sessions focus on root causes of drug use and how we can support special populations like native communities and children and adolescents who may be struggling with problematic use of drugs or mental health conditions with evidence-based efforts; these sessions also offer a chance to explore grief and personal healing.

These sessions share practical strategies that reduce negative consequences associated with drug use and help keep people healthy, safe and alive. Topics may include syringe service programs as health hubs, drug checking, wound care and naloxone distribution.

These sessions describe ways to increase access to life-saving medications for opioid use disorder through evidence-based treatment, using mobile services (e.g., EMS-based programs) and in carceral settings.

These sessions provide information on recovery across a continuum including peer support, recovery housing and employment services. These sessions also explore ways to engage with faith communities and process our collective grief.

Participants will learn evaluation basics and how to apply their skills to track progress and measure impact. This interactive workshop will help attendees in their reporting on process, quality and outcome measures associated with the planning and implementation of opioid abatement strategies.

Supervision at its heart is a mutually reciprocal relationship where both supervisor and supervisee are learning from each other. This workshop will explore how to nurture a workforce that increasingly includes people with lived expertise, even if their supervisors may not have similar lived experience. Practical tools to support and mentor peers and avoid potential pitfalls in the workplace will be shared.

Experiences of trauma are pervasive in our communities. They can make people more likely to suffer from harms related to drug use, and they can make it harder for people to seek services and meet their goals for healing. Trauma also affects service providers, leading to burnout, low morale and high staff turnover. Every service provider and system has a role becoming more responsive to trauma so that we can better care for our communities and for our staff. This session is designed to explore the profound impacts of trauma and its interconnection with drug use, and to dig into specific, actionable strategies to address trauma across our service systems.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a person-centered, conversational style that elicits and enhances a person’s intrinsic motivation for and commitment to positive change and growth. This interactive workshop introduces learners to core concepts and skills of motivational interviewing through a combination of didactic presentation and skill-building exercises. These skills will prove useful in your personal and professional interactions.

The Reentry Simulation is designed to mimic one month in the life of an individual who has just been released from prison and is now on probation, post release or parole. Much like the justice-involved population, Reentry Simulation participants will attempt to navigate their way through the different agencies all while trying to remain in compliance with community supervision, take care of personal needs and satisfy family obligations. The overwhelming nature of the process will be emphasized when participants are allotted only 15 minutes per week of the simulation to complete all of the required task on the Life Card. There will also be a panel discussion and chance to reflect on the experience of “walking in the shoes” of individuals returning to our communities.