Understanding the Ways that Chronic Pain, Depression Symptoms, and Resilience Affect Retention in and Adherence to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

IRIS Pilot Project Findings

A notable finding was that many participants stated they used opioids to improve physical or mental functioning. Results demonstrate the importance of comprehensive treatment approaches to address physical and emotional distress that often precedes and co-occurs with opioid addiction. Read the full project write-up along with a full academic journal article here.

Evidence on the Treatment of Co-occurring Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder

Research Corner: Emerging recovery research to inform practice, policy, and further study

Chronic pain and OUD frequently are experienced as co-occurring. In this Research Corner, we will examine the current evidence on the comprehensive treatment of co-occurring chronic pain and OUD by summarizing two articles. The first one presents a systematic review of collaborative care models and their effectiveness on pain-related and opioid use-related outcomes. The second article describes an integrated cognitive-behavioral group therapy model called STOP (Self-regulation Therapy for Opioid Addiction and Pain) and its impact on pain and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes.

National Conference on Addiction Recovery Science

4/23/25 - 4/24/25

IRIS and community partners presented a roundtable, “Multidirectional Learning within Community-Academic Partnerships to Enhance Peer Recovery," at the National Conference on Addiction Recovery Science.  

IRIS staff members included Dr. Jon Gilgoff, Victoria Barreira, Yali Deng, Riley Robinson, and Dr. Fernando Wagner. Community partners presenting were Tiffinee Scott of Maryland Peer Advisory Council, Dr. Stephanie Hutter-Thomas of Appalachian Recovery Concepts, and Jennifer Brown of On Our Own of Maryland.

Making Our Case for Change: Peer Research to Improve Programs and Save Lives

A Video by PEER and IRIS

Produced by Erika Shook and introduced by Tyrell Moyd, Dr. Stephanie Hutter-Thomas, and Dr. Jon Gilgoff  (who all jointly produced a peer research training of the same name), the video offers testimonials and calls to action from Dwayne Dean, Megan Sarikaya, Rob Hamm, and Tiffinee Scott.

On Our Own of Maryland Annual Conference

5/28/25 - 5/29/25 

Now, New, and Upcoming 

Announcements from IRIS and the community 

Free Training

Trauma-Informed Care

6/17/25

Maryland Harm Reduction Training Institute

Trauma-informed care helps individuals and organizations recognize how trauma affects the brain and behavior. In this training, explore how this approach connects with harm reduction practices and take part in real-life scenarios to build your skills in providing compassionate, trauma-aware support. Register here.

Resource

Toolkit for Community-Engaged Substance Use Research

Chestnut Health Systems' Lighthouse Institute

The team at Chestnut Health Systems recently released new chapters of the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) toolkit (click the large navy-blue banner at the top of the page to access it). This free online resource was created to help researchers build meaningful partnerships with people with lived experience. This practical guide features personal stories from Community Board members, step-by-step instructions, and sample materials to help you get started. The intent of this toolkit is to assist other researchers in learning from our experiences and mistakes, with a focus on “when rubber meets the road” for CBPR in substance use research. Learn more.

Free Training

PATIENTS Professors Academy

The PATIENTS Program

Starting on July 14, the PATIENTS Professors Academy is offering a free five-week online training program. The program fosters mutual learning among patients, caregivers, agency leaders, researchers, and others about how to carry out meaningful, community-engaged health research. Learn the PATIENTS 10-Step Framework that will prepare participants to shape health research for their communities. Learn more and apply.

Funding Opportunity

Community-Driven Responses to Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose Mortality 2025 – Capacity-Building Grants

Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts

This request for proposals seeks to fund projects for community-based organizations to build capacity and encourage sustainability of programming that addresses OUD and overdose mortality. Applications are due July 2. Learn more.

Free Trainings

Provider Training & Family Support Opportunities 

Maryland Family and Youth Interventions for Substance Use

Offered by the National Center for School Mental Health, register for free provider trainings and caregiver support opportunities on evidence-based adolescent substance use prevention and intervention strategies. Providers can join trainings on trauma-informed care, family-based behavioral treatments, SBIRT, and more. Learn more.