Responding to the Crisis

Responding to the Addictions Crisis

In October 2017, Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie announced the Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge, in partnership with Governor Eric J. Holcomb, IU Health, and Eskenazi Health. This initiative is part of IU's bicentennial Grand Challenges Program, which aims to marshal the university's research strengths with partners across the state to address some of the most critical issues facing Indiana and the world.

The Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenges is IU’s commitment to prevent and reduce substance use disorder (SUD) in Indiana and beyond. Alongside community partners, we aim to combat this crisis with 50 interdisciplinary research projects and community partnerships throughout the state. As of the start of 2024, 27 of these projects have been completed and the remaining will be completed in 2025.

IU's Part in Fighting This Epidemic

Teams of researchers are leading work around stigma, new treatment options, prevention and harm reduction, law and policy, and the economic impact of the SUDs crisis and how it is affecting our workforce, and racial and ethnic disparities found in SUDs as well as the racial barriers in substance use research

As the Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge sets a pace for research activity that understands lives are on the line, this Grand Challenge is bringing together state and local government as well as business and nonprofit leaders to advance strategies that are helping the countless individuals, families, employees, and businesses suffering as a result of the SUDs crisis.

The IU Responding to the Addictions Crisis initiative focuses on six areas:

Data Science and Analysis

To inform community leaders, health professionals and policymakers around the state, we need a clear picture of what is driving this epidemic — and where it’s headed.

Education, Training and Certification

Equip current and future health care professionals with the skills and tools needed to serve as a crucial lifeline to those struggling with addiction.

Policy Analysis, Economics, and Law

Armed with data, we are working with Indiana legislators to develop effective and compassionate policies that tackle our state’s crisis.

Basic, Applied, and Translational Research

Recognizing that addiction is a disease, we seek to uncover the interwoven forces — both biological and environmental — that drive substance use disorders.

Community engagement/workforce development

Working together with partners in communities across the state, we are creating and implementing innovative approaches to fight addiction and mitigate its devastating consequences.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DEI projects focus on reducing racial and ethnic disparities found in substance use disorders and eradicating the racial barriers in substance use research.

AGC Journal Supplement Initiative

The Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge’s (AGC) impact on communities and the state has been far reaching.  A sampling of this scholarly work by AGC researchers addressing SUD has now been published in a supplement, a special collection of manuscripts, in the journal INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing.  The supplement is titled, ‘Indiana University’s Response to the Addictions Crisis: A Grand Challenge Initiative’ and can be found by clicking here where Dean Robin Newhouse is the supplement editor. 

IU’s Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge was, and continues to be, a model for how a public university can respond to a public health crisis. May other institutions endorse and utilize this approach alongside community partners to make a positive impact on a public health crisis.