The VT IDeA Retreat is being organized by the Vermont Biomedical Research Network. We encourage your participation in this exciting program that will bring together faculty from across Vermont to strengthen our biomedical research infrastructure - a key goal of NIGMS’ IDeA program.

More than 75% of women with Opioid Use Disorder report having had an unintended pregnancy, but they are less likely to use effective contraception compared to women who do not use drugs. Results from a multi-year trial led by UVM Professor Sarah Heil found that a two-part intervention featuring co-located contraceptive services in opioid treatment programs and financial incentives could offer an effective solution.

(AUGUST 4, 2021) A MedPageToday article focused on a JAMA Psychiatry article by Professor of Psychiatry Stephen Higgins, Ph.D., and colleagues that examined the effectiveness of using contingency management to address comorbid behaviors like cigarette smoking in patients receiving medication for opioid use disorder.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of “Contingency Management for Patients Receiving Medication for Opioid Use Disorder” and accompanying podcast appear today in JAMA Psychiatry. Led by the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health (VCBH) at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, the podcast features VCBH Director Stephen T. Higgins, PhD discussing the examination, completed by first author Hypatia Bolívar, PhD and the VCBH team, of the utility of the behavioral intervention contingency management (CM) for addressing key clinical problems common among patients enrolled in MOUD.

The Clinical Research ECHO will focus on developing all types of clinical research including investigator-initiated projects.