# Initiating substance use disorder treatment in hospitalized opioid use disorder patients

> **NIH NIH K23** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2020 · $199,800

## Abstract

Project summary
The mentored research project and training plan in this application will help Dr Joji Suzuki become an
independent investigator to improve the treatment of patients with opioid use disorders (OUD) initially identified
in general medical settings. This is an area of enormous public health concern because patients with OUDs
frequently access general medical care, such as hospitals and emergency rooms, and are more likely to be
readmitted following discharge. As such, general medical settings may be important venues in which to initiate
treatment. However, very little is known about the optimal methods to initiate and retain patients in effective
substance use disorder treatment during and after hospitalizations. To fill this unmet need, the proposed
project will test the ISTOP intervention (Initiating Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Hospitalized Opioid
Use Disorder Patients) targeting hospitalized OUD patients in a randomized clinical trial. The ISTOP
intervention combines buprenorphine initiated in the hospital, a care manager in the hospital to address
domains shown to reduce readmissions, and a recovery coach to work with participants in the community after
discharge. The goal is to increase treatment retention, reduce illicit opioid use, and reduce readmissions. If the
ISTOP intervention proves to be effective, it will lay the foundation for a future R01 application. Dr Suzuki will
be mentored by a group of renowned researchers to achieve the following training goals: 1) obtain a mentored
experience conducting a clinical trial for the treatment of OUD patients, 2) gain proficiency in conducting
research that integrates pharmacologic and psychosocial treatments for OUD in the community setting, 3)
develop skills in researching treatments for OUD initiated in general medical settings and continued into the
community, and 4) develop greater understanding of quantitative methods needed for clinical research. These
training goals will be met by a combination of close mentorship, formal coursework, seminars/workshops, and
conference attendance. The training and research project will be overseen by a mentoring team composed of
his primary mentor Dr Roger Weiss, an internationally recognized addiction researcher with considerable
expertise in OUD; co-mentor Dr Jane Liebschutz, a researcher with expertise studying substance use
disorders in medical settings; co-mentor Dr David Smelson, a researcher with considerable experience with
community-based research including researching recovery coaches; co-mentor Dr Jeffrey Schnipper, a
researcher with expertise studying health outcomes for hospitalized patients; and co-mentor Dr Robert Glynn,
a researcher with extensive experience in designing and analyzing clinical trials. With access to a NIH-funded
Clinical and Translational Science Center (Harvard Catalyst) and the career development support through
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Dr Suzuki is in an ideal acade...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9989092
- **Project number:** 5K23DA042326-04
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Joji Suzuki
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $199,800
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9989092

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9989092, Initiating substance use disorder treatment in hospitalized opioid use disorder patients (5K23DA042326-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9989092. Licensed CC0.

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