Addiction has long been seen as something to be hidden, stigmatized, or explained away as a personal failing. But addiction is not only a medical condition but also a deeply complex public health issue. It’s a crisis that cuts across biology, psychology, law, economics, and social policy, affecting people, their families, communities, and populations alike. The University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Professions (UB SPHHP) researchers are reframing how we understand addiction.
Their work highlights a central idea: addiction isn’t just about abstinence or relapse. It’s about harm reduction, meeting people where they are and developing solutions that recognize the many factors—social, biological, political, and more—that shape substance use.
Through collaborations that span disciplines like engineering, psychology, social work, and more, SPHHP researchers are working to reduce stigma, understand recovery as more than just the absence of substance use, and build interventions that can change lives across diverse populations.This public health framing echoes across UB’s research community. Addiction is a chronic condition, yes, but also a product of biology, environment, economics, and culture. It is shaped by forces as varied as marketing campaigns for vaping products, the availability of treatment resources, or the social rituals of young adulthood.
Research that matters
Jessica Kulak, assistant professor, is preparing to analyze multi-year survey data to see how the rollout of legal cannabis affects young adults’ substance use. Those findings, she said, will be critical for shaping both policy and harm reduction education.
Kulak notes that addiction research must keep pace with how substance use itself is changing. “Drug use and misuse are becoming much more complicated,” she says. “Products are evolving, access is easier, and the ways people misuse substances are more sophisticated.” Her work underscores that research not only saves lives but also informs public policy and equips clinicians with better tools. Professor Gregory Homish asserts that it’s not just the research itself that’s significant. The research needs to help change the societal view of addiction.
“We need to reinforce the idea that people’s social network is so very important,” he says. “Focusing only on the individual is not effective. You need to focus on the broader peer network.”
Reducing harm
What unites UB’s researchers is a commitment to collaboration—and to harm reduction. Whether studying how nicotine receptors drive cravings, examining how social networks support recovery, or testing interventions for chronic pain, they’re seeking approaches that make substance use less dangerous and more treatable.
Harm reduction challenges the notion that abstinence is the only path to recovery. Instead, it emphasizes minimizing risk and supporting people’s health where they are.
R. Lorraine Collins, associate dean for research and director of UB’s Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, has long advanced this perspective. “Some people assert that if you have trouble with substance use, the only solution is to abstain. I disagree,” Collins said. “I help people to manage their use.”
Her work—whether focused on malt liquor and cannabis among young adults or cannabis use among older adults—highlights the role of self-control and behavioral strategies. For Collins, moderation is key—encouraging young people to monitor their use or developing policy recommendations that regulate cannabis potency and marketing.
Although public awareness of addiction has more recently been on opioids and other drugs, Nicholas Felicione, assistant professor, reminds us that cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Even though rates of smoking have decreased over the years, it’s still “one of the most harmful behaviors we can engage in,” Felicione says. He looks for the connections between biology (how substances affect receptors in the brain, for instance) and behavior that produce and reinforce use.
Jessica Kulak’s research also highlights how new cannabis products are shaping risk, particularly among young people. By surveying young adults as the cannabis marketplace expands in New York, she hopes to identify emerging patterns that can guide healthier engagement and prevention strategies.
The harm reduction lens resonates in the classroom, too. “We teach students that it’s not just about categorizing someone, but asking, how do we meet people where they are?” says Sarah Heavey, clinical associate professor. “It’s a person-centered approach.”
UB’s New MPH in Addictions
The School of Public Health and Health Professions recently launched a concentration in addictions to its Master of Public Health degree, making UB one of the few institutions nationwide to offer this focus. The need is obvious based on the numbers.
“Overdose and substance use have been increasing over the past 20 years,” says Heavey, “so we view this as a national public health priority. Our department is well-placed to offer the program because of our expertise in the subject.”
The program builds on UB’s existing strengths in addictions research, drawing on faculty across public health, psychology, pharmacy, and social work. Students explore topics like prevention, intervention, and policy, preparing them to work in clinical, community, and policy settings. The concentration equips graduates to bridge research and practice and ultimately contribute solutions to a field that urgently needs them.
“This is one of the first MPH programs in the country to take a public health perspective on substance use disorders,” says Homish. “It emphasizes health promotion and prevention—areas that don’t get enough attention.”
A key aspect of the program is that it’s offered both online and in person. That’s a benefit for working professionals who might want to get advanced training but need flexibility in their schedules, Homish notes.
Looking ahead
Addiction research at UB is moving into new and timely directions, shaped by emerging trends in substance use and the need for more effective interventions and policy.
Lorraine Collins’ long-term vision is to get to a policy that treats cannabis like alcohol or tobacco, with age restrictions and strict marketing controls. Nick Felicione is tracking the constantly shifting landscape of nicotine products, from synthetic compounds designed to sidestep regulation to new combinations of tobacco and cannabis that may worsen dependence. Sarah Heavey is pressing forward on work that examines rising overdose deaths among older adults and exploring culturally appropriate interventions for diverse populations.
Kyler Knapp is developing longer-term studies to understand which factors sustain recovery for years, not just months, and wants to broaden understanding of how researchers’ and community partners’ reciprocal relationships might better inform research and get vital data back to the community. Dennis Daniels is planning deeper dives into how vaping is marketed and perceived, with the goal of shifting electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigs) back toward their intended role as cessation tools. And Gregory Homish is embarking on a new study of health care workers’ stress and substance use, motivated by the extraordinary pressures revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Together, these projects point to a future in which UB researchers are not only responding to today’s challenges but also anticipating tomorrow’s: new products, new populations at risk, and new opportunities to bring science and community together. As Collins noted, the goal is not simply to eliminate substance use but to help people live healthier lives. “We have this perception as a society that substance use is horrible at the same time we’re using substances. I hope that with better regulation and lessening of harm and negative consequences, we can lessen the stigma that can get in the way of people who need help.”
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The University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Professions was a proud sponsor of the 2026 ASPPH Annual Meeting for Academic Public Health.