STEMJazz Talklet with Alex Macmadu
Abstract
Alex Macmadu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and a member of the People, Place and Health Collective (PPHC) at Brown University. Her specialty is drug overdose prevention (in particular fentanyl which has become increasingly popular the street-drug of choice). Of particular note, her work shows that user networks play a powerful role in the potential for overdose – in via mechanisms that are not always obvious. For instance, if someone in your user network has overdosed, rather than it being a warning shot, it actually (statistically) increases the probability you too will overdose. Why? The person you saw overdoes might have been a family member or close friend which then produces more trauma and thence more usage. Currently, Alex is part of a group that’s opening an overdose prevention center in RI (the third in the nation with two in NYC).
Thank you for the wonderful talk Alex!
