Original Release Date: March 5, 2021
In episode seven of the 2021 Illicit Substance Use Response season, Just Science interviews Dr. Alex Kral, an infectious disease epidemiologist at RTI International, about innovative policy solutions to improve outcomes for people with substance use disorder.
Community-based research takes place within community settings and involves community members which allows a better understanding of the struggles that each specific population faces. Dr. Alex Kral's community-based research approaches help to inform drug policy and provides communities the ability to develop innovative strategies to improve outcomes for people who use drugs. Listen along as our guest discusses the historical context for drug policy, Measure 110 in Oregon, and the Arnold Ventures Project in this episode of Just Science.
This season is in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) funding to respond to illicit substance use and misuse in order to reduce overdose deaths, promote public safety, and support access to services.
This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].
View or download the episode transcript here:
Transcript
Guest Biography
Alex H. Kral is an epidemiologist with expertise in community-based research with urban poor populations and drug policy. His policy and evaluation research has included syringe services programs, overdose education and naloxone distribution programs, and supervised consumption site programs. He is currently the principal investigator and co-investigator on several National Institute on Drug Abuse and foundation funded studies of the relationship between substance use, criminal legal involvement, infectious diseases and overdose, and federal and state drug policies. He has authored or coauthored more than 190 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, American Journal of Epidemiology, American Journal of Public Health, and Drug and Alcohol Dependence. He is regularly interviewed by journalists in print, podcast, and visual media, with frequent quotes in New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and San Francisco Chronicle and provides testimony in State legislatures. View RTI Profile here.
