About OPTIC

OPTIC is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to improving the effectiveness of opioid policies by enhancing opioid policy evidence.

The Opioid Ecosystem

We view the opioid crisis as an ecosystem, where policies targeting one dimension of the crisis may ripple through the system, often with unintended consequences. Current research often treats opioid policies as if they were implemented in isolation, ignoring that many policies may be implemented, at different times in a given area, and also failing to consider how the local environment influences the effects of policies.

To effectively confront the crisis we need to understand:

• which policies work and for whom
• what the components of a successful policy are
• how to disentangle the effects of multiple concurrent policies
• which well-intentioned policies have unintended negative consequences
• how to hone and strengthen approaches to designing and assessing policies
• how community factors can shape opioid markets and policy effects

And we need to share what we learn quickly with research colleagues, decisionmakers, and practitioners at multiple levels.

At OPTIC, we are monitoring this constantly evolving crisis, cataloging and assessing policies designed to address it, and suggesting policy approaches that have yet to be tried together as comprehensive ways to improve public health and public safety. Please visit often to get updates on our work.

Affiliated Institutions

OPTIC collaborates with a range of affiliated institutions, thereby expanding both our evidence base and opportunities for policy impact.

• Boston University School of Medicine and Public Health
• Indiana University
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• University of Oregon
• University of Victoria
• Network for Public Health Law
• University of California, Los Angeles
• Northwestern
• University of North Carolina
• Temple University
• Vanderbilt University

Advisory Board

OPTIC’s Advisory Board comprises nationally recognized scholars as well as policy makers and practitioners from federal and state organizations.

• Michael Botticelli, M.Ed. Executive Director, Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine
  Boston Medical Center
• Richard Frank, Ph.D. Senior Fellow of Economic Studies and Director of Brookings Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy
  Brookings Institute
• Brittney M. Roy-Morales, MPA Program Director, Health
  National Governors Association
• Adam Gordon, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., D.F.A.S.A.M., C.M.R.O. Elbert F. And Marie Christensen Endowed Research Professorship, Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry
  University of Utah School of Medicine
• Karmen Hanson, M.A. Program Director, Health
  National Conference of State Legislatures
• Rear Admiral Christopher M. Jones, Pharm.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H. Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CASP)
  Acting Director of the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ)
• Morgan Medlock, M.D., M.Div., M.P.H. Affiliated Faculty
  Department of Psychiatry, Howard University
  Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain, & Behavior
• Harold Pollack, Ph.D. Helen Ross Professor, School of Social Service Administration
  University of Chicago
• Tisamarie Sherry, MD, PhD Vice President, Health Policy Division
  Urban Institute

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