Doctoral candidate Morgan Soraya Anvari is the recipient of two awards. She received a dissertation grant (R36) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for RAISE:

RAISE addresses internalized stigma, or shame around a person's substance use and treatment history--a well-established barrier to treatment and recovery, particularly in rural communities. Rural communities, where few treatment options are available, show a high prevalence of polysubstance use, which may worsen internalized stigma.

The RAISE study centers the lived expertise of patients, peers, and treatment staff in rural Maryland to develop an intervention that is both practical and culturally acceptable for individuals with polysubstance use.

Contact with peer recovery specialists is reported to have the potential to shift stigma. Peers have also been shown to be able to deliver brief, evidence-based interventions. RAISE aims to develop a single-session, peer-delivered internalized stigma reduction intervention. Study findings may have important implications for how to best feasibly expand access to acceptable, evidence-based care in underserved, rural areas.

The NIDA R36 is a research grant aimed to support dissertations aligned with NIDA funding priorities. It will support the completion of Anvari’s dissertation, and provide important preliminary data for future grant submissions aimed at evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of the intervention developed through her dissertation research.

Anvari has also received the James W. Longest Memorial Award. It provides $2,000 to support doctoral dissertation research in the social sciences with potential benefits for small and/or disadvantaged communities. The announcement noted "the selection for this award is based on both grades and a track record of serving others and/or providing leadership in the community."