As a clinical nurse, Sharon Davis saw women who suffered from substance use disorder vilified by their doctors. She didn’t yet know about the science of addiction, but she knew that didn’t feel right.

Davis, a clinical associate professor of nursing, and Laurie Meschke, professor of public health, are leading an effort to address opioid abuse disorder (OUD) in rural East Tennessee. Their interdisciplinary team successfully pursued funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) twice.

Their Rural Communities Opioid Response Program-East Tennessee Consortium (RCORP-ETC), was created from a collaboration that started with a SPARKS (Seeking Partnerships for Research, Knowledge, and Science) event hosted by the Office of Research and Engagement’s research development group.

Research Development Insights Help Acquire Funding for Critical Research Tool

Research into targeted medical therapies is underway at the University of Tennessee to help fight pathological states like cancer, ischemia, and inflammation. One approach is based on the unique characteristics of diseased cells involving acidosis, or too much acid. In 2017, Fran Barrera, assistant professor of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to explore this condition.

Teaming Up to Improve Wound Healing

Why do some wounds heal quickly while others heal slowly? That is at the heart of Ralph Lydic’s research application recently submitted to the National Institutes of Health.