FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Ariel Ludwig has been promoted from a Research Associate to an Assistant Research Scientist, effective September 24, 2020. Since joining FRI in 2019, Dr. Ludwig has performed several qualitative analyses of research data resulting in publications ranging from the establishment of methodological best practices (in press, International Journal of Qualitative Methods) to the phenomenology of overdose among youth with opioid use disorders (in press, Addiction). Arising from a NIDA-funded study of extended-release naltrexone among youth, Dr. Ludwig has also contributed to manuscripts addressing HIV risk behaviors, the criminal justice system, and the roles of caregivers in resource provision. Additionally, Dr. Ludwig has conducted qualitative analyses of patient navigation in association with a Clinical Trials Network ancillary study. Dr. Ludwig hopes to continue learning about study design and data analysis to assist with future FRI research efforts. FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Ludwig on this notable achievement and wishes her a prosperous career with the organization.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mishka Terplan has been promoted to serve as Associate Medical Director of Friends Research Institute. Dr. Terplan is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Addiction Medicine. His primary research expertise lies along the intersections of reproductive and behavioral health. In addition to his work at FRI, he is a clinician for the National Clinician Consultation Center Substance Use Warmline and serves as Deputy Chief Clinical Officer for the Department of Behavioral Health, Washington DC.  Prior to joining FRI in 2019, Dr. Terplan was the Director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he held the rank of Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Mishka Terplan has accepted the position of Senior Physician Research Scientist at FRI. Dr. Terplan is a physician who is Board Certified in both Obstetrics & Gynecology and Addiction Medicine. His primary clinical, research and advocacy interests rest along the intersection of reproductive and behavioral health. He is best known for his work on pregnancy and substance use disorder, including systematic reviews on both medication and psychosocial interventions. He has pioneered research and programs integrating sexual and reproductive health with substance use disorder treatment and integrating behavioral health with the delivery of reproductive health services.

Most recently he served as Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he opened an outpatient addiction medicine clinic and oversaw addiction medicine services. In addition to his work for FRI, he is the Addiction Medicine Consultant for Virginia Medicaid and Adjunct Faculty at the University of California, San Francisco where he serves as a Substance Use Warmline Clinician for its Clinical Consultation Center.

FRI is pleased to announce that Dr. Thomas R. Blue has been promoted from an Assistant Research Scientist to a Research Scientist, effective July 17, 2019. Since joining FRI in 2017, Dr. Blue has performed several secondary analyses of research data including analyses of arrest outcomes (now published in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence) and HIV risk behaviors (manuscript under review) of participants in a randomized controlled trial of buprenorphine for prisoners. Additionally he has helped author multiple grant applications to NIH including one for the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), which FRI was recently awarded. As part of this project he will serve as Co-Investigator, study statistician, and data manager for an equivalence trial of extended release naltrexone and extended release buprenorphine for individuals incarcerated throughout Maryland. Dr. Blue’s main interests include experimental design (including sample size determination) and the evaluation of both experimental and non-experimental data, especially data structured hierarchically and/or longitudinally. He hopes to continue learning more about statistical design and analysis to assist future FRI research efforts and to apply this knowledge to research efforts of his own that include using data driven methods to design and test interventions for justice-involved individuals suffering from opioid use disorders. FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Blue on this notable achievement and wishes him a prosperous career with the organization.