Opioid Epidemic

Opioid drug misuse and addiction are epidemic in the United States. Every day, 90 people lose their lives to opioid overdose and the economic burden of the crisis has climbed to an estimated $80 billion a year. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are spearheading multi-faceted solutions to address the problem.

Elliot Hersh

Professor in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery/Pharmacology.
School of Dental Medicine.
University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Hersh has performed FDA trials to test the efficacy and safety of non-opioid painkillers for use following dental surgery for more than 25 years. On the educational front, he has most recently helped provide an NIH-funded multidisciplinary Pain Science Course to medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy students.



Beth Adams | 215-573-8224 | adamsnb@pobox.upenn.edu


Peggy Compton

van Ameringen Chair in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing and Associate Professor in the School of Nursing.
School of Nursing.
University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Compton has studied opioid use and pain management for more than two decades. She can discuss misconceptions about this prescription drug epidemic, particularly that pain patients make up the majority of patients becoming addicted to opioids. 



Ed Federico | 215-746-3562 | efed@nursing.upenn.edu


Kyle Kampman

Professor of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Penn Center for Studies of Addiction.
Perelman School of Medicine.
University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kampman specializes in alcohol, cocaine, and opiate addiction treatment. He can discuss the challenges many patients face when trying to detox from opioids, the important need for medical support to ease withdrawal symptoms, and new strategies to help prevent relapse. 



Queen Muse | (267) 240-2448 | queen.muse@uphs.upenn.edu


Jeffrey Saven

Professor in the Department of Chemistry.
School of Arts & Sciences.
University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Saven’s work uses computational techniques to redesign the mu-opioid receptor, one of the human body’s most important receptors which is critical in the action of painkillers and anesthetics. Variants of the receptor can be grown in large quantities in bacteria and is also water-soluble, enabling experiments and applications, such as artificial chemical sensors, that had previously been very challenging or impossible. 



Mary Robinson

Director of the Equine Pharmacology Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center and
Acting Director of the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
School of Veterinary Medicine.
University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Robinson studies the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drug usage in horses. She can discuss the role that opioids play in veterinary medicine and the implications of their misuse on the well-being of race horses.



Hannah Kleckner | 610-925-6241 | hkleck@vet.upenn.edu