Congratulations to third-year PhD student in the CHOICE Institute, Lauren Strand who was named the UWSOP Magnuson Scholar for 2019-2020. Magnuson Scholars are selected for their excellent academic performance and outstanding potential for research in the health sciences; they receive $30,000 to support their research, education, and training.
Originally interested in studying prescription drugs of potential abuse from the public health perspective, Lauren has become fascinated by the economic underpinnings of prescription drug use and abuse. For her dissertation, she will investigate the relationship between recreational cannabis policy/roll-out and prescribing in the state of Washington and in several other legalizing states.
She will focus on putative “substitutable” classes of drugs such as opioids. If there is evidence of substitution occurring over time, for future study she is interested in how such real-world patterns of prescription drug substitution could relate to negative overdose outcomes such as hospitalization and death.
While this research area is challenging and fast-paced, she hopes her findings might help inform future initiatives in Washington and other states.
We are so proud of you, Lauren! Congratulations on this significant award and recognition for your research.