Alice Zhang, M.D., M.P.H., is a family medicine physician and tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine. She has a passion for health equity–focused, community-based research in addiction medicine.

Her clinical experience treating substance use disorder in primary care settings has motivated her to find innovative ways to deliver treatment and harm reduction services to those who need them most. Her current work explores the use of “smart,” interactive vending machines as a low-barrier method for harm reduction delivery in community settings.

Zhang recently received a K23 award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop implementation and dissemination strategies for harm reduction vending machines. Through the C-DIAS Fellowship, she aims to build a strong foundation in implementation science—particularly within addiction medicine—and become an independent physician-scientist whose work helps close substance use disorder–related health equity gaps in underserved populations.