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If you ask Dr. Enya Vroom what makes her unique, she might skip the professional milestones and offer something lighter: she, her sister, and her brother all share the same birthday — same day, different years. “We’re not triplets,” she’ll assure you. “Just a statistical anomaly.”

Dr. Crystal Smith’s path into addiction science didn’t begin in a lab or clinic. It began in a rural logging town in northern Idaho, a community shaped by poverty, limited opportunity, and the kinds of challenges that can derail a young person before adulthood. Smith understands this firsthand.

When Dr. Sarah Messmer moved back to her hometown of Chicago after medical training at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, she didn’t plan to spend her career working out of a van. But it didn’t take long for her to realize that was exactly where she needed to be.

Dr. Ximena Levander has built her career at the intersection of addiction medicine and women’s health, focusing on perinatal substance use disorders—when pregnancy, parenting and recovery overlap.

For Shannon Wiltsey Stirman, PhD, member of the C-DIAS Research Core—Methods & Measures Section, implementation science is about turning proven therapies into accessible, adaptable care.

For C-DIAS Fellow Natasha Ludwig-Barron, PhD, research is deeply personal. A first-generation college student raised in Los Angeles by a single mother, Natasha’s path into epidemiology was shaped by her family’s history with addiction and her conviction that health is a matter of human rights. “At my core,” she said, “I’m a human rights activist.…

C-DIAS Fellow Will Garneau, MD, MPH, came to research through the front lines of clinical care. Originally trained as a hospitalist, Will found his path shifting during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began observing unusual patient outcomes in the ICU. Encouraged by a colleague to write a case series, he discovered the power of research…

The 2025 C-DIAS Annual Meeting held in September was a tremendous success, bringing together fellows, faculty, and collaborators for two days of learning, reflection, and connection in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The event opened with a warm Fellows Welcome Lunch, followed by focused sessions introducing Cohort 3 to Implementation Science for Addiction Health Services and…

Rachel French, PhD, MSHP, RN, is an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where she is focused on improving care and outcomes for people with substance use disorders. Her path to research was shaped by her early work as a nurse in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). “One patient became…