Professor Lia Nower and Assistant Professor Qiana L. Brown have been selected for the leadership team of the new Rutgers Addiction Research Center (RARC).
RARC is a multidisciplinary initiative of the Brain Health Institute, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Science (RBHS). Directed by Professor Danielle Dick, the RARC was created to link addition-related activities at Rutgers and bring together researchers, clinicians, and community members who are dedicated to tackling addiction.
“It is a great privilege to serve on this inaugural leadership team,” said Dr. Nower, who will chair the Public Policy and Behavioral Addictions sections. “It also speaks to the collaborative vision of RARC that two social workers were selected to chair. It will be the first time that behavioral addictions has been recognized in an institutional way at parity with substance use disorders. That will allow us to highlight the impact of families and syndemic systems across all addictions.” She added, "Integrating a focus on public policy into research will also allow us to translate knowledge to consumers and legislators for new and emerging issues."
Dr. Brown will chair DEI Initiatives at RARC. "Diversity, equity and inclusion are important across all professions including addiction research," she said. "I am honored to be the inaugural chair for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at RARC, and I am thrilled to work with such an amazing team!"
