Reach News

02 Aug ReACH Lab Welcomes New Research Assistants

This upcoming Fall semester, the ACE Project will be welcoming three new Research Assistants: Luis Diaz, Alexandra Sawczak, and Kevin Leiva.

Luis Diaz Carrasco is a Post-Bac Research Assistant who received a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Florida International University. Through volunteering and working as a medical scribe, Luis confirmed his passion for the field of medicine. More specifically preventive medicine, which focuses on promoting health and preventing disease in individuals and communities. He plans on attending medical school and obtaining his M.D. degree, with the goal of using his skills to help build a healthcare system based on the prevention of diseases.

Alexandra Sawczak is an Undergraduate Honors student at Florida International University majoring in Biological Sciences. She is very passionate about furthering her education in medicine and pursuing a career in pulmonology. As president and founder of Be The Match On Campus, she fundraises and registers donors for the National Bone Marrow Registry in order to save lives of patients with blood cancers. Alexandra is an executive board member of Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Honor Society and a member of Phi Delta Epsilon Pre-Medical Fraternity, where she has been able to enhance her knowledge and skills in the medical field and raises funds for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Kevin Leiva, who will work closely with ReACH Lab graduate student Julie Cristello, is an undergraduate student majoring in biological sciences with a minor in business. Kevin is a QBIC scholar and a member of the international medical Fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon. Being a part of these organizations has allowed Kevin to spend more time helping others and bringing joy to those in need, and in the future, plans to attend medical school and become a physician to better serve the people in this community, focusing on minorities.

Thank you to all ReACH Lab RAs for your hard work and your interest in our research!

26 Jul ReACH Lab Members to Present at ABCT 2021 Annual Conference

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) 2021 Annual Conference will take place from November 18th to the 21st in New Orleans, LA. The conference seeks to promote cognitive and behavioral practice and science regarding public health, social justice, policy, research, practice, and training.

ReACH Lab members Nasreen Hidmi, Odette Manresa, and Sarah Hartmann collaborated on and received two poster presentation acceptances for this current year’s ABCT conference. The first poster acceptance is titled “The continued benefit of distress tolerance during the COVID-19 pandemic,” which assesses the changes in distress tolerance impact on adolescent mental health and perceived quality of life outcomes across the course of the pandemic. Findings suggested that pandemic-associated stressors negatively affecting adolescent mental health and quality of life can be mitigated by distress tolerance. On the other hand, the second poster acceptance titled “Coping activities during COVID-19 ameliorate the lack of technical resources’ negative impact on adolescent mental health” examined the association between lack of technical resources and mental health in adolescents, and whether this relationship is moderated by positive coping activities. Research findings suggested that the negative effects on adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic might be partially mitigated by positive coping activities ​​but even more so, a focus on increasing universal student access to technical resources for remote learning.

Congratulations to Nasreen, Odette, and Sarah on both acceptances!

12 Jul Juul Labs Reaches a $40 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Filed By North Carolina

As seen in a New York Times article, multiple lawsuits were filed against Juul Labs, an electronic cigarette company. The company was accused of contributing significantly to the rise in underage vaping and nicotine use (which has been labeled as an epidemic by the F.D.A) through their marketing strategies. The plaintiffs claim that Juul Labs knew, or should have known, that marketing towards adolescents would lead to an increase in nicotine addiction among teenagers.

A settlement of USD $40 million will be paid in the span of six years to North Carolina, the first of fourteen states that sued the company. The money will be used to fund anti-vaping campaigns and programs, and to research e-cigarettes. This settlement was reached without the company admitting the allegations. As a result, they will no longer need to go through with the jury trial (which was scheduled to occur this summer), but the Food and Drug Administration has yet to decide whether Juul Labs will be allowed to continue selling their vapes as a tool to help adult smokers quit traditional cigarette smoking. In the meantime, the company agreed to abide to the following regulations in the state of NC. First, their products will only be sold from behind the counters. Second, they will be required to use age verification systems through a third-party when selling online. Third, they will commit to sending fake underage shoppers to approximately 1,000 stores annually to test whether the products are being sold to minors. The fourth and final regulation states that they will refrain from using models that are under the age of 35 years old in advertisements.

However, this is not the end of court cases for Juul Labs. Aside from the lawsuits started by the states, a multi-district litigation made up of approximately 2,000 different cases have been filed by cities, counties, and school districts, but none of them are scheduled to begin in 2021. Additionally, a bipartisan investigation of Juul Lab’s marketing and sale practices is currently underway, conducted by a large group of attorney generals across the nation.

As stated by the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew L. Myers, these turn of events are a step in the right direction towards reducing underage vaping, yet it is not enough to solve the current crisis.

21 Jun Drug Overdose Deaths at Highest Peak Since Opioid Epidemic

According to a recent New York Times article, the past year has accounted for the highest number of deaths due to drug overdose since the 1990s, when the opioid epidemic was just beginning. The death of more than 87,000 Americans has caused many to consider it a public health crisis. This has been worsened due to the stress brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused high unemployment rates, city lockdowns, self-quarantines, and the temporary closing of many treatment programs responsible for providing the medication used to reverse overdoses.

This preliminary data is based on information released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which showed a 29% rise in overdose-related deaths occurred between October 2019 and September 2020, most of which involved the use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Unlike the opioid epidemic, which was mainly affecting White Americans, the current crisis is affecting Black Americans at a higher rate. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, adds that “the risk of dying from a methamphetamine overdose is 12-fold higher among American Indians and Alaskan Natives than other groups.” Dr. Volkow says drug combinations, like fentanyl with stimulants, are also more prevalent than ever before, mainly due to the larger profit generated by dealers for lacing non-opioid drugs with cheaper opioids.

The current administration recently expressed the urge to address and prioritize this epidemic by releasing an outline with measures regarding addiction treatment like those also supported by the previous administration. The ‘American Rescue Plan Act’ was developed by President Biden, where US$1.5 billion will go towards preventing and treating substance use disorders and US$30 million will go towards funding local services.

21 May ReACH Lab RA Accepted to Columbia University

Congratulations to ReACH Lab Research Assistant Michelle Rodriguez for getting accepted to Columbia University! Michelle will be attending Columbia University to earn her Master’s of Public Health in Epidemiology with a certificate in Public Health Research Methods. Michelle was selected as a Columbia Public Health Scholar, covering half of her program’s two year tuition. Michelle was driven to pursue this degree due to her interest in adolescent health and research, which began when she joined the FIU Teach program. Through this program, Michelle learned of the racial, social, and economic disparities in youth, and of the detriment those disparities cause in the well-being of the students. At Columbia, she hopes to gain the opportunity to assist with research projects including The Obesity Prevention Initiative or projects involving the connections between socioeconomic status and health. After finishing up her MPH program, Michelle hopes to conduct epidemiological research and plans to pursue her doctorate in Epidemiology.

Congratulations on this amazing accomplishment Michelle!

06 May ReACH Lab Director Presents “Inhaling More Than Air: Juuling & Inhalants”

Dr. Elisa Trucco, ReACH Lab director and ACE Project Co-PI, presented “Inhaling More Than Air: Juuling & Inhalants” earlier this week as part of her partnership with Campus Outreach Services (COS). Dr. Trucco presented alongside Dr. Matthew Sutherland, NBC Lab director and ACE Project Co-PI, after they were both made faculty presenters of COS. Ian Wong, Director of Health Promotion and Prevention at Tufts University, and Dr. Peter Doyle, MD, Associate Medical Director of Health Service at Tufts University, joined Drs. Trucco and Sutherland to present. COS provides a variety of programs intended to educate and enlighten students and adults of all ages, with this recent presentation provided for faculty, peers, and parents. The presentation focused on how “misleading advertising permeated the screens of teens via social media, often cloaked within social justice messaging and stress-relief promises.” Additionally, the presenters discussed the effects of nicotine on the adolescent body and brain and reviewed “current legislative initiatives to curb use and how each of us can make positive change in our communities.”

Thank you to both our ACE Project PIs for continuing to engage in community outreach in the hopes of educating the public on the facts of vaping and e-cigarettes! 

29 Apr ReACH Lab Director Appointed to Associate Director of Clinical Training for FIU CSCAP Ph.D. Program

Dr. Elisa Trucco, ReACH Lab Director and ACE Project Co-PI, has been appointed to Associate Director of Clinical Training for FIU’s Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology (CSCAP) Ph.D. program. Dr. Trucco has been at FIU since 2015, when she joined the Department of Psychology as an Assistant Professor and the Center for Children and Families as a Clinical Supervisor. She has since been awarded tenure as an Associate Professor. 

The CSCAP program aims to assist students to “advance basic knowledge in developmental psychopathology while developing and evaluating scientifically informed assessment, prevention, treatment and dissemination approaches.” The program is one of the few Psychology Ph.D. programs in the nation that offers a specialization in clinical science in child and adolescent psychology.

A huge congratulations to our lab director on this accomplishment! 

26 Apr ReACH Lab Members Present Their Research at the UF CARE Annual Symposium

The University of Florida’s 8th annual Symposium for the Center for Addiction Research & Education (CARE) was held virtually on April 20th of 2021. The symposium focused on the topic of risk, resiliency, and recovery, and featured the research of four of our very own ReACH Lab members: Sarah Hartmann, Benjelene D. Sutherland, Nasreen Hidmi, and Odette Manresa. 

Benjelene D. Sutherland presented a poster titled ‘Alexithymia Mediates the Association Between Childhood Trauma and Adolescent Substance Use.’ She found that emotional abuse predicted symptoms of alexithymia, which in turn predicted binge drinking, marijuana use, and e-cigarette use. 

Sarah Hartmann presented a poster titled ‘Risk Factors for Adolescent Substance Use: Dimensions and Profiles of Temperament.’ The research categorized three profiles of temperament: an internalizing, a withdrawn, and a resilient profile. Each profile provided more nuanced information regarding which adolescents are at greatest risk for substance use initiation. 

Nasreen Hidmi presented a poster titled ‘Student Connectedness Moderates the Association Between Friend Use and Approval of E-Cigarettes and Intentions to Use.’ Her research found that schools with low connectedness among students may increase an adolescent’s risk of initiating e-cigarettes based on their friends’ use and approval.

Odette Manresa presented a poster titled ‘The Use of Cognitive Interviews to Aid in the Development of a Measure to Assess Quantity and Frequency of Adolescent E-Cigarette Use.’ Through interviews with adolescent e-cigarette users, measures were refined to include updated pictures of nicotine products and new terms that are easier for adolescents to understand. 

We are proud of our ReACH lab members and are excited to continue presenting our findings! 

15 Apr ReACH Lab Director Awarded University Graduate School Provost Award for Mentorship of Graduate Students

ReACH Lab Director and ACE Project Co-PI, Dr. Elisa Trucco, has been awarded the University Graduate School (UGS) Provost Award for Mentorship of Graduate Students after being nominated by her three ReACH Lab graduate students. The award “recognizes excellence in the teaching and mentoring of graduate students outside the formal classroom experience” and seeks to identify mentors “who share their knowledge and experience to enhance the scholarly, professional, and personal development of graduate students.” UGS describes worthy mentors as those who “guide students in the development of research topics, help them understand the ethical issues of their disciplines, assist them in publishing their work, introduce them to career opportunities and networks, and serve as role models providing moral, emotional, and intellectual support.”

Congratulations on this exciting achievement Dr. Trucco, and thank you for all the guidance and support you offer the ReACH Lab! 

11 Apr ACE Project Researchers Host Webinar on E-cigarettes for Miami Southridge Senior High School

ACE Project graduate students, Benjelene Sutherland and Nilo Fallah-Sohy, recently hosted a webinar on e-cigarette use with support from ACE Project program coordinator, Nasreen Hidmi, and Senior research assistant, Brigitte Madan. The webinar provided information on the current rate of e-cigarette use among teens, misconceptions about e-cigarettes, and the potential risks of vaping on teens and the developing brain. With the alarming increase in rates of e-cigarette use, such outreach efforts are critical in preventing youth from initiating use and in raising awareness over health risks. Over 170 Miami Southridge Senior High School students attended the live webinar, each receiving one hour of community service for their time. Contact sheets were collected from students who expressed interest in participating in the ACE Project study.

The Southridge e-cigarette webinar is part of a larger series of community engagements that is being launched by the ACE Project. Prior to COVID-19, the ACE project team would regularly conduct speaking engagements at partner schools, in order to gather participants for the study. This new initiative makes an effort to re-engage with our community and partner schools, in order to increase participation in the re-launch of the cross-sectional portion of the ACE Project. The ACE Project team is excited to continue this initiative with partner schools in the coming months.