Mason researchers connect with community members to develop an app for individuals recovering from opioid use disorder

sbrown79 — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:39:08 +0000

Mason researchers connect with community members to develop an app for individuals recovering from opioid use disorder sbrown79 Thu, 03/30/2023 - 14:39

In This Story

Holly Matto, PhD, LCSW-C

Siddhartha Sikdar

Screenshots of the app iCONNECT by Rebecca Leung, Dylan Scarton, Jonathan Mbuya, and Srinath Silla. Photos provided.

George Mason University graduate student Rebecca Leung is part of a team finding ways to use smart technology in order to help those who are struggling with or recovering from substance use disorder (SUD).

“I have always wanted to use smart technology to help different populations,” said Leung, who is working on her master of social work degree.

Leung is teaming up with other Mason researchers to develop an app called iCONNECT, which is intended to help peer support specialists, individuals in recovery from SUD, and their families connect with the specific resources needed to sustain recovery.

Leung was a 2021-22 fellow in Mason’s National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) program, which is training the next generation of leaders to take on some of the most challenging problems faced by society today. The program, led by Mason researcher Siddhartha Sikdar, is a part of the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions (CASBBI) program.

During the fellowship, Leung teamed with Dylan Scarton, a third-year PhD student in neuroscience, and Jonathan Mbuya, a PhD student in computer science. The team calls themselves the Good Troublers, and they are mentored by Mason researcher Holly Matto, as a core CASBBI faculty member and mentor in the NRT program, who studies addiction and recovery.

Matto, who was working on her own app to help with mental disease, told Leung about the program and recommended that she apply for it. “I saw an opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team to solve a social problem that I was keen on solving,” said Leung. After interviewing with CASBBI faculty Leung was chosen to be part of the cohort. “Fortunately, I met Dylan and Jonathan – who were also motivated to help with the opioid epidemic,” said Leung.

Screenshots of the app iCONNECT by Rebecca Leung, Dylan Scarton, Jonathan Mbuya, and Srinath Silla. Photos provided.

“The app will have immediate local impact on the ways in which peer support specialists, individuals in recovery from substance use, and their families are able to connect with the specific resources needed to sustain recovery,” said Matto.

“If someone needs transportation to get to appointments or they need to find a methadone clinic or inpatient places, we put all the local resources together in the app,” said Leung. “It turns out it's very hard to Google, and even when you go to [the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] to look for resources, you don't know if they're available or if the address or hours are updated.”

“The three of us have been personally affected by the opioid epidemic in different ways, and we're motivated to try to address that crisis in some form or fashion,” said Scarton. “We're designing the app with accessible user interface considerations, to minimize the number of clicks and present the information very clearly, for anyone not familiar with this domain like a caregiver, family member, concerned friend.”

Working with the nonprofit The Chris Atwood Foundation, the team spoke with multiple peer recovery specialists, individuals who have history with either mental health or substance use issues. These certified peer recovery specialists consult and guide individuals who are struggling with those issues, as well as their family members.

CAF is a nonprofit organization that provides free harm reduction, and recovery support services and resources. Daniel Adams, a certified peer recovery specialist at CAF, is working alongside the Mason research team as they develop iCONNECT.

“Through The Chris Atwood Foundation we realized that a big need of theirs is connecting individuals in recovery with necessary resources,” said Scarton. “That’s why we're currently developing a smartphone application to address that need.”

“People caught up in substance use and trying to recover have limited information about the resources available to them,” said Adams. “As a peer recovery specialist, you always have resources at your fingertips.”

The team has provided the first Android version of the app to community partners for testing. The peer recovery specialists will continue to test out iCONNECT once it is coded to the Apple platform, before being released to a limited number of users in the county for further feedback.

CAF is in the process of developing a peer drop-in center near Mason’s Fairfax Campus for community members to use. Mason’s Student Support and Advocacy Center also provides resources for individuals dealing with substance use issues on and off campus such as recovery and support meetings.

“It's been a blessing to partner with George Mason University,” said Adams. “This app is a tremendous idea and something that I can pass on to the individuals I help and teach them how to be self-reliant in a positive way.”

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NSF research traineeship offers new approach to STEM graduate education

Colleen Rich — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 09:06:57 +0000

NSF research traineeship offers new approach to STEM graduate education Colleen Rich Wed, 09/18/2019 - 05:06

A multidisciplinary team of George Mason University researchers is part of a groundbreaking approach by the National Science Foundation that could change the face of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate education in the future.

Siddhartha Sikdar, a professor of bioengineering in Mason’s Volgenau School of Engineering and the director of the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions (CASBBI), leads a team that has received an NSF Research Traineeship grant of nearly $3 million.

More than 100 PhD students from electrical and bioengineering, data science, computer science, neuroscience and the social sciences, including some with disabilities, will be trained to use state-of-the-art data analytic methods and wearable computing technologies based on novel transdisciplinary competencies, applications and practice curriculum.

Siddhartha Sikdar, Associate Professor / ECE Associate Professor, Bioengineering. Photo by: Ron Aira / George Mason University

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Siddhartha Sikdar

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Institute for Biohealth Innovation

Volgenau School of Engineering

College of Science

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

College of Education and Human Development

College of Health and Human Services

Research