Middlesex County DA Turns to Prof. Christina Lee for Expertise on Anti-Racism in Substance Use Treatment
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan recently invited BUSSW Prof. Christina Lee to share her expertise with the DA’s Opioid Task Force, a group of 60-70 stakeholders throughout the region including providers, first responders, community public health advocates, recovery experts, and others. The task force began as monthly meetings held during the height of the epidemic of deaths from opioids in Lowell, Mass., and has expanded regionally throughout the county.
A top researcher on addiction, health inequities, and centering anti-racism in opioid and substance use treatment, Prof. Lee has investigated the connection between stigma, racism, mental health, and substance use for the past two decades. In a recent interview with BU’s The Brink, she highlighted how substance use treatment is a social justice issue.
In addition to her role as an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Boston University (BUSSW), Prof. Lee is an addiction faculty at BU’s Grayken Center, Boston Medical Center; research director at BUSSW’s Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH); a faculty affiliate at BU’s Center for Antiracist Research; and an affiliate training faculty at the Brown University Center for Addiction and Alcohol Studies, School of Public Health.