Our Core Team  

 For more information on research team members, including former students, go to  Our Team  

Research Projects  

Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals: Increased Risks in the Era of Novel Synthetic Opioids and Other Designer Drugs  

Major Goals: The overall purpose of the proposed study is to characterize drug use experiences and overdose risks associated with the rapidly growing counterfeit pharmaceutical drug (opioids, benzodiazepines) spread in Arizona. 

Project Number: 1R21DA055640-01A1 

Name of PD/PI: Daniulaityte, Raminta

Source of Support: National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA)

Start and End Date: 4/1/2022-3/31/2024

Crystal in the Gem City: Characterizing a Methamphetamine Outbreak in the Area of a High Prevalence of Illicit Fentanyl Use

Major Goals: The overall purpose of the proposed study is to characterize the methamphetamine outbreak in the Dayton, Ohio area (“GEM CITY”) through mixed methods research that integrates ethnographic/structured interview data, urine toxicology, and forensic data on seized drugs and unintentional overdose deaths. Analyzing data from diverse sources will enable a broad understanding of the methamphetamine outbreak, and its overlap with the heroin/non-pharmaceutical fentanyl epidemic.  

Project Number: R21 DA049304

Name of PD/PI: Daniulaityte, Raminta

Source of Support: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA)

Start and End Date: 6/1/2019-5/31/2023

Non-pharmaceutical Fentanyl Use and Opportunities for Intervention through the Expansion of Drug Checking Services

Major Goals: Our key aims are to understand how people who use drugs experience and navigate risks associated with the increased presence of non-pharmaceutical fentanyl (NPF) in the local illicit drug supply. We also seek to understand community perspectives regarding development of community-based drug checking services to help reduce harms associated with the increased spread of NPF. 

Name of PD/PI: Daniulaityte, Raminta; Coles, Haley (Sonoran Prevention Works)

Source of Support: SATRN’s Glen J. Swette Seed Grant Program for Community-Academy Substance Use Research Partnerships

Start and End Date: 05/01/2021-04/30/2023

A Natural History Study of Buprenorphine Diversion, Self-Treatment, and Use of Drug Abuse Treatment Services

Major Goals: The overall purpose of this natural history study is to describe and analyze the nature and consequences of diverted buprenorphine (BUP) use among heroin and/or non-medical pharmaceutical opioid (NMPO) users who meet criteria for DSM-5 opioid use disorder. Our over-arching hypothesis is that more frequent use of diverted BUP for self-treatment is associated with better health outcomes and a greater likelihood of entering drug use treatment. The study is conducted in the Dayton, Ohio, Metropolitan Area, an emerging epicenter of the U.S. heroin/fentanyl epidemic.

Name of PD/PI: Daniulaityte, Raminta; Nahhas, Ramzi 

Project Number: 1R01DA040811   

Source of Support: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA)

Start and End Date: 07/01/2016-06/30/2022

eDarkTrends: Monitoring Darknet Markets to Track Illicit Synthetic Opioid Trends

Major Goals: Submitted in response to PAR-16-055, the overall goals of this time-sensitive R21 are to harness cryptomarket data to conduct surveillance of the illicit synthetic opioid markets availability trends over time, and identify new substances as they emerge on cryptomarkets.

Name of PD/PI: Lamy, Francois; Daniulaityte, Raminta; Sheth, Amit

Project Number: R21 DA044518              

Source of Support: National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH/NIDA)

Start and End Date: 06/01/2017-05/31/2021

 For more information on other research projects, go to  Projects