Assistant Professor (Research) Kirsten Langdon, Ph.D., has been named the 2023 recipient of the annual Bruce M. Selya Award for Excellence in Research, which recognizes outstanding independent investigators at Lifespan hospitals.  

"It is an honor to be recognized for my program of research that has focused on improving the treatment of substance use disorders," Langdon says. "I am grateful to my mentors and collaborators, who have pushed me to think critically about how we might continue to innovate care in this area."

Langdon is associate director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, a collaborative research hub focused on digital solutions to health problems. Her research focuses on the interplay between mood/anxiety and substance use disorders, as well as interventions (often via digital platforms) to improve treatment outcomes for people with co-occurring mood/anxiety and substance use disorders.

Currently, Langdon is completing a pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a combined web- and text-message delivered intervention (iENDURE) to support engagement in medication-based treatment for opioid use disorder. She has also recently started a study focused on deploying a mobile peer recovery support app among individuals with a history of criminal justice involvement to promote continuation of medication for opioid use disorder.

Langdon accepted the award at Lifespan’s Oct. 5 Research Day, where she presented the talk, “Improving Access to and Engagement in Medication for Opioid Use Disorder.”