Laura R. Lander, MSW, LICSW

Laura Lander serves as Co-I for the NIDA Appalachian Node. She is an Associate Professor, the Social Work Section Chief and Addiction Therapist in the Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry and Department of Neuroscience, at West Virginia University School of Medicine. She provides administrative oversight for CTN 0099, Emergency Department Initiated Buprenorphine Validation Network Trial (ED-INNOVATION) at Berkley Medical Center in Martinsburg WV. She is site PI for CTN 0100, Optimizing Retention, Duration and Discontinuation Strategies for Opioid Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy (RDD) at Chestnut Ridge Center in Morgantown. She also serves on the CTN Stimulant Research Task Force.

Ms. Lander’s primary research focus is in clinical translational research in the area of opioid use disorders (OUD), developing effective ways to measure and improve clinical outcomes. The treatment of pregnant women with OUD and assessment of neonatal outcomes is also an area of clinical and research focus. She is currently Co-Investigator on several SAMHSA SOR grants including MAT expansion in WV, initiation of buprenorphine in the ED using Peer Recovery Support Specialists and is a member of the Addictions Center of Excellence at WVU. Through her research efforts she strives to develop ways to develop evidence-based treatments for patients struggling with substance use disorders.

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