A University of Michigan lab focused on developing cutting-edge methods to inform effective interventions for drug abuse, HIV and other chronic conditions has been awarded a $13.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Data Science for Dynamic Intervention Decision-Making Lab, or d3lab, at the Institute for Social Research’s Survey Research Center received a five-year P50 Center of Excellence award from NIDA to launch the Center for Methodologies for Adapting and Personalizing Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services for Substance Use Disorder and HIV (MAPS Center).

A key focus of the d3lab is the advancement and development of the science of adaptive interventions which, consistent with the theme of precision health, are designed to address the unique and changing needs of individuals by guiding the sequencing and adaptation of treatment services. The lab’s research includes the development of new approaches to the design and analysis of randomized trials for optimizing such interventions.

According to d3lab co-directors Inbal (Billie) Nahum-Shani and Daniel Almirall, the new MAPS Center includes three research projects and two cores.

The research projects focus on developing new methods to accelerate the adoption, implementation and scalability of evidence-based services in communities with or at risk for drug use disorders (including opioid use disorders); facilitate the effective integration of human and digital care in prevention and treatment services for drug use; and optimize how to leverage smart devices (e.g., smartphones or smartwatches) and artificial intelligence algorithms to deliver real-time interventions in an individual’s everyday life.

The center’s Dissemination and Training Core will offer a wide variety of training activities and develop user-friendly software-related resources to enable scientists to design their own trials and perform their own data analyses. The DTC will house the MAPS Center Pilot Projects Program, which is intended to launch new careers at the intersection of substance use, research methodology and precision medicine.

“The P50 will give us the resources to develop and disseminate novel research methods that have the potential to improve the lives of those with or at risk for drug use disorders,” the researchers said. “Advances in mobile and wireless technologies offer tremendous opportunities to match treatment to the specific and changing needs of individuals with or at risk for drug use disorders.

“The new experimental designs, data analytic tools and artificial intelligence algorithms developed by the MAPS Center will capitalize on these opportunities to inform a new generation of highly effective and scalable interventions.”