Josie Lowell
Wright State University College of Medicine

Internship:
University-based research on experiences of people living with substance use disorders (SUD) and/or in recovery from SUD

Reflections from OSMA Summer Scholar, Josie:

"Having the Summer Scholars stipend support allowed me to fully immerse myself in a research topic that I am truly passionate about, learning about the lived experiences of people dealing with substance abuse disorders.

As an MS1, I had a 6-week summer break, and having the stipend support helped alleviate some of the stress surrounding finances for the summer so I could continue living in Dayton to conduct in-person interviews. I have a strong passion for psychiatry and the patient population it treats. Receiving this stipend also allowed me to further develop my interest in this specialty while also helping to make significant advancements for the substance abuse disorder community.

I gained experience doing literature review and review of interviews conducted with overdose survivors within the last year. I have solidified my research question to specifically look at intergenerational substance abuse between parent and child. My reaction is that most researchers have looked at the pre and postnatal effects of substance use of a child, but not many have looked into the effects on adolescents and adults in the long-term. I am looking forward to seeing what the qualitative data will show me after analysis."