Coordinating Center

NDEWS is led by our research group from the University of Florida, New York University, and Florida Atlantic University.

Our Coordinating Center (CC) is spearheaded by the Cottler Lab (Epidemiology), with investigators from the University of Florida through the Florida Drug-Related Outcomes Surveillance and Tracking System (FROST) and the Center for Addiction Research & Education (CARE), the Palamar Lab at New York University, and the Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics (MPCR) Lab at Florida Atlantic University.

Our CC draws heavily on established and emerging public health surveillance methods and integrates expertise from multiple disciplines including epidemiology, forensic medicine, toxicology, psychiatry, sociology, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence.


Leadership


FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

Co-I: Elan Barenholtz, PhD

Co-Director of MPCR Lab, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences

Barenholtz

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Co-I: Sara Jo Nixon, PhD

Director, Center for Addiction Research & Education; Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, College of Medicine, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Nixon

University of South Carolina

Co-I: Tara Sabo-Attwood, PhD

Dean, Arnold School of Public Health
Henry Savage Jr., Professor in Environmental Quality and Global Health at the University of South Carolina

Dr. Sabo-Attwood

NIDA


NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellows


University of Florida

Fellow: Vijaya Seegulam, MPH

NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow, PhD Student, Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Medicine

VS

Florida Atlantic University

Fellow: Daniel Van Zant

NIDA T32 Predoctoral Fellow, PhD Student, Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University

DV

Staff


University of Florida

Data Management Analyst: Monica Bhargavi Kodali

Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Medicine

Monica Bhargavi Kodali

University of Florida

Marketing & Communications Specialist

Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Medicine

Herb Brooks

Alumni


  • Trokon Johnson – Data Management Analyst, Forensic Medicine Division, Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine
  • Arjun Iyer, PhD – Data Management Analyst, Forensic Medicine Division, Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine
  • Andrew McCabe, MPH, PhD
  • Nicole D. Fitzgerald, PhD – NIDA T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Substance Abuse Epidemiology Training Program (SAETP), Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
  • Anna Wang, PhD
  • Nae Won, MPH, PhD – Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Last modified: 4/16/2025

NDEWS is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the University of Florida (MPI: Cottler (contact), Co-Is: Goldberger, Nixon, Striley), New York University (MPI: Palamar), and Florida Atlantic University (Co-I: Barenholtz).