UWAC investigator Jenna van Draanen and her team at the University of Washington have received the 2026 Mosaic Award from Academy Health, recognizing organizations that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in health services and policy research.
Van Draanen leads Research with Expert Advisors on Drug Use (READU), an interdisciplinary team that spans UW’s schools of public health and nursing. READU is built on a shared-power model in which researchers with lived experience of drug use serve as leaders and decision-makers alongside academic staff and students — not just as study participants. The team’s work focuses on drug user health equity, overdose response within emergency medical services, and stigma reduction.
The model has produced measurable results. READU’s engagement with local partners, including Public Health Seattle & King County and VOCAL-WA, has helped shorten the typical gap between research and practice — including recommendations that contributed to multiple fire departments adopting leave-behind naloxone programs.
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