Alina Agopian earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Addiction Science at the University of Southern California (USC), followed by a Master’s degree in Addiction Science at USC.
She has been engaged in research since 2022, beginning as a volunteer research assistant at USC, where she contributed to a NIAAA-R01 aimed at converting estimates of transdermal alcohol content to estimates of breath alcohol content. Additionally, since 2023, she has collaborated with researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the Friends Research Institute on a NIDA-funded R34 study aimed at reducing stigma among individuals living with HIV and using substances. Most recently, she has worked on a clinical research project at USC examining the effectiveness of GLP-1 agonists in the treatment of addictive disorders.
Alina’s research interests center on the social determinants of health in substance use and recovery. Specifically, she is interested in how socioeconomic inequities interacts with stigmatizing beliefs to shape treatment access, engagement, and outcomes. In the future, Alina hopes to contribute a more equitable and culturally informed landscape for addiction medicine.
Dustin Frank
Dustin Frank (he/him) earned a Master of Health Science in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is the Founder and Director of the Center for Health Intelligence and Policy (CHIP Inc.), a Baltimore-based nonprofit, and holds a research affiliation in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is looking to actualize his current research proposed activity of conducting a preliminary study to determine the prevalence of co-occurring mental disorders among patients receiving addiction services at Chainama Hills College Hospital in Zambia.
Dustin's research centers on illicit drug supply surveillance, harm reduction, and the structural conditions that shape drug-related health outcomes. He is a primary agent on the Milwaukee Drug Rapid-Testing and Outreach Program (MDROP), an active drug checking and market intelligence project that uses high-resolution toxicological analysis to characterize the composition and temporal dynamics of the local illicit drug supply. His work has documented the emergence of novel psychoactive substances and adulteration patterns with direct implications for overdose response and harm reduction practice. Collaborators on this work span the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, the Milwaukee Health Department, the CDC Office of Readiness and Response, and the Johns Hopkins Department of Mental Health.
Dustin's research also addresses the intersection of substance use, criminal legal involvement, and labor market reintegration. He is the recipient of a Total Worker Health grant from the Johns Hopkins NIOSH-funded Center for Work, Health, and Well-being (POE Center), supporting "A Fair Shake," a documentary short following returning citizens as they navigate pathways back to higher education and meaningful, healthy employment. He draws on lived experience with the criminal justice system as an integrated dimension of his research practice and advocacy. His current interests include drug market ecology as a framework for understanding how supply-side change affects public health systems and people who use drugs, spatiotemporal methods for overdose surveillance and forensic intelligence, and ethical governance frameworks for drug supply data.
Krisha Olga
As a non-traditional student, Krisha brings a wealth of life experience that complements her academic training, shaping how she approaches both research and mentorship. It is this same lived perspective that drew Krisha to Addiction Science.
Krisha holds a Bachelor's in Psychology (Biopsychology concentration) and a Master's in Psychology (Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience concentration), both from California State University, San Bernardino. As an undergraduate honors student, Krisha examined biomarkers in Parkinson's disease patients as predictors of disease trajectory, broadening her understanding of neurodegenerative disorders and aging populations and sparking her interest in substance use research among the elderly. For Krisha’s master's thesis, she used EEG technology to investigate how variations in face size and identity influence the neural components of face processing, drawing on sparse coding as both a theoretical lens and interpretive framework, strengthening her grasp of the neurobiological underpinnings of memory and laying the groundwork for her broader interest in substance use research, where her understanding of memory systems continues to inform how she thinks about processes like addiction.
Beyond the lab, Krisha’s work has been deeply community-oriented. As a Smoke and Tobacco Outreach and Prevention Scholar (STOPS), in partnership with Charles R. Drew University and the USC Keck School of Medicine, Krisha studied adolescent tobacco and nicotine use and exposure patterns across five Southern California high schools, sharpening her focus on at-risk youth and the social environments that shape substance use behaviors. She also collaborated with the California Health Collaborative to implement tobacco prevention and control efforts through the San Bernardino County Tobacco Control Program, assessing public health and environmental impacts in underserved communities and illuminating how environmental factors shape and contribute to substance use among marginalized populations. Krisha’s time as a student intern at the California State Water Quality Control Board deepened her understanding of public policy at the state level and how access to clean water and other basic resources shape people's lives, reinforcing her commitment to public service. As a Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar, Krisha has also developed a strong passion for mentoring the next generation of researchers.
Krisha’s research interests center on substance use among vulnerable populations — including at-risk youth, victims and survivors of domestic violence, and the elderly — with a growing interest in understanding how neurobiological, environmental, and social factors converge to shape substance use trajectories in these communities, using mixed methods approaches to capture the full complexity of these experiences.
Josefina Perales
Josefina Perales earned her Bachelor of Social Work from the School of Social Work at San Diego State University, with a minor in Gerontology, and is currently completing her Master of Social Work with an Advanced Specialization in Administration and Community Development.
Her work and research interests focus on homelessness, HIV, behavioral health, and substance use. She has experience in community-based social work and behavioral health settings supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders. Her professional background includes trauma-informed practice, psychosocial assessment, case management, community outreach, and interdisciplinary collaboration in low-barrier settings.
Her research interests in substance use and HIV developed through her work at the San Diego Central Library, where she supported patrons experiencing homelessness by connecting them to substance use treatment, behavioral health services, and HIV care. During her MSW program, her research focused on the intersections of homelessness, aging, and substance use among adults experiencing homelessness in San Diego. She is passionate about advancing community-based approaches that improve health equity, reduce barriers to care, and support marginalized communities.
