MacArthur Genius Grant Awarded to UNC's Nabarun Dasgupta for Opioid Crisis Work
Nabarun Dasgupta, a UNC-Chapel Hill researcher, has been awarded a prestigious MacArthur Genius Grant worth $800,000 for his groundbreaking work in combating the opioid crisis. Dasgupta, who cofounded the Remedy Alliance, was surprised to receive the recognition while mourning the loss of a close colleague, Louise Vincent.
Dasgupta's work focuses on harm reduction, a strategy that values the dignity and worth of all lives, regardless of drug use. His research has shown a historic and hopeful shift in opioid overdose deaths, with numbers declining significantly across states. Dasgupta was one of the first scientists to detect this positive trend in the U.S., where drug deaths are now at their lowest level in half a decade.
Despite this progress, over 70,000 fatal overdoses still occur annually. Dasgupta's work, including the development of a national network that samples street drugs to detect toxic chemicals, is estimated to have saved tens of thousands of lives. However, his efforts are under threat from the Trump administration, which is pushing to shift funding away from harm reduction programs.
Following the MacArthur Genius Grant, Dasgupta continues his work at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, focusing on preventing drug overdose deaths through interdisciplinary research and innovative approaches. His impact has significantly influenced North Carolina, the Southeast, and the broader United States.
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