The MI-ACRE Program - Part 2 of 3

The MI-ACRE Leadership team includes Allison Lin, MD, MS, Co-Director; Lara Coughlin, PhD, Co-Director; Erin E. Bonar, PhD, Director of Research Strategy; Anne Fernandez, PhD, Director of Clinical Research; and Maureen Walton, MPH, PhD, Strategic Advisor. The MI-ACRE mission is: Leading impactful research, training, and clinical programs to generate positive impacts on addiction prevention and care in our communities.

Delivering Care through Research & Technology

Participating in addiction research studies often provides care that most patients would otherwise not receive. “Healthcare has been unwelcoming to folks who live with addiction, but in our research we see that outreach and person-centered approaches can engage and connect people in care,” Dr. Bonar explains. “I believe it is essential to change addiction care from a “waiting” model -- where we wait for patients to come to us -- to a seeking model, where we reach out to patients and engage them in nonjudgmental, tailored treatments that support their personal goals, something Dr. Lin and I refer to as 'patient first' care.”

A large focus of the MI-ACRE leadership team’s research is on leveraging technology, such as telehealth, online digital programs, text messages, and mobile health apps, to expand access to evidence-based addiction treatment. Dr. Walton notes that “technology may provide a pathway to increase access to services as people go about their daily lives.”

Team members are testing a range of programs across platforms, including an alcohol prevention program for youth and caregivers, the MiWaves app to deliver early interventions for emerging adults with regular cannabis use, the Saferteens telehealth program to prevent violence among youth, and the Incentives2Quit program to provide support for smoking cessation. 

Looking Ahead

Despite the persistent challenges faced in addiction care and research, the MI-ACRE team remains optimistic and focused on transforming how addiction care and treatment are accessed by those who need it most.  

Key MI-ACRE Areas of Focus:

• Lowering barriers to addiction care in communities
• Addressing comorbidities, especially other mental health conditions
• Supporting innovations in addiction care
• Leading and informing policy changes
• Educating and training the next generation in cutting-edge addiction care
• Increasing access and addressing disparities for effective prevention and treatment interventions including in our healthcare system

Looking five to ten years down the road, the program hopes to play a role in ending the siloing of addiction care from mental health care. Dr. Fernandez emphasizes “I want to infuse and diffuse addiction care into all areas of physical and mental health care and make it less ‘separate’ in terms of how addiction is thought about and treated in our society.  Like diabetes, everyone knows someone who has it, and it is a medical condition that should be considered as part of standard clinical sensibilities.”

Current MI-ACRE Events & Opportunities

• Lead a MI-ACRE Innovation Session (in-person and virtual options available)
• Consider applying for a 2026 MI-ACRE Advancing Addiction Care Award
• If you’re interested in learning more about the MI-ACRE program, please contact Lisa Sulkowski, MI-ACRE Program Manager, at [email protected].

MI-ACRE is part of the University of Michigan Addiction Center in the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine.