Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Honors, Achievements and Awards
- Synthetics in Combination (SYNC) Study
Since 2021, Dr. Schlosser has collaborated with an interdisciplinary research team at the University of California San Francisco on the NIDA-funded “Synthetics in Combination” study (PI: Daniel Ciccarone) that explores trends in polydrug use across the United States in the context of the drug overdose crisis. Dr. Schlosser led analyses of polydrug use, experiences of houselessness, and shifts in interventions targeting these issues in San Francisco, California in 2022 and 2024. Dr. Schlosser recently presented the paper entitled, “‘I can’t see you’: Spatiotemporal governance and the invisibilization of drug use and houselessness in San Francisco, California,”based on this research at the Contemporary Drug Problems conference in Manchester, England.
- Geographies of Houselessness in Omaha, NE Study
In spring of 2025, Dr. Schlosser and UNO Health Geographer Dr. Sarah Nelson received a grant from the UNO University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) to explore houselessness in the Omaha metro area. This project, “Geographies of Houselessness: A Pilot Study of Spaces and Services for People Living Houseless in Omaha, Nebraska” combines qualitative interviews with health and social services providers and creative mapping strategies to better understand the physical, services, and policy landscapes of houselessness in our area to inform more effective policies and practices.
- Opioid Overdose Prevention Activism on Social Media
Since 2022, Dr. Schlosser has been collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of communications scholars and other social scientists across NU campuses to examine how social media can be leveraged to promote opioid overdose prevention. Our team was awarded a NU Collaboration Initiative grant entitled “#NarcanSavesLives: Using social media to encourage Narcan purchase and reduce death from opioid overdose” to explore how overdose prevention activists use social media to communicate the importance of naloxone, a lifesaving medication that prevents opioid overdose death. Dr. Schlosser co-lead qualitative interviews with influencers who use TikTok to communicate about overdose prevention to better understand their experiences and messaging strategies. The team recently published an article based on this research - “Algorithmic Doors to Community and the Trap of Visibility: TikTok for Harm Reduction Activism in the U.S. Overdose Crisis” - in Contemporary Drug Problems.
- Medications for Opioid Use Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Schlosser leveraged applied medical anthropological theories and methods to research how healthcare providers adapted their provision of medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using repeated qualitative interviews with Omaha-area MOUD providers, Dr. Schlosser examine how they adapted to starkly different care practices, such as the use of telemedicine, under crisis conditions. This research was supported by a grant from the UNO University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) in 2021 and its findings were recently published in the Human Organization, an applied anthropology journal: “‘Do you deny somebody Suboxone [...] if they just didn’t pee in a cup for you?’: Moral dilemmas of medication treatment for opioid use disorder.
In spring of 2025, Dr. Schlosser and UNO Health Geographer Dr. Sarah Nelson received a grant from the UNO University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) to explore houselessness in the Omaha metro area. This project, “Geographies of Houselessness: A Pilot Study of Spaces and Services for People Living Houseless in Omaha, Nebraska” combines qualitative interviews with health and social services providers and creative mapping strategies to better understand the physical, services, and policy landscapes of houselessness in our area to inform more effective policies and practices.
- Opioid Overdose Prevention Activism on Social Media
Since 2022, Dr. Schlosser has been collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of communications scholars and other social scientists across NU campuses to examine how social media can be leveraged to promote opioid overdose prevention. Our team was awarded a NU Collaboration Initiative grant entitled “#NarcanSavesLives: Using social media to encourage Narcan purchase and reduce death from opioid overdose” to explore how overdose prevention activists use social media to communicate the importance of naloxone, a lifesaving medication that prevents opioid overdose death. Dr. Schlosser co-lead qualitative interviews with influencers who use TikTok to communicate about overdose prevention to better understand their experiences and messaging strategies. The team recently published an article based on this research - “Algorithmic Doors to Community and the Trap of Visibility: TikTok for Harm Reduction Activism in the U.S. Overdose Crisis” - in Contemporary Drug Problems.
- Medications for Opioid Use Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Schlosser leveraged applied medical anthropological theories and methods to research how healthcare providers adapted their provision of medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using repeated qualitative interviews with Omaha-area MOUD providers, Dr. Schlosser examine how they adapted to starkly different care practices, such as the use of telemedicine, under crisis conditions. This research was supported by a grant from the UNO University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) in 2021 and its findings were recently published in the Human Organization, an applied anthropology journal: “‘Do you deny somebody Suboxone [...] if they just didn’t pee in a cup for you?’: Moral dilemmas of medication treatment for opioid use disorder.
In spring of 2025, Dr. Schlosser and UNO Health Geographer Dr. Sarah Nelson received a grant from the UNO University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) to explore houselessness in the Omaha metro area. This project, “Geographies of Houselessness: A Pilot Study of Spaces and Services for People Living Houseless in Omaha, Nebraska” combines qualitative interviews with health and social services providers and creative mapping strategies to better understand the physical, services, and policy landscapes of houselessness in our area to inform more effective policies and practices.
- Opioid Overdose Prevention Activism on Social Media
Since 2022, Dr. Schlosser has been collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of communications scholars and other social scientists across NU campuses to examine how social media can be leveraged to promote opioid overdose prevention. Our team was awarded a NU Collaboration Initiative grant entitled “#NarcanSavesLives: Using social media to encourage Narcan purchase and reduce death from opioid overdose” to explore how overdose prevention activists use social media to communicate the importance of naloxone, a lifesaving medication that prevents opioid overdose death. Dr. Schlosser co-lead qualitative interviews with influencers who use TikTok to communicate about overdose prevention to better understand their experiences and messaging strategies. The team recently published an article based on this research - “Algorithmic Doors to Community and the Trap of Visibility: TikTok for Harm Reduction Activism in the U.S. Overdose Crisis” - in Contemporary Drug Problems.
- Medications for Opioid Use Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Schlosser leveraged applied medical anthropological theories and methods to research how healthcare providers adapted their provision of medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using repeated qualitative interviews with Omaha-area MOUD providers, Dr. Schlosser examine how they adapted to starkly different care practices, such as the use of telemedicine, under crisis conditions. This research was supported by a grant from the UNO University Committee on Research and Creative Activity (UCRCA) in 2021 and its findings were recently published in the Human Organization, an applied anthropology journal: “‘Do you deny somebody Suboxone [...] if they just didn’t pee in a cup for you?’: Moral dilemmas of medication treatment for opioid use disorder.