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Faculty Experts
Associate Professor, Department of Community Health and Prevention
Dornsife School of Public Health
Expertise:
public health
sociology
Contact:
stephen.e.lankenau@drexel.edu
267.359.6057
Lankenau is a sociologist who combines public health concerns and ethnographic methods to the study of high-risk youth, out- of-treatment drug users, homelessness and HIV/AIDS. Currently, he is leading a five-year project to study medical and non-medical marijuana use among young adults in Los Angeles. He has studied prescription drug misuse among young people in Los Angeles and New York to describe patterns of initiation, risk and protective behaviors and other unanticipated health consequences. He is also leading evaluation studies of overdose prevention programs in Los Angeles and Philadelphia to determine programs that effectively reduce the risks of fatal drug overdoses. Many of these studies are funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
More information about Lankenau
For news media inquiries, contact Greg Richter at gdr33@drexel.edu or 215.895.2614.
Study: Friends, Family Are Most Common Gateway to Addiction, Not Doctors
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor and associate dean for research in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a May 14 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about opioid addiction frequently starting from a pill obtained from a friend or family member, rather than directly from a doctor.
A Drexel-Made Smartphone App to Reduce Overdose Deaths in Philly
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was featured in a Feb. 15 Billy Penn story about an app he is working on that aims to prevent deaths by opioid overdoses.
New Proposal Would Give Addicts More Access to Treatment
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a Delaware County Daily Times story April 24 about how a new proposal in Pennsylvania to get those addicted to opioids more help may actually backfire.
Teen Opioid Abuse Dropping Nationwide, Survey Finds
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was interviewed for a Dec. 14 WHYY/Newsworks story on a new report that showed teen opioid use was dropping nationwide.
Prescription Painkillers Seen as a Gateway to Heroin
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Public Health, was quoted in a New York Times article on Feb. 10 about the relationship between abuse of prescription painkillers and of heroin.
Legalizing Marijuana in California: Drexel Researcher Receives NIH Funding to Study Policy's Effects on Young Adults
The longitudinal study will track how the state's changing cannabis laws affect the health and behaviors of young adults living in Los Angeles.
First Large Public Health Study of Medical Marijuana Use in Young Adults to Begin with NIH Grant
Drexel University has received a grant for a five-year study of medical marijuana and its impact on drug use and physical and psychological health among young adults in Los Angeles. It is the first large-scale NIH project funded to directly investigate medical marijuana use among young adults aged 18 to 26.
Researchers Describe Link Between Prescription and Illicit Drug Misuse in High-Risk Populations
A new report from researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health identifies patterns in the misuse of illicit drugs among young adults in Los Angeles and New York who also misuse prescription drugs.
Public Health Student Honored for Research on LGBT Youth Prescription Drug Abuse
Aleksandar Kecojevic, a second-year doctoral student at Drexel University’s School of Public Health, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Walter J. Lear Outstanding Student Research Award for his study of non-medical use of prescription drugs among high-risk LGBT youth.