Volume 46 Issue 3, July 2025
The most recent issue of Substance Use & Addiction Journal (SAj) was published this month. Included in this issue were manuscripts ranging from original research on experiences of trainees from underrepresented groups within addiction medicine training programs to a scoping review of the impact of plant-based nutrition for patients with SUD. The full table of contents can be found here. We are proud of the novel and impactful research and commentary available in SAj.
Introducing New Editorial Team Members
We are excited to introduce three new members of the SAj Editorial team!
Khadejah Mahmoud, PhD, MSN, RN has recently joined us in the role of Associate Editor.
Associate Editors (AEs) play a key role in peer-reviewed publishing, supporting the Substance Use & Addiction Journal (SAj) Editor-in-Chief as subject experts on various topics. AEs oversee assigned manuscripts, moving these papers through review and revision. AEs are responsible for assessing manuscript quality, obtaining peer reviews, requesting revisions, and making recommendations to the SAj Editor-in-Chief about acceptance or rejection of a manuscript.
Dr. Mahmoud is an Assistant Professor at the Applied Science Private University, Faculty of Nursing, Amman, Jordan. She earned her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She has also completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Policy and Management from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Mahmoud’s research focuses on promoting the use of person-centered language in substance use disorders, increase awareness related to substance use issues, develop stigma-reduction interventions, and facilitate the translation of best evidence-base knowledge and skills set into clinical practice, especially among persons with substance use disorders and women. She has also published extensively and disseminated her work in national and international conferences.
Welcome to the team, Dr. Mahmoud!
(From left to right: Dr. Khadejah Mahmoud, Dr. Evans Kyei, Dr. Rebekah Halmo)
The inaugural cohort of SAj Editorial Scholars also began this summer. The SAj Editorial Scholar Program engages early career clinical or health services scholars with SAj’s editorial team to learn about editorial decision-making and enhance skills in scientific communication.
Rebekah Halmo, PhD, MSW, LCSW, is a Research Scientist in the School of Nursing (SON) at Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences in Boston, MA. In this role, she engages a multidisciplinary team of health professions faculty, students, and staff to further the research scholarship of the SON and the broader Bouvé community. Dr. Halmo has extensive experience designing, implementing, and evaluating education and training initiatives aimed at enhancing the interprofessional behavioral health workforce in areas such as evidence-based treatment for substance and opioid use disorders, harm reduction approaches to substance use, behavioral health and primary care integration, SBIRT training for health professionals, trauma-informed school-based mental health services, and behavioral health workforce resilience. With a background in clinical social work, Dr. Halmo is particularly interested in applying a social justice lens to explore the intersection of substance use, stigma, and health equity. She aims to better understand the ways in which health professions education can be enhanced to effectively decrease stigma of addiction and to equip students and practitioners with the skills to provide high-quality, equitable harm reduction services to populations disproportionately impacted by substance use and overdose.
Evans F. Kyei, PhD, MSN, RN, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Substance Use Research and Related Conditions (CSURRC) at the University of Alabama. He earned his PhD in Nursing with a concentration in health policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston. His work centers on advancing community-based solutions to address opioid overdose, substance misuse, and health disparities through research and policy engagement. Dr. Kyei’s research spans opioid prevention, community engagement, housing stability, and aging in place. He has led national studies on housing stress, insurance coverage, and substance use, and conducted global research on mental health nursing and treatment practices in Ghana. An active scholar, he has published widely, presented at national conferences, and serves as a peer reviewer. He is a member of AMERSA, Sigma Theta Tau, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and Southern Nursing Research Society. His work has earned recognition through awards such as the Bollinger Grant and the Global Nursing Research Practice Grant. Dedicated to bridging research and practice, Dr. Kyei’s interdisciplinary work aims to improve health outcomes and inform policies for vulnerable and justice-involved populations.
We are thrilled to have Drs. Halmo and Kyei participating on the Editorial team over the next year. Applications for the next cohort of scholars will open in March 2026.
For more updates, please follow SAj on Bluesky, X, and LinkedIn. Click here to sign up for SAj Table of Contents alerts.
Adam J. Gordon, MD MPH FASAM DFASAM, Editor-in-Chief, SAj