Laurie L. Meschke, PhD
Department of Public Health
Dr. Meschke initiated research in prenatal substance use research in 2001; her initial efforts were in the area of prenatal alcohol use and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Her research contributions to opioid use disorder began in 2014. Community engaged methods have been a consistent theme in Dr. Meschke’s research across two decades. In the area of opioid use disorder, her research has included collaborations with various local organizations including the Knox County Health Department, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Cherokee Health Systems, and the Tennessee Department of Health. Together we have examined contraceptive use of women enrolled in medically assisted treatment clinics for opioid addiction, characteristics of pregnant women who are using opioids, and the treatment and characteristics of infants diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Dr. Meschke’s teaching efforts focus primarily in the training of practitioners and graduate students, with an emphasis on community health assessments and program development and implementation.