The NIDA International Program is pleased to share that Hala Najm, a 2022-2023 Humphrey Fellow, has joined the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) staff as a scientific support coordinator. ISSUP is an international network that unites, connects, and shares knowledge across the substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support workforce. Its nearly 40,000 members come from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Hala brings with her a diverse skill set in health promotion and substance use prevention. Over the past decade, Hala has collaborated with local and regional nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, and governmental entities across the Middle East and North Africa to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based programs. She is a registered pharmacist, holding a master’s degree in public health from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. As a 2023 Humphrey Fellow, Hala led a team of researchers in developing a toolkit of evidence-based interventions for the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority.
In addition to her recent appointment at ISSUP, Hala works as a program manager for research at the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction, an organization that aims to improve addiction educational programs, research, and advocacy at colleges and universities. In her new role, Hala will support ISSUP’s mission to provide high-quality, ethical, and evidence-based resources to the drug-demand-reduction community.