Matt Harris, PhD, Boyd Distinguished Professor of Health Economics in the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research within the Haslam College of Business, will discuss with lecture attendees the data-driven methods used to calculate economic impacts of substance abuse, particularly opioid abuse, across the state of Tennessee. Participants will leave this lecture with improved knowledge of the intersections between addiction science and data science, recognizing the importance of statistical and economic practices when driving policy that counters substance abuse.

Dr. Harris earned a Master's in Economics from George Mason University, followed by his PhD in Economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Harris currently holds the Michael Stahl PEMBA Faculty Research Fellowship (2017-2022-2023), serves as SEC Faculty Athletics Representative, and chairs the organizing committee for the Annual Health Econometrics Workshop. His research research interests focus primarily in labor, public, and health economics. Harris is also responsible for population forecasting for the Tennessee Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations.

Brain Awareness Week is an annual event held during the second week of March and organized by the Dana Foundation to recognize innovations and exciting topics in neuroscience. Each year, organizations across the world center their own Brain Awareness Week around various themes. Thus, the Advancement of Neuroscience at UTK has decided to develop programming around the neurological basis of addiction and its greater implications in the greater Knoxville community, providing a series of workshops, guest lectures, and social events to bring light to this issue.