Joshua Hakimian
"Mistakes are inevitable; true failure is not learning from them and missing the opportunity to grow."
Who is Joshua Hakimian?
I am excited to introduce Joshua Hakimian as my January highlight! I met Joshua during my summer internship and immediately was fascinated by not only his life-changing work but also his passion and dedication to bettering people's lives. He is a talented and incredible researcher who is dedicating his life to filling his mind with knowledge about substance use disorder as well as fighting the stigma around it. It is a true honor to know Joshua and be able to share my admiration for him with all of you!
How His Interest Began: At age 12, Joshua’s life was significantly impacted when his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer and became disabled. Seeking solace in knowledge, he immersed himself in learning the complexities of her condition and the human brain, laying the foundation for his interest in neuroscience. He studied neuroscience at UCLA to learn more about how the brain works and wanted to use that knowledge to help others. While he was a student at UCLA, the third wave of the opioid epidemic began, driven by the rise of synthetic opioid overdose deaths. He was fascinated with the fact that drugs can influence a person's behavior to the point where they would continue to use the drugs despite the obvious harm and risk involved. Furthermore, his interest in the intersection of behavioral neuroscience and the effects of drugs on the brain drove him to make an impact on the rising crisis through research.
Neuroscience Research: After finishing his undergraduate education he started working at the Hatos Center of Neuropharmacology within the UCLA Semel Institute. There he conducted translational research on the relationship between chronic neuropathic pain and opioid dependence since chronic pain is so often treated with opioids. He sought to answer questions like “What effect do opioids have on brain chemistry?” and “What role does pain play in opioid dependency?”. To do this work, he utilized model systems of disease, such as sciatica for chronic pain, and intravenous self-administration for chronic IV drug use. For nearly four years he conducted this research and contributed to the literature, but during this time he witnessed the continued rise in deaths and shifted his focus to clinical research and care for patients with opioid use disorder.
His Worries: Joshua says, “We're not even seeing a flattening out, or plateau, of the number of deaths each year. It's just continually going up and up and up,” as he speaks about the poor response from our country on the opioid crisis. He even spoke about his frustration because of the many people who are dedicating their lives to trying to prevent or reduce overdoses. Joshua speaks confidently when he says that these are within the age group of Americans who should not be dying. He says people between the ages of 18 and 45 are quite durable, and thanks to modern medicine, they can survive serious traumas that older age groups can’t. Therefore, the fact that drug overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18-45 is a big deal. Joshua and I agree it is important now more than ever to speak about this crisis and study, examine, and figure out methods to end it because even 10 years ago overdoses were in the top five death causes and now it is the number one.
Stigma: He also is focused on decreasing the stigma around medication treatment for a substance use disorder. He is currently doing a study that examines the use of a patient decision pamphlet which contains details on opioid use disorder and the FDA-approved medications that are the best treatment for opioid use disorder. It helps patients improve their health literacy or understanding of their treatment options, to help them pick the medication best for them. The goal is to have a shift in helping patients receive care centered around them and their individual preferences, also known as patient-centered care. He says it's very rare for someone dependent on opioids to go cold turkey and successfully quit forever due to how opioids change brain circuitry and lack of emotional and financial support all too common in this patient population. Medications like methadone and suboxone help people overcome addiction and improve their lives by curbing cravings and enabling people to gain control over their drug habit. As Joshua and I discussed this, he mentioned the stigma surrounding it. Often people view the medication as giving a “drug addict” more drugs or a replacement drug. But what they fail to realize is it isn’t replacing one “high” for another, and that these medications are our best option for reducing overdose deaths and helping these people live better lives.
Since addiction has social, biological, and spiritual elements, I believe it can't be adequately studied through just one lens. Given its multifaceted nature, a full understanding means researchers must explore it from various angles. Joshua is doing this in unique ways by looking at it through various angles: he’s working with people, examining neuroscientific elements, and thinking about how communities can lessen addiction by changing the conversation around stigma. I find it inspiring that someone is doing the kind of multidimensional work that I want to do, and that’s why I’m excited to be featuring Joshua Hakimian this month!
