Jake Samora is a doctoral student in the UT Austin School of Social Work. His program of research sits at the intersection of substance use, HIV, and sexual and gender minority health. This focus grew out of his prior clinical work as a substance use study clinician with people living with HIV, where he observed insufficient attention to minority stress, trauma, and structural drivers in substance use interventions. His program of research and training strives to address this gap and he has developed expertise across three interconnected areas: 1) substance use and overdose among people living with HIV, sexual and gender minorities, and intersectional populations; 2) substance use interventions and services among at-risk populations; and 3) occupational supports for substance use providers.
Supported by an R36 Dissertation Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Jake’s dissertation examines individual, social, and structural overdose risk factors among PLWH to clarify how factors interact synergistically to shape overdose risk in this population. His broader work has identified substance use risk factors at ecological levels of interest among intersecting SGM, Latino, and youth populations. Jake’s research on substance use interventions and servicesspans populations often overlooked in generic service models, including college students and men who have sex with men, which uncovered unmet needs around education and access barriers. Finally, Jake’s work centers the perspectives of substance use providers themselves, noting how pandemic disruptions and occupational stressors affect capacity to sustain services, as well as strategies and protocols that are implemented to bolster occupational well-beingamong substance use providers.
His long-term vision is to conduct community-engaged research to build a network of providersand stakeholders in substance use, HIV, and social services to identify avenues to increase access to substance use services and develop tailored harm reduction and treatment solutions.
Jake received his BA in Psychology from UT Austin and received his Master’s in Psychology at Boston University. Jake is mentored by Dr. Kasey Claborn, PhD.