When the Innovations for Substance Use Disorders program, known as I4SUD, launched as an Executive Education certificate program at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, its goal was ambitious but clear: help scientists and clinicians move promising research out of the lab and into real-world solutions for substance use disorders.
Now, several years and cohorts later, the impact of that mission is becoming increasingly tangible. Alumni of the program are founding companies, building prototypes, pursuing federal funding, and redefining how their work can reach patients and communities most in need.
Developed in collaboration with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, I4SUD equips researchers with foundational skills in entrepreneurship — from identifying unmet clinical needs and target markets to navigating intellectual property, regulation, reimbursement, and commercialization pathways. Most researchers are trained to publish and secure grants, not to build companies, navigate reimbursement, protect intellectual property, or design products for complex healthcare systems. In addiction science, these hurdles are especially high, and without entrepreneurship and commercialization support, promising interventions often remain confined to academic journals.
Bridging this gap requires integration across public health, clinical care, policy, and commercialization. Carey’s I4SUD program reflects this integrated approach, bringing together scientists, clinicians, and business faculty to accelerate the journey from evidence to impact. More than a single course, I4SUD is part of a broader innovation infrastructure that equips addiction researchers with the tools, mentorship, and networks to scale their work into sustainable, real-world solutions.
Participants come from across the country and across disciplines, but many share a common frustration: important discoveries often stall before they ever reach patients. I4SUD is designed to change that trajectory by helping participants think differently about impact, scalability, and sustainability.
Recent updates from I4SUD pitch competition winners underscore how the program’s blend of entrepreneurship education, mentorship, and community continues to shape innovations well beyond the 12-week course.
Turning science into real-world care
Bethany Raiff, the inaugural I4SUD pitch competition winner and a professor of psychology at Rowan University, developed an idea for a smartphone app designed to help patients stick to smoking cessation goals. Her project grew out of years of research focused on developing technology-based interventions to improve health behavior, particularly for smoking and other substance use disorders.
Raiff’s work is grounded in behavioral economics, using non-monetary incentives to support sustained behavior change. The product she pitched through I4SUD, Re-Connect, translates everyday app use into incentives for meeting smoking abstinence goals, offering a novel, scalable approach to cessation support.
Since completing the program, Raiff’s idea has moved well beyond the conceptual stage. She and her co-founder, Mikhail Koffernus, formally launched Re-Connect Health, Inc. in December 2023. They also completed the Northeast Regional I-Corps program, which helped them deepen their understanding of potential end users and more rigorously evaluate the market for their solution.
Since then, the team has completed early-stage testing with a highly functional prototype and expanded the intervention beyond smoking cessation to include alcohol use reduction. Most recently, they applied for NIH funding to redevelop the app for multi-platform use, positioning the product for broader dissemination once funding pathways reopen.
Raiff credits I4SUD with helping her bridge the gap between academic research and real-world implementation.
“I am a scientist, not a businessperson,” she said. “The I4SUD program introduced me to the business side of things and gave me a foundational level of experience to try to turn my research into a solution that could be adopted by actual end users.”
Beyond specific skills, Raiff said the program reshaped how she thinks about commercialization.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “I learned a lot about the business side of things and now have a much better idea of the kinds of questions to ask and the supports to seek out as a small business.”
Her journey reflects a central goal of I4SUD: equipping researchers with the tools, confidence, and perspective needed to move evidence-based innovations out of the lab and into settings where they can make a meaningful impact.
Preventing postpartum smoking relapse
For Lauren Micalizzi, assistant professor at Brown University and chief science officer of Ember Therapeutics, I4SUD arrived at a pivotal moment.
A developmental psychologist working at the intersection of maternal-child health and addiction science, Micalizzi has long focused on a critical gap in care: while many pregnant individuals quit smoking during pregnancy, staying away from cigarettes postpartum is far more difficult — and existing interventions often fall short.
That challenge led to Ember, a just-in-time adaptive intervention designed to prevent postpartum smoking relapse. Ember pairs a mobile application with a wearable biosensor to deliver personalized, real-time support during moments of heightened stress, using both physiological and self-reported data to determine which intervention strategies are most likely to help.
Since completing I4SUD, Ember has rapidly evolved from concept to execution. Micalizzi formally incorporated the company, assembled a founding team—including a collaborator she met through I4SUD—and developed a functional product. Insights Micalizzi gained during the program helped her to reconceptualize Ember as a flexible platform rather than a single-use intervention, opening new pathways for implementation and growth.
Building on that momentum, Ember has submitted multiple grant applications to support continued development.
“I4SUD was instrumental in helping me move Ember from an academic concept toward a viable, translational product,” Micalizzi said. “The program strengthened my understanding of commercialization pathways, clarified our value proposition, and helped ensure the intervention is grounded in the real needs of patients and providers.”
Equally valuable, she noted, was joining an innovation community that continues to influence how she thinks about impact, scalability, and sustainability.
Innovating care for newborns with opioid exposure
Most recently, Lisa Grisham, a neonatal nurse practitioner and nurse scientist, earned top I4SUD honors for her work addressing neonatal withdrawal from opioid exposure in utero.
In neonatal intensive care units, Grisham and her colleagues have shown that babywearing—holding infants against a caregiver’s chest using a cloth sling or carrier—can significantly reduce withdrawal symptoms and the need for postnatal opioid treatment. While effective and inexpensive, the approach presents a challenge: infants require reliable cardiorespiratory monitoring to ensure safety.
Grisham’s solution is a baby carrier with integrated wireless sensors that continuously monitor an infant’s vital signs while preserving the benefits of close physical contact.
“The I4SUD program at Johns Hopkins was transformational for a clinician and nurse scientist like me,” Grisham said. “I had an idea, and I knew it could work, but I didn’t know how to bring the concept to fruition.”
Through I4SUD, she gained the tools and confidence to pursue her innovation as an entrepreneurial venture. Her next steps include building a prototype, filing a patent, and forming an LLC — milestones she credits directly to the program’s structured guidance and mentorship.
Beyond the pitch
Across cohorts, I4SUD alumni describe a shift not only in what they are building, but in how they see themselves. Participants leave with greater confidence navigating business and regulatory conversations, stronger professional networks, and a clearer sense of how their work can translate into sustainable solutions for people affected by substance use disorders.
Applications for the October 2026 I4SUD cohort open April 1. As I4SUD grows, the program continues to build a vibrant alumni community that reflects its founding vision: empowering researchers and clinicians to turn evidence into action, and ideas into impact.
