About Us

The establishment of the UNT Office of Substance Misuse & Mental Health Recovery Research is being funded by a generous $100,000 gift from Andrew Burki, MSW, Founder and CEO of Life of Purpose Treatment in March 2016.  This gift serves as a springboard to raise $3.5 million to recruit a leading R1 researcher to serve as the chair of the Office to spearhead the program.

The vision of the Office is to provide research, courses and workshops for allied disciplinary practitioners in addictions. As its work progresses, the program will offer visits by internationally renowned scholars and practitioners in the field to promote collaborative research efforts, teaching and knowledge mobilization.
 

“There is an epidemic of substance use disorders in the US and it is complicated by other co-occurring behavioral health disorders. It is affecting youth at an earlier age thereby having even more dire consequences – including death. It is simply inexcusable that we have inadequate research to address this compounding health issue in a country that has so many resources. This Office will provide a hub for faculty and staff to conduct cutting edge research related to recovery, an area that is surprisingly lacking in evidence-based practices.” – Dr. Linda Holloway, Director