Rachel Kornfield, PhD, Awarded NIH HEAL Grant
By Tyra Bergstrom – June 29, 2026
Rachel Kornfield, PhD, Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies (CBITs) core faculty member and Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine, has been named Multiple Principal Investigator on a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) grant to develop and evaluate a digital intervention designed to increase uptake and sustained use of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) by involving family-focused support. Established in 2018, the NIDA HEAL Initiative is a national effort to address the opioid crisis. The grant was awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Madison through a competitive NIH peer review process and aligns closely with NIDA and HEAL priorities to address persistent gaps in MOUD engagement.
The award also marks an important milestone for CBITs as the Center’s first major project to develop and test a digital intervention to advance treatment for substance use disorder (SUD). Charlie Krause, CBITs Director of Research Operations, remarks, “This is a great opportunity to apply CBITs’ digital health expertise, historically focused predominantly on mental health, in exploring a new landscape of behavioral health.”
Opioid use disorder and overdose remain a major public health crisis. Although effective medications are available, many individuals face significant barriers to starting treatment and staying engaged over time. Research shows that support from family members and close others can play a critical role in helping individuals access and sustain treatment adherence. However, both individuals with opioid use disorder and their family members often lack the support needed to communicate effectively and navigate treatment initiation and maintenance together.
To address this gap, the research team for this project will design, build, and evaluate a scalable digital intervention to increase initiation and adherence to treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder, while additionally offering tools for loved ones who support these individuals. The award is an R33 R61 funding mechanism, which will allow for two phases of the project. In the first phase, the intervention will be designed and built; in the second phase, it will be tested in a randomized control trial in a large sample of 338 adult and family member dyads.
The intervention will use a novel, AI-enhanced, conversational system delivered through text messaging and web-based components to provide timely, personalized information, tools, and support for MOUD and recovery. This builds on Kornfield’s broader program of research focused on designing innovative and scalable AI-enhanced digital interventions that support behavior change outside of traditional clinical settings. It further extends her work by applying conversational, just-in-time support to the high need and underserved area of MOUD initiation and retention, while also explicitly incorporating the role of concerned significant others, including parents, grandparents, children, and partners.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will serve as the primary study site through the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS). CHESS uses technology to enhance the healthcare journey for patients and their families, turning research into implemented solutions and improving systems that benefit social services. CHESS Founder David Gustafson, PhD launched the Center following decades of digital mental health research where he leveraged computer-based models to predict suicide risk and support patients dealing with health crises. CHESS began with online chat rooms where people with the same diagnosis could support each other; it later expanded from computers to phones and digital applications. The project also marks a meaningful “full circle” moment for CBITs investigator Kornfield, who earned her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under mentorship from Gustafson. Sadly, Gustafson passed away this past March, leaving a legacy as a trailblazer in the field of digital health intervention and implementation. Kornfield and project co-lead, CHESS Deputy Director Todd Molfenter, PhD, are honored to continue this important work through this project.
“I’m so pleased to be working with CHESS again,” commented Kornfield. “This project builds on CHESS’s long-standing focus on the social side of health, including the role of close others. Even when they aren’t the ones with the diagnosis, close others often need support alongside the person in treatment. Technology opens up new ways to strengthen those relationships and support both people at the moments when it matters most.”
Additionally, the study advances CBITs’ mission to develop and rigorously evaluate evidence-based, human-centered digital health interventions that can be deployed in real-world systems of care, while extending the center’s portfolio of partnerships to include CHESS—a pioneer in health information and communication technologies.