The principal mission of ARSH, the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities, is the production, dissemination, and utilization of scientific knowledge in the areas of substance abuse, health risk behaviors, and health disparities among vulnerable populations. Areas of special interest include:

• The etiology, patterns and consequences, and prevention and treatment of drug and alcohol abuse;
• The epidemiology of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, and the prevention of such infections among highly vulnerable populations;
• The prevalence and patterns of health disparities among affected subpopulations, and the development and testing of new approaches to intervention.

ARSH is part of the Abraham Fischler College of Education at Nova Southeastern University. The Center is headed by Dr. Steven P. Kurtz (Ph.D., Sociology from Florida International University). In addition to an office at the NSU main campus in Ft. Lauderdale, ARSH maintains both an administrative office and a field office, which houses the day-to-day operations of extramurally funded grants, in Miami.

To learn more about the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities, visit their website here: http://arsh.nova.edu/index.html