Nabarun Dasgupta

About Nabarun's Work

Nabarun Dasgupta is an epidemiologist and harm reduction advocate creating practical programs to mitigate harms from drug use, particularly opioid overdose deaths. Dasgupta combines scientific studies with community engagement to improve the wellbeing and safety of people who use drugs and people living with debilitating pain. He collaborates with people who have experience with drug use or its consequences to design effective, evidence-based interventions that respond to the needs of people who use drugs and community-based organizations that support them.

Much of Dasgupta’s work focuses on broadening access to inexpensive or free naloxone, which reverses opioid overdose, for people who use drugs and their families and friends. In early work, he co-founded Project Lazarus, a nonprofit in rural Wilkes County, and partnered with the North Carolina Medical Board to enable direct distribution of naloxone to individuals with a doctor’s prescription. Project Lazarus’s efforts drastically reduced overdose deaths in the county. In 2020, Dasgupta and colleagues created a new naloxone supply and distribution model in Remedy Alliance/For The People. Dasgupta worked with the Food and Drug Administration to revise licensing requirements that had made it difficult for harm reduction organizations to access naloxone. Under the new agreement, their nonprofit acts as a wholesale distributor of naloxone. Remedy Alliance/For the People purchases naloxone directly from pharmaceutical companies and distributes it to harm reduction organizations at low or no cost, based on size and budget. They now supply naloxone to over 500 organizations across the country.

In another line of work, Dasgupta has developed a nationwide drug checking program for unregulated substances (that is, street drugs). He devised a collection mechanism that renders drug samples unusable but still testable, so samples can be legally sent through the mail. His Opioid Data Lab determines the ingredients and amounts in samples of drugs and then posts results anonymously on their website. Understanding what substances are in the drug supply, particularly dangerous or unknown ingredients, helps individuals make informed decisions about their drug use. It also allows community members and frontline medical responders to prepare proper care and overdose responses. Dasgupta and his team also harness the lab’s findings to conduct research on the broader U.S. drug supply and use trends. With compassion, collaboration, and creative vision, Dasgupta brings much-needed leadership to the critical work of understanding and reducing deaths and other harms from drug use.