Rita K. Noonan, PhD, is a sociologist and Branch Chief in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention. Noonan and her staff oversee the $125 million Overdose Prevention in States (OPIS) initiative, a combination of prevention, intervention and public health surveillance programs to reduce opioid-related overdose across the United States. She works closely with several High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs), managing the public health component of Office of National Drug Control Policy's Heroin Response Strategy, which links public health and public safety across 22 states. She has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship and a MacArthur Fellowship. She received her doctorate degree from Indiana University.