Donald W. Helme is a Professor of Communication at the University of Kentucky in the College of Communication and Information. Over the past three decades, he has participated in funded projects receiving over $101 million grant dollars. He currently serves as the Primary Investigator on the HEALing Communities Campaign Evaluation Study funded National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Drug Abuse with the purpose of conducting a rigorous scientific evaluation of the health communication campaign promoting the HEALing Communities Study. Notably, Dr. Helme currently serves as a co-investigator on two additional grant-funded projects including the HEALing Communities Study funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Drug Abuse to implement and test evidence-based interventions to reduce opioid-related overdose and mortality by 40% in 16 Kentucky counties; and the Development and Pilot Randomized Control Trial of a Text Message Intervention to Facilitate Secure Storage and Disposal of Prescription Opioids to Prevent Diversion and Misuse, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Helme has been recognized not only for his success in securing federal funding to conduct high impact interdisciplinary social and behavioral health research in the areas of tobacco/drug use risk reduction, but also has been invited to present at conferences and for various organizations to discuss his expertise in recruiting participants from marginalized populations and the building strong, long-lasting community partnerships.