CTN Workshops Feature Fellows' Research Reports and Grant-Writing Tips

Two NIDA International Program fellows presented their research during an international workshop at the Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Steering Committee Meeting, March 14, 2013, in Bethesda, Maryland. INVEST/CTN Drug Abuse Research Fellow Vivi Octavia Lubis, M.D., Indonesia, reported on drug use trends in Indonesia. With her mentor, George Woody, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Lubis is testing the impact of behavioral drug and HIV risk reduction counseling on use of amphetamine-type stimulants, risky behaviors, treatment retention, psychiatric symptoms, re-arrests, other drug use, employment, and quality of life. INVEST Drug Abuse Research Fellow Jan Klimas, Ph.D., Ireland, reported on his fellowship with mentor Dennis McCarty, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Klimas is investigating screening and brief intervention for alcohol use disorders among methadone patients in primary care settings and comparing buprenorphine services in the United States with primary care methadone services in Ireland. Other speakers during the international research symposium included Mathew Young, Ph.D., Canada; Fabián Fiestas, M.D., Peru; Evan Wood, M.D., Ph.D., Canada; Roberto Mollica, M.D., Italy; and Rodrigo Marin, Ph.D., Mexico.

An international grant-writing workshop at the CTN meeting featured presentations by several NIDA staff members and grantees. Grants Review Branch Scientific Review Officer Nadine Rogers, Ph.D., discussed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant application and review process; International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse Deputy Director Ivan Montoya, M.P.H., M.D., and AIDS Research Program Associate Director Lynda Erinoff, Ph.D., discussed funding opportunities within NIDA for international research; Marya Levintova, Ph.D., Fogarty International Center, discussed funding opportunities within NIH; and Walter Ling, M.D., UCLA, and Dr. Woody discussed their experiences with international research projects.