E-News

New International Funding Opportunities

Exceptional Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration (EUREKA) for Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System (R01; RFA-NS-13-007)

Application Deadline: March 21, 2013

NIDA is seeking applications for high-risk/high-impact innovative research relevant to NIDA research priorities in (1) basic and clinical neuroscience; (2) drug discovery for medications development; or (3) genetics research involving genetic model systems or human genetics.

NIDA Research Education Program for Clinical Researchers and Clinicians (R25; PAR-13-084)

First Application Deadline: May 22, 2013

NIDA is inviting U.S. and international institutions to design drug abuse research training programs for individuals training to become (1) a clinical researcher; (2) a clinician or service provider; or (3) both a researcher and a service provider. Applicants are encouraged to develop ways to recruit participants from low- and middle-income countries or areas experiencing drug use epidemics.

NIDA, Russian Officials Discuss Research Programs

NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D., left, led the team of NIDA staff members who met with Victor Ivanov, director of the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia, right, and his colleagues.

NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Victor Ivanov, Director of the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia, and their colleagues met December 14, 2012, to review the Institute’s research priorities and programs. The group discussed a wide range of topics, including developments in addiction medications and possible options for continued collaboration. After Dr. Volkow’s presentation, the following NIDA staff made brief presentations about research programs in their respective divisions: Dionne Jones, Ph.D., Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research; Phil Skolnick, Ph.D., Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse; Jack Stein, Ph.D., Office of Science Policy and Communications; Joni Rutter, Ph.D., Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research; Joseph Frascella, Ph.D., Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (DCNBR); and Betty Tai, Ph.D., Center for the Clinical Trials Network. Other NIDA staff who participated in the discussions included Deputy Director David Shurtleff, Ph.D.; Associate Director for Scientific Affairs Susan Weiss, Ph.D.; International Program Director Steven Gust, Ph.D., and Associate Director Dale Weiss; Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations Director Elena Koustova, Ph.D.; and Cecelia Spitznas, Ph.D., DCNBR.

EU Study Documents Prevalence of Drugged Driving

A summary report has been issued on the European Union (EU) research project on Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines (DRUID). The summary reviews the findings of 50 reports, conducted over 5 years across 18 countries, that provide scientific evidence on levels of drug and alcohol use among drivers and recommends actions to improve road safety and policy. Random roadside surveys detected alcohol in 3.5% of drivers; illicit drugs in 1.9% of drivers; and psychoactive medications in 1.4% of drivers. Psychoactive substances were strongly associated with traffic accidents: between 28% and 53% of drivers seriously injured or killed in accidents tested positive for psychoactive substances. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction published Findings From the DRUID Project, which is available here.

Letter Calls for Increased Research on Inhalants

Members of the NIDA International Program Inhalant Working Group have published a letter in the Canadian Journal of Public Health [103(6): 473] calling for increased qualitative and quantitative research on inhalant abuse. The letter cites recent findings that inhalants are often the first substance misused by young people, use among girls is increasing, and volatile substances are being marketed in parts of Mexico with the addition of appealing odorants, such as cinnamon or coconut. The journal’s table of contents is available here.

NIDA Offers Tuition Scholarship to Dutch Summer Institute on Addiction

Application Deadline: March 15, 2013

The NIDA International Program is offering one full scholarship (not including housing) to a U.S. participant in the 2013 Dutch Summer Institute on Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction.

The multidisciplinary summer training program in addiction research will be held July 7–19, 2013, at the University of Amsterdam. Graduate and postdoctoral students join addiction professionals to learn about the intersection of policy models, prevention, and evidence-based treatment and ways to bridge the gap between research and practice.

Details about the Dutch Summer Institute are online here.

SAVE THE DATE!

Registration Now Open
June 14–17, 2013
Hilton Bayfront Hotel, San Diego, California
Online Registration Deadline: May 6, 2013

InWomen's 2013 Conference

Registration Now Open
Health Disparities, Women, and Substance Abuse: Global Issues
Friday, June 14, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Hilton Bayfront Hotel, San Diego, California
Registration: $50 ($25 for participants from developing countries)

The InWomen’s Conference is held in conjunction with the NIDA International Forum and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Annual Scientific Meeting. CPDD President Richard De La Garza II will welcome participants. Speakers will include:

• Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D., University of California San Diego
• Gina Brown, M.D., National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research
• Nabila El Bassel, D.S.W., Columbia University
• Petal Petersen, Medical Research Council of South Africa
• Margaret Chisolm, M.D., Johns Hopkins University

InWomen’s is a NIDA International Program Working Group. For more information, contact InWomen’s Chair Wendee Wechsberg, Ph.D., at wmw@rti.org.

Apply by April 1 for NIDA International Fellowships

NIDA International Program postdoctoral fellows conduct a mentored research project with a NIDA-funded investigator, make valuable professional contacts, and learn about the U.S. National Institutes of Health grant application process. Applications are due April 1, 2013, for three fellowships:

• INVEST Drug Abuse Research Fellowship, for scientists from any country investigating any aspect of addiction
• INVEST/Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Drug Abuse Research Fellowship, for scientists from any country working with an investigator at 1 of the 13 NIDA CTN Regional Research and Training Centers
• U.S.–Mexico Drug Abuse Prevention Research Fellowship, for scientists from Mexico conducting prevention research in the United States.

Learn more about the NIDA International Program postdoctoral drug abuse research fellowships here.

NIDA Welcomes Fellows at Orientation

NIDA International Program fellows from around the world visited NIDA headquarters during an orientation January 31 and February 1, 2013. NIDA International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., and Associate Director Dale Weiss welcomed the 16 fellows. Participants included the Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellows from Virginia Commonwealth and Johns Hopkins universities. They were joined by scientists working with U.S. mentors through the INVEST Drug Abuse Research, INVEST/Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Drug Abuse Research, and U.S.–Mexico Drug Abuse Prevention Research fellowship programs. NIDA officials who spoke with the fellows represented the NIDA Office of Scientific Policy and Communications; Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research; and Center for CTN. The fellows also toured the National Library of Medicine and met with Myat Htoo Razak, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., of the Fogarty International Center.

Russian Researcher Named 2013 WHO/NIDA/CPDD International Traveling Fellow

Bulat Idrisov, M.D., Russia, has been selected as the 2013 WHO/NIDA/CPDD International Traveling Fellow. NIDA partners with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) to provide support for a 1-week research visit with a NIDA grantee and participation in the NIDA International Forum and the CPDD Annual Scientific Meeting. Since 2009, Dr. Idrisov has been working with Steven Sussman, Ph.D., University of Southern California, to implement Project EX, an evidence-based youth smoking cessation program, in Russia. The fellowship will permit Drs. Idrisov and Sussman to complete manuscripts about Project EX and to continue their evolving research into social self-control, post-traumatic growth, and multiple addiction arenas. In addition to his work at the Bashkortostan State Medical University regional pediatrics hospital, Dr. Idrisov works with the university’s Department of International Affairs, serving as a medical interpreter and cultural ambassador for visiting professors.

Prevention Program Run by Former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Honored

Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL) received the Drug Control Addiction Award from Edutainment Africa for its drug and substance abuse prevention programs. Former NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow Rogers Kasirye (2011-2012) is executive director of UYDEL. The nongovernmental organization conducts HIV and substance abuse prevention programs as well as rehabilitation and life skills training for children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 30. UYDEL also conducts programs on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and on child rights, which focus on sexual abuse, trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, and labor issues for children. Mr. Kasirye and his staff also conduct social research, and he recently published Children and Vulnerability in Uganda; Policy and Practice. For more information about UYDEL, visit the website.

Important Dates and Meetings

Funding Opportunities

International Research Collaboration on Drug Abuse and Addiction Research

• R01: PA-12-040
• R21: PA-12-041
• R03: PA-12-042

Existing NIDA-Supported Funding Opportunities

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding Opportunities and Notices

Fogarty Application Deadlines

• Limited Competition: Brain Disorders in the Developing World:  Research Across the Lifespan (AIDS) R01 and R21
  Applications Due: April 11, 2013
• Chronic, Non-Communicable Diseases and Disorders Across the Lifespan: Fogarty International Research Training Award D43 and D71
  Applications Due: April 17, 2013
• Global Health Program for Fellows and Scholars
  Application Deadlines Vary

Meetings

• American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
  March 5–9, 2013
  Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
• Society of Behavioral Medicine
  March 20–23, 2013
  San Francisco, California, USA
• International Drug Abuse Research Society
  April 15–19, 2013
  Mexico City, Mexico
• 2013 International Conference on Global Health: Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse and HIV
  April 17–19, 2013
  Taipei, Taiwan
  Yih-Ing Hser, Ph.D.
• American Society of Addiction Medicine
  April 25–28, 2013
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists
  April 30–May 3, 2013
  Berkeley, California, USA