E-News

New International Funding Opportunities

Research on Comparative Effectiveness and Implementation of HIV/AIDS and Alcohol Interventions

R01: RFA-AA-13-003
R21: RFA-AA-13-004

Application Deadlines: May 29, 2013
NIDA has agreed to commit up to $3.5 million in fiscal year 2013 funds to support approximately six R01 awards and $500,000 to support approximately two to three R21 awards.

Advancing Exceptional Research on HIV/AIDS (R01; RFA-DA-14-003)

Application Deadline: August 1, 2013
NIDA has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for innovative research projects on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS among substance abusers. Designed to complement NIDA’s existing Avant-Garde Award Program for HIV/AIDS Research, this RFA requires applicants to have a detailed research plan and preliminary data. The National Institutes of Health expects that $2 million will be available in fiscal year 2014 to fund two or three R01 grants.

Fulbright Israel Post-Doc Fellowships

Application deadline: August 1, 2013
The United States-Israel Educational Foundation, the Fulbright commission for Israel, will support eight fellowships for American postdoctoral researchers to conduct work at Israeli universities.

NIDA Director Discusses Health Consequences of Drug Use at Consortium of Universities for Global Health Meeting

NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D., right, participated in a roundtable discussion with other National Institutes of Health leaders. From left are: Dr. Roger Glass, Fogarty International Center; Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Susan Shurin, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and Dr. Douglas Lowy, National Cancer Institute.

NIDA Director Nora Volkow, M.D., participated in a roundtable discussion by National Institutes of Health leaders during the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) conference, held March 14–16, 2013, in Washington, DC. Dr. Volkow discussed the prevalence of drug use, the societal and health consequences of substance use, and treatment medications. She addressed global challenges in treating drug abuse, including stigma, the gap between treatment demand and availability, and reluctance to provide pharmacotherapy in some criminal justice institutions and countries. Fogarty International Center Director Roger Glass, M.D., M.P.H., led the discussion about global health research and training initiatives among Dr. Volkow; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, M.D.; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Deputy Director Susan Shurin, M.D.; and National Cancer Institute Director Douglas Lowy, M.D. CUGH includes universities in North America and their partner institutions in low- and middle-income countries. The members promote mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships to develop human capital, share knowledge, and strengthen institutional capabilities. They build interdisciplinary collaborations to address global health challenges through education, research, and service. For more information, visit the CUGH website.

UNODC Issues International Standards on Drug Use Prevention

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has published evidence-based guidelines on preventing drug abuse in individuals, families, schools, and communities. UNODC reports that every dollar spent on prevention saves at least $10 in future health, social, and crime costs. The standards are based on work by NIDA and other drug abuse research and international organizations. The UNODC publication provides guidance for policymakers, summarizing the scientific evidence, identifying the major components of effective national drug prevention systems, and describing interventions that have been proven effective in international settings. Download International Standards on Drug Use Prevention here.

Saudi Research Center Holds First International Meeting

The Substance Abuse Research Center (SARC) at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia hosted its first international addiction research conference March 5–6, 2013, for more than 300 participants, including speakers from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. U.S. speakers at the conference included Fahmy Tarazi, M.D., Harvard Medical School; Gantt Galloway, D.Pharm., California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute; and David Farabee, Ph.D., and Richard Rawson, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles. Ahmed Elkashef, M.D., formerly of the NIDA Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Addiction and now head of the Research and Clinical Studies Section at the United Arab Emirates National Rehabilitation Center, also presented at the conference. Rashad Bin Mohammed Al Sanosy, M.D., is the SARC director, and Maged el-Setouhy, M.D., is the scientific director. Abdullah Sharqi, M.D., chairs the international advisory board, which includes Drs. Elkashef and Rawson. SARC currently funds 11 grants, focusing primarily on amphetamine and khat use disorders. SARC reports that amphetamine use is widespread throughout Saudi Arabia and that khat use is epidemic in the Jazan region, which borders Yemen. Around 50% of men and an increasing percentage of women are reported to use khat daily in the region. The SARC grants include studies on the impact of khat and chewing tobacco on oral disease, reasons that khat users decide to stop using, the impact of khat on the Jazan regional economy, and the impact of antikhat policies. SARC and the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology also are supporting a placebo-controlled trial of bupropion to treat excessive khat use. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education established SARC in 2011 to build capacity in addiction research. Plans are underway to expand the research portfolio, recruit additional research faculty, and develop pre- and postdoctoral training programs in addiction research. For more information, visit the SARC website.

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: $75 ($35 for participants from developing countries)

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

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.

Former DISCA Awardee and Colleagues Report Changes in Mexican Controls Reduced Methamphetamine Potency, Harm in United States

Former NIDA International Program Distinguished International Scientist Octavio Campollo, M.D., M.Sci., Ph.D., Mexico, and colleagues report in Drug and Alcohol Dependence that Mexico’s 2004 controls on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine changed the U.S. methamphetamine market. Restrictions on these precursor chemicals in Mexico resulted in widespread emergence of less potent methamphetamine and declines in prevalence and availability of the most potent type of the drug, which had dominated the U.S. market since the late 1980s. The authors found that U.S. methamphetamine treatment admissions declined between 2005 and 2010 and suggest that the emergence of less potent methamphetamine may have helped limit dependence. (Cunningham JK, et al. Mexico’s precursor chemical controls: Emergence of less potent types of methamphetamine in the United States. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 Apr 1;129(1–2):125–36. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.10.001) PubMed abstract.

Former NIDA Fellow Named Senior Scientist at Indian Occupational Health Institute

Former INVEST/Clinical Trials Network and NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellow Amit Chakrabarti, M.D., has been named senior scientist and deputy director in the eastern division of the National Institute of Occupational Health at the Indian Council of Medical Research in Kolkata. He will be responsible for research on alcohol and other drug abuse and assist in occupational and environmental health prevention, treatment, and policy issues at the national and regional levels.

Rutgers Institute of Addiction Studies Focuses on Prevention and Recovery

First Application Deadline: May 10, 2013

The Institute of Addiction Studies, a professional development and continuing education program, will be held June 23–28, 2013. Participants will include licensed service providers, supervisors, students, prevention specialists, and educators. For more information, 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
  • Fogarty HIV Research Training Program for Low- and Middle-Income Country Institutions (D43)
    Applications Due: July 24, 2013
  • Global Health Program for Fellows and Scholars
    Application Deadlines Vary

Meetings

• American Psychiatric Association
  May 18–22, 2013
  San Francisco, California, USA
• Society for Prevention Research
  May 28–31, 2013
  San Francisco, California, USA
• College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
  June 15–20, 2013
  San Diego, California, USA