NIDA IP

NIDA Staff

More than 260 participants from 61 countries attended the 17th Annual NIDA International Forum, which was held June 8–11, 2012, in Palm Springs, California. The meeting focused on the growing public health problem of new and emerging psychoactive substances, which are mostly unregulated compounds that are specifically designed to circumvent drug laws and mimic the effects of illicit drugs by slightly altering the chemical structure of a known drug. A joint College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD)/NIDA International Forum poster session featured presentations by 160 U.S.

The World Health Organization, NIDA, and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) together have selected this year’s recipient of the International Traveling Fellowship Award. Hetta Gouse, Ph.D., University of Cape Town, South Africa, received the award based on her research into the investigation of the effects of methamphetamine in a South African sample using detailed neuropsychological testing and a functional magnetic resonance imaging reward task. The award enables Dr.

Registration Closes May 10

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.

NIDA has reissued its Program Announcements (PAs) soliciting collaborative research proposals by U.S. investigators working with investigators from other countries. The PAs—International Research Collaboration on Drug Abuse and Addiction—will be in effect until January 8, 2015.

Researchers may choose one of three grant programs in response to these broad calls for innovative research proposals: R01, R21, or R03. Priority funding will be given to projects that are collaboratively funded by an agency of the foreign country. Research priority areas include:

The NIDA International Program was recently awarded the Silver World Wide Web Health Award, an honor bestowed on the Nation’s best electronic health programs and Web-based tools. The Web site was chosen among hundreds of local, state, and national U.S. health-related organizations that enter every year. Using a rating scale of up to 100 points, a panel of health technology professionals judged the entries based on content, format, success in reaching the targeted health audience, and overall quality.

Earlier this month, the NIDA International Program welcomed 27 fellows from as many nations as part of an orientation for new fellowship awardees. International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., and Associate Director Dale Weiss hosted the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows from Virginia Commonwealth University and Johns Hopkins University, who were joined by NIDA INVEST and INVEST/CTN fellows for the 3-day orientation.

NIDA International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., participated in an April 10 workshop at Johns Hopkins University for a delegation of government officials from Burma (Myanmar). The Burmese delegation, which was lead by the Minister of Health, Dr. Pe Thet Khin, included representatives from the Office of the President; Ministries of Health, Education, Justice, and Science and Technology; and the nongovernmental organization Mingalar Myanmar. In addition to meeting with Dr.