Researchers from Iran and Peru have been selected to receive the 2016 CPDD International Committee Travel Awards. NIDA, the World Health Organization, the University of Miami, and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) support the award for drug abuse-related public health researchers from low- or middle-income countries to participate in the NIDA International Forum, the CPDD Annual Scientific Meeting, and associated research training activities. As part of the award, NIDA and University of Miami funds support a research visit to a U.S.-based research institution. The 2016 awardees are:
- Former NIDA INVEST/CTN Fellow Effat Merghati Khoei, Ph.D., Iran, will visit Richard Rawson, Ph.D., Integrated Substance Abuse Program, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Merghati Khoei’s work focuses on gender issues in addiction. During her research visit, she will learn about behavioral and medical addiction treatment programs offered at UCLA and program development and evaluation. She hopes to develop cross-cultural comparative studies of treatment interventions. Dr. Merghati Khoei directs the sexual health clinic at the Iranian National Centre of Addiction in Tehran.
- Javier Ponce Terashima, M.D., Peru, will visit Dr. James Sorenson, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Ponce Terashima will learn about the NIDA Clinical Trials Network and participate in the summer intensive session of the UCSF Learning for Early Careers in Addiction and Diversity Program. He also will continue collaborating with Drs. Dennis McCarty and John Muench at Oregon Health & Science University on developing a cannabis use registry. Dr. Ponce Terashima is the founder and executive director of the International Center for Advanced Research and Applied Science in Lima.