Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse
May, 2001
Planned Meetings
NIDA will sponsor a workshop on May 29, 2001 entitled Bridging Neurobiological, Behavioral, and Prevention Sciences (2) at the Hyatt Regency-Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. NIDA is sponsoring this workshop for early career scientists who may be at the intersection of these disciplines relevant to their career development and research interests. This workshop, co-organized by Drs. Bill Bukoski, OD, DESPR and Minda Lynch, BCSRB, DNBR is being conducted in conjunction with the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) in Washington, D.C.
Drs. Susan Volman and Minda Lynch, BCSRB, DNBR are the organizers of a symposium planned for this year's Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior meeting at the University of Pennsylvania in June 2001. The session, entitled Like Drugs for Chocolate: Separate Rewards Modulated by Common Mechanisms? will include presentations from Dr. Marci Pelchat (Monell Chemical Senses Ctr.) on "Of Human Bondage: Craving, Obsession, Compulsion and Addiction", Dr. Regina Carelli (UNC) on "Neurophysiological Analysis of Cocaine Self-Administration Vs. Natural Reinforcement", Dr. Ann Kelley (University of Wisconsin-Madison) on "Opioid Modulation of Taste Hedonics within the Ventral Striatum", and Dr. Kenneth Carr (NY School of Medicine) on "Augmentation of Drug Reward by Chronic Food Restriction: Behavioral Evidence and Underlying Mechanisms". Dr. Patricia Sue Grigson from Hershey Medical Center is also a co-organizer for this meeting and will be serving as discussant for the panel.
Drs. Cindy Miner and Angela Martinelli of OSPC's Science Policy Branch are organizing a workshop, NIDA Tutorials to be held prior to this year's CPDD meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona in June. This workshop is designed to provide junior investigators with fundamental information from a variety of disciplines representing the breadth of drug abuse and addiction research. Speakers include James C. Anthony, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, William Boggan, Ph.D. and Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D. of Medical University of South Carolina, Kathryn Cunningham, Ph.D. of University of Texas and Charles Inturrisi, Ph.D. of Cornell University Medical Center.
Drs. Cindy Miner and Angela Martinelli of OSPC's Science Policy Branch are organizing a grant writing workshop designed for junior investigators at the Annual CPDD meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona in June 2001. Drs. Mark Swieter, OEA, and David Shurtleff, DNBR, are also participating to educate young investigators about the grant review and funding processes at NIH and NIDA.
Dr. Bill Bukoski, OD, DESPR; Dr. Minda Lynch, Acting Chief, BCSRB, DNBR; and Dr. David Shurtleff, Deputy Director for Program, DNBR, are coordinating a NIDA sponsored scientific workshop as part of the June 2001 annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), Scottsdale, Arizona. The workshop is titled: Adolescence and Drug Prevention: Translational Perspectives. Three seminal presentations by senior scientists will address newly emerging basic research findings on child and adolescent development (cognitive, neurobiological, endocrine, psychosocial, etc.) and assess their implications for the design of prevention and treatment interventions for drug abuse and co-morbid disorders.
The Regulatory Affairs Branch, DTR&D, will be holding a workshop at the annual College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) on Monday, June 18, 2001 entitled Regulatory and Human Protections Issues for Running Clinical Trials in Drug Dependent Populations. Robert Walsh, RAC and Frank Vocci, Ph.D. will co-chair the workshop which is intended to help PIs become more familiar with recent views and regulations regarding Human Protections, Investigational New Drug (IND) submissions, and the use of Data and Safety Monitoring Boards in clinical trials. Robert Walsh will discuss New NIH Regulations That Affect The Way We Do Our Clinical Studies. Michael Carome, M.D., of the newly formed Office of Human Research Protections will present Clinical Trials in Drug Dependent Populations: Important Considerations for the IRB. Techniques for Preparing A Successful IND Submission, will be presented, by Juris Mezinskis, Ph.D., of the Cincinnati VAMC. Dr. Celia Jaffe Winchell, from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will discuss Successful Interactions with FDA During the IND Review Process.
On July 19-20, 2001, NIDA will hold a symposium entitled MDMA/Ecstasy Research: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions at the William H. Natcher Conference Center, NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD. This symposium will focus on the scientific research on methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), including MDMA neuropharmacology, addiction liability, neuropathology and its long-term behavioral consequences, ontogenetic effects, other toxicology, drug interactions, patterns of abuse, perceptions of risk, prevention research, and the toxicology of amphetamines sometimes replacing MDMA (such as PMA and PMMA). This conference is being planned by Drs. Jerry Frankenheim (chair), DNBR, Dorynne Czechowicz, DTR&D, Joseph Frascella, DTR&D, Steven Grant, DTR&D, Glen Hanson, DNBR, Elizabeth Lambert, CAMCODA, Rita Liu, OEA, Minda Lynch, DNBR, Dorota Majewska, DTR&D, Angela Martinelli, OSPC, Cindy Miner, OSPC, Ro Nemeth, DTR&D, Moira O'Brien, DESPR, and Eve Reider, DESPR.
On August 9-10, 2001, NIDA will hold its 2nd National Conference on Drug Abuse Prevention Research: A Progress Update at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC. Top drug abuse prevention scientists will share research findings from the past five years with community leaders, educators, and other practitioners. Family, school, media, and multi-context prevention projects will be presented. Determining effective practices and interventions for particular communities and groups will be a major focus. Emerging trends in drug abuse prevention will be highlighted.
Drs. David Shurtleff and Minda Lynch (DNBR) are organizing a symposium for the American Psychological Association's annual meeting to be held in August 2001 in San Francisco. The symposium, entitled Impulsivity and Drug Abuse, will feature presentations by Dr. Jane Taylor (Yale University) on "Cortico-Limbic-Striatal Dysfunction after Stimulant Administration: Evidence for Impulsivity from Animal Models", from Dr. Peter Finn (Indiana University) on "Signal Salience and Working Memory in Impulsivity: Implications for Substance Abuse", from Dr. Suzanne Mitchell (University of New Hampshire) on "Correlates of Heightened Impulsivity in College Students", and from Dr. Joel T. Nigg (Michigan State University) on "Unitary Versus Multiple Inhibition Processes: A Developmental Perspective".
Dr. Minda Lynch, BCSRB, DNBR is serving as the NIDA representative on a planning committee for a fall meeting on Stigma, sponsored by the Fogerty Institute and several other NIH institutes. This trans-NIH meeting is scheduled for September 5-7, 2001 and will be held at Pooks Hill Marriott, Bethesda, MD. Thematic areas to be addressed in a presentation and break-out group format include epidemiology, theoretical perspectives, methodology, interventions, ethical and legal aspects, and discussion around exemplars of disease-associated stigma.
National CTN Steering Committee Meetings are planned for the follow dates and locations: July 16-18, 2001, in Denver, CO; and October 22-24, 2001, in Bethesda, MD.
The CTN Data and Safety Monitoring Board will meet June 25-26, 2001, and September 17-18, 2001, in Bethesda, Maryland.
The CTN Annual Kick Off Meeting is scheduled for September 10-11, 2001, in Washington, D.C.
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