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Number 32, September 2010

UNAIDS Honors Palestinian Substance Abuse Research Center for Efforts To Address HIV and Drug Use
Mr. Hasan Aamoudi, Dr. Mohammed F. Al-Afifi, and Ms. Emily Blitz

Mr. Hasan Aamoudi (left), chair, and Dr. Mohammed F. Al-Afifi, director of the Palestinian Substance
Abuse Research Center, accept the UNAIDS Red Ribbon Award from Ms. Emily Blitz, International
AIDS Society.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) presented its prestigious Red Ribbon Award to the Substance Abuse Research Center (SARC-AMAN) – Palestine. UNAIDS presents the Red Ribbon Awards at the biennial International AIDS Conference to recognize outstanding community organizations for their innovation and leadership in responding to the AIDS epidemic. The UNAIDS citation called SARC-AMAN “the first organization in Gaza to tackle issues of drug use and HIV, including stigma and misconceptions associated with these issues, in student and refugee populations.” In addition to research in drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, the center also provides family counseling services; runs prevention programs for tobacco, drug use, and sexually transmitted infections; maintains a drug use monitoring system; conducts community awareness and outreach activities; and trains outreach workers, counselors, and researchers. Mohammed F. Al-Afifi, M.D., M.Sc., directs the center and has partnered with NIDA grantees and scientists in Egypt, Israel, and the United States for more than a decade on drug abuse research. Since 2003, SARC-AMAN and Dr. Al-Afifi have participated regularly in the NIDA International Forum, presenting numerous studies jointly with his research partners. Dr. Al-Afifi’s research also has been supported by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the U.S. Agency for International Development Middle East Regional Cooperation Program, and STOP AIDS NOW! in The Netherlands.

NIDA Symposium, Workshop, and IAS-NIDA Fellows Featured at AIDS 2010

Two NIDA-supported meetings featured international drug abuse research during the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which was held July 18–23, in Vienna, Austria. Prevention and Treatment of HIV and AIDS Among Drug-Using Populations: A Global Perspective was chaired by NIDA AIDS Research Program Director Dr. Jacques Normand and featured presentations by NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow on the neurobiology of drug use and HIV risk behavior; U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Dr. Eric Goosby, on the evolving President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) strategy to prevent HIV among persons who inject drugs; Dr. Charles O’Brien, University of Pennsylvania, on substance abuse treatment as HIV prevention; and International AIDS Society (IAS) President Dr. Julio Montaner, on highly active antiretroviral therapy as prevention for injection drug users.

The NIDA Workshop on Building International Research Capacity and Collaboration on Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS informed drug abuse and HIV/AIDS researchers about current and planned NIDA research funding opportunities, online networking and collaboration tools, and research training programs available to foster the development of regional research networks and collaborations. Participants had opportunities to establish new research collaborations and provide feedback to NIDA regarding research opportunities and mechanisms to establish regional research networks. Speakers included NIDA International Program Director Dr. Steven W. Gust, who chaired the workshop, AIDS Research Program Director Dr. Jacques Normand, and Clinical Trials Network Deputy Director Dr. Mary Ellen Michel. Dr. David Metzger, University of Pennsylvania, facilitated a panel discussion with Dr. Clyde B. McCoy, University of Miami, and Dr. Jeffrey Samet, Boston University School of Medicine, on building effective regional research partnerships and networks.

IAS-NIDA Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in HIV and Drug Use

IAS-NIDA Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in HIV and Drug Use also were announced during the International AIDS Conference, supporting 18 months of training for:

  • Former NIDA INVEST Fellow Adhi Nurhidayat, Indonesia, who will investigate risky behaviors and psychiatric symptoms among HIV-infected drug users at three hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia, with Dr. David Metzger, University of Pennsylvania.
  • Elena Dukhoulinova, Russia, who will study genetic divergence of transmitted HIV-1 strains among new and recently infected injection drug users of St. Petersburg, Russia, with Dr. Ronald I. Swanstrom, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
  • Jonathan Claude Ipser, South Africa, who will work with Dr. Igor Grant, University of California, San Diego, to investigate executive function and frontostriatal deficits in HIV and methamphetamine.
  • Shusen Liu, China, who, will train with Dr. Zunyou Wu, Chinese National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention to evaluate HIV and sexually transmitted disease risks among methadone maintenance treatment clinic patients with positive urine tests.
  • Brandon Marshall, Canada, who will examine structural vulnerabilities to injection drug use and HIV infection among marginalized young people using complex systems modeling and social epidemiology. His mentors will be Dr. Sandro Galea, Dr. Anna Cheskis Gelman, and Dr. Murray C. Gelman at Columbia University.

Save the Date: 2011 NIDA International Forum

June 18–20, 2011
The Westin Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida

NEW FOR 2011: Abstract Submission and Travel Award Application Deadline: December 1, 2010

The NIDA International Forum is a satellite to the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), and 2011 Forum deadlines will follow the CPDD deadlines. Web sites for both meetings are scheduled to open November 1, 2010. All Forum abstracts and travel award applications must be submitted by December 1, 2010.

NIDA International Forum Focuses on Drug Policy, Research, and the Public Good

Plenary session speakers at the 15th NIDA International Forum explored the ways drug abuse researchers and policymakers can develop evidence-based drug policies that include public health as a priority. Dr. A. Thomas McLellan, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Deputy Director, offered his perspective as a leading drug abuse researcher turned policymaker.

NIDA International Program Director Dr. Steven W. Gust chaired the meeting, which was held June 11–15, 2010, in Scottsdale, Arizona, as a satellite to the Annual Scientific Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD). More than 240 participants from 49 countries participated in the plenary session, workshops, and networking activities. A joint CPDD/NIDA International Forum poster session featured presentations by 140 U.S. and international researchers as well as representatives from 11 NIDA components.

Agenda (2.26MB)

Executive Summary

Program Book (2.26MB)

Speaker Presentations

Abstract Database

Photos

NIDA and Fogarty International Center Poster Presentations (6.07MB)

NIDA Presents International Program Awards of Excellence

During the 2010 NIDA International Forum, Dr. Steven W. Gust, International Program Director, presented the 2010 Awards of Excellence to honor mentors, researchers, and binational collaborative teams whose efforts support the International Program mission, including:

  • Excellence in Mentoring Dr. Walter Ling, University of California, Los Angeles;
  • Excellence in International Leadership: Dr. Evgeny Krupitsky, Pavlov Medical University and Bekhterev Research Psychoneurological Institute, Russia; and
  • Excellence in International Collaborative Research: Dr. Thomas F. Babor, University of Connecticut, and Dr. Robin Room, University of Melbourne and Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Australia.

Nominations for the 2011 Awards of Excellence should be sent to ip@nida.nih.gov by March 15, 2011.

Antonello Bonci To Lead Intramural Research at NIDA

University of California, San Francisco neuropsychopharmacologist Antonello Bonci, M.D., has been appointed the scientific director of the NIDA Intramural Research Program (IRP) in Baltimore.

Fogarty Center Revises FIRCA, ICOHRTA Programs

LAST Deadline for FIRCA Basic Biomedical Research Awards: September 28, 2010

The Fogarty International Center (FIC) is evaluating and consolidating funding opportunities to respond to priorities set by the FIC Strategic Plan:

Important Dates and Meetings

The NIDA International Program stays abreast of funding opportunities, upcoming deadlines for fellowship and grant applications, and meetings of interest to the international addiction and drug abuse research community.

Funding Opportunities

Upcoming Application Deadlines

Former Humphrey Fellow Named to Top University and Research Posts

2010–2011 Humphrey Fellow Muzafar Razali received his doctoral degree from the University of Malaya in August 2010 and was appointed head of the Psychology and Counseling Department, Faculty of Education and Human Development, at Sultan Idris Education University July 1, 2010. He was also named a teaching and research fellow at the Asian Centre for Research on Drug Abuse at the Islamic Science University of Malaysia.