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Number 30, April 2010

New U.S. – Netherlands Funding Initiative Focuses on Improving Interventions

NIDA has issued a funding announcement for Administrative Supplements to Support US – Netherlands Binational Collaborative Research on Drug Abuse, NOT-DA-10-018. NIDA will provide up to $300,000 to support up to three 1-year administrative supplements to ongoing NIDA grants for U.S. researchers working with Dutch partners. The Dutch Addiction Program (DAP) will provide matching funds to support the Dutch researchers. Applicants are encouraged to review the Dutch call for applications [link no longer active]. Since the 1999 U.S. –Netherlands Binational Agreement, NIDA and DAP have supported 17 collaborative research projects in five funding announcements. For the fiscal year 2011 program, NIDA and DAP have agreed to focus the collaboration on areas related to improving interventions, including the areas of translational research and research on implementation of prevention and treatment programs (cure and care).

U.S., Mexico Issue Joint Declaration on Demand Reduction

The United States and Mexico have issued a joint declaration (PDF, 43.8KB)of cooperation on drug demand reduction efforts that underscores a commitment to reduce illicit drug consumption and the need to work collaboratively with each other and additional partners in the region. The joint declaration was issued at the conclusion of the 8th U.S.–Mexico Bi-National Drug Demand Reduction Policy Meeting, which was held at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, on February 23–25, 2010. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow and Dr. María Elena Medina Mora, Mexican National Institute of Psychiatry, spoke about scientific advances in a session titled “How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Drug Addiction,” which was moderated by NIDA Deputy Director Dr. Timothy P. Condon. NIDA International Program Director Dr. Steven W. Gust and Dr. Armando Patrón, CONADIC, co-chaired a session on “Collaborative Research Activities in Treatment and Prevention,” which featured presentations by Dr. Betty Tai, Clinical Trials Network, and Dr. Jacqueline Lloyd, Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, as well as several NIDA grantees, including Dr. Melanie Domenech Rodríguez, Utah State University, who spoke about adapting a NIDA-supported prevention intervention and implementing it in Mexico.

The declaration emphasizes the importance of both countries in intensifying efforts to prevent and treat substance abuse disorders. The two nations agreed to address six areas of improvement within the next 12 months: developing strong families and communities that resist criminal organizations and promote a culture of lawfulness; providing more and better addiction treatment by integrating it into mainstream medicine; expanding screening, brief intervention, and referral to substance abuse treatment; implementing evidence-based practices; bolstering accreditation and licensing programs; and promoting innovations in criminal justice to reduce recidivism and interrupt the cycle of drug use and crime. Both nations pledged to continue domestic initiatives to reduce the demand for drugs through the United States’ National Drug Control Strategy and Mexico’s Action Program for Prevention and Treatment of Addictions.

NIDA Joins Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) for Sub-Saharan Africa

(RFA-TW-10-008; R24)
NIDA has joined the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) administered by the Fogarty International Center and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Global AIDS Office to develop or expand and enhance models of medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Under the program, African public or private institutions of higher education with a medical school in Sub-Saharan African countries that receive President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) support may apply with their partners for HRSA programmatic awards that build on an existing partnership and focus on PEPFAR priority areas. The primary partner must be from the United States or a Sub-Saharan African PEPFAR country; partners from other geographic regions may be part of a consortium arrangement. HRSA anticipates awarding between five and nine programmatic awards of up to $2 million per year for 5 years. HRSA also will award one Coordinating Center grant of up to $2 million per year for 5 years to a U.S. institution of higher education with a medical school. In addition, the Fogarty Center will make up to $3 million available during fiscal year 2010 to support as many as six $500,000-per-year, 5-year linked awards that are well integrated with the activities of the related programmatic awards but focus on noncommunicable diseases and/or priority health areas related to and/or beyond HIV/AIDS (such as maternal and child health, women’s health, cardiovascular disease and stroke, injury, environmental health concerns, and mental health). Letters of intent were due April 12, 2010; applications are due May 12, 2010.

Fogarty Meeting Focuses on International Tobacco Research

Participants at the 2010 meeting of the Fogarty International Center International Tobacco Research and Capacity Building Network shared experiences on project management, research and training collaborations between domestic and foreign investigators, and connections between National Institutes of Health (NIH) grantees and other U.S. Government and international tobacco research initiatives. Ms. Dale Weiss, NIDA International Program, chaired a session that featured presentations by four NIDA grantees: Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable, University of California San Francisco, Tobacco Control Research and Training in South America; Dr. Wasim Maziak, University of Memphis, Responding to the Changing Tobacco Epidemic in the Eastern Mediterranean Region; Dr. Isabel Scarinci, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Network for Tobacco Control Among Women in Parana, Brazil; and Dr. Jonathan M. Samet, Johns Hopkins University, Epidemiology and Intervention Research for Tobacco Control in China. Ms. Weiss also introduced Joe Perpich, M.D., J.D., of JGPerpich, LLC, who discussed the NIDA International Virtual Collaboratory (NIVC), its available tools, Collaboration Matching Service, and research interest working groups. The meeting was held February 23–24, 2010, on the NIH Campus.

WHO/NIDA/CPDD Select International Traveling Fellows

NIDA has joined the World Health Organization (WHO) and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) in selecting drug abuse scientists from China and Georgia as recipients of International Traveling Fellowship Awards. The awards will support a 1-week research visit with a NIDA-supported research grantee and participation in the NIDA International Forum and the CPDD Annual Scientific Meeting in June 2010. The two International Traveling Fellows are:

  • Irma Kirtadze, M.D., Georgia, focuses on HIV prevention among drug users, particularly inhalant users, stimulant injectors, and needle exchange program clients. She currently is leading a countrywide HIV/AIDS prevention program among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Georgia. Dr. Kirtadze has had numerous papers published in peer-review journals and conference proceedings. She has been the recipient of a NIDA grant to study engaging non-treatment-seeking drug-abusing Georgian men as well as other NIDA travel awards. Dr. Kirtadze will visit Dr. Hendree Jones of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Wendee Wechsberg of RTI International, with whom she will study comprehensive approaches to HIV prevention and treatment with the goal of applying these methods to drug-using women in Georgia.
  • Sun Hongqiang, M.D., M.S., China, has conducted research in the field of alcohol and drug dependence, including a published study on the efficacy of nicotine sublingual tablets for nicotine-dependent patients in China. He currently is exploring the effects of acute tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine depletion treatment on cue-induced alcohol urging in alcoholics. Under his travel fellowship, Dr. Sun plans to visit Dr. Thomas Kosten’s laboratory and clinical programs at Baylor University College of Medicine, Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, and MD Anderson Cancer Prevention Center in Houston, Texas. He will work with Drs. Thomas F. Newton and Richard De La Garza at Baylor University and the VA Medical Center to learn more about basic research on alcohol dependence and its treatment, especially detoxification and relapse prevention. At MD Anderson under Dr. Paul Cinciripini's tutelage, he will learn about pharmacogenetics within the larger clinical smoking cessation trials being conducted in Houston.

International Program Highlights Activities in Three New Publications

New publications highlight the NIDA International Program mission, fellowship opportunities, and the NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellowships. A four-page brochure (992KB) highlights the International Program’s mission and work promoting international collaborative drug abuse research, training, and exchange, and features the annual NIDA International Forum. A two-page flyer summarizes nine NIDA fellowship and research exchange opportunities (237KB) for drug abuse researchers, arranged by career level from predoctoral to senior scientists, in a concise chart that lists key information on each program, including eligible audiences and application deadlines. The third publication focuses on the NIDA Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellowship (459KB) with a two-page flyer that describes the focus of the fellowship, what it provides, who is eligible, where and when to apply, and how to request advice on preparing a competitive application.

NIDA Supports Experts Participating in International Meetings

The NIDA International Program has supported researchers who participated in three recent scientific meetings:

  • Paul Haber, M.D., Medical Director of the Drug Health Service at Sydney South West Area Health Services Australia, and Felice Nava, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Committee Director for the Italian Society of Addiction Medicine and a consultant physician at the Department of Addiction Medicine, Hospital of Castelfranco Veneto, Italy, spoke at the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) meeting in San Francisco, California, on April 15–18, 2010. NIDA International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., also spoke during the session, “Alternatives to Conventional Treatment: A Joint Session With the International Society of Addiction Medicine,” that was sponsored by NIDA and organized by Marc Galanter, M.D., University of Wisconsin, and Jag Khalsa, Ph.D., NIDA Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Addiction, to introduce the breadth of alternative and innovative approaches being developed for addiction treatment outside the United States.
  • Dr. Inger Marie Bernhoft, Technical University of Denmark, participated in a 1-day workshop on research needs related to drugs and driving, held on March 19, 2010, at the NIH campus. NIDA hosted the meeting to gain expert advice on the current state of the science and knowledge gaps in the field of drugged driving, which it will use to guide future research efforts. Dr. Bernhoft described ongoing research being conducted under the Epidemiology Work Package of the Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol, and Medicines project.
  • Dr. Robert P. Schwartz, Friends Research Institute, spoke on “Pharmacotherapy for Opiate Addiction in Prison” during the Kasr Al-Ainy Annual International Psychiatry Conference, held in Cairo, Egypt, on February 24–25, 2010. Dr. Schwartz presented findings from his recently completed randomized clinical trial of methadone in prison and an early report from an ongoing clinical trial of buprenorphine for opiate-addicted prisoners.

Mentor Foundation Seeks Applications for Prevention Awards

Nongovernment organizations working in the field of drug abuse prevention may apply for the Mentor International Prevention Awards 2010, to be presented by Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden on October 14, 2010, in Washington, DC. The awards celebrate promise and achievement in evaluated and promising drug abuse prevention initiatives in three categories: achievement, innovation, and youth “Big Idea.” Cash prizes totaling €50,000 will be awarded. Apply online at http://awards.mentorfoundation.org/.

Former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Named ISAJE/WHO Young Scholar

Monica S. Malta, Ph.D., a 2004–2005 NIDA Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellow from Brazil, has received the 2009 International Society of Addiction Journal Editors/ World Health Organization (ISAJE/WHO) Young Scholars Award. Dr. Malta, a researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, received the award for her paper, “Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Among Drug Users: A Systematic Review,” published in Addiction. ISAJE, WHO, and Virginia Commonwealth University cosponsor the ISAJE/WHO Young Scholars Award to promote the involvement of young scholars from low- and middle-income countries in the addiction science field by recognizing the best paper published on any topic related to addiction. The winner receives a certificate and financial support to attend an international scientific or clinical meeting in the addiction or substance abuse field, to be chosen by the winner in consultation with the ISAJE/WHO award committee. Dr. Malta will attend the 2010 NIDA International Forum. The runner-up was Dr. Lu Yin, from China, for her paper “Willingness of Chinese Injection Drug Users To Participate in HIV Vaccine Trials,” published in Vaccine.

Applications for the 2010 award are due July 31, 2010. Applicants must be less than 35 years old and the lead author on a paper published either online or in print by a peer-reviewed scholarly journal between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2010, that reports on research carried out predominantly in a low- or middle-income country as specified by the World Bank. Applicants also should hold a current academic or research position in a low- or middle-income country, or should have held such a position at the time the research for the paper was conducted. For further details, contact Molly Jarvis, ISAJE Executive Officer, 4 Windsor Walk, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. E-mail: molly@addictionjournal.org.

Former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Receives Alumni Professional Development Grant

The Institute of International Education awarded a Hubert H. Humphrey (HHH) Alumni Professional Development Grant that enabled former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Dr. Peter Kenneth Ndege, Kenya, to attend the International Harm Reduction Association’s 21st conference, Harm Reduction 2010, held April 25–29, 2010, in Liverpool, England. Currently a lecturer at Kenya Methodist University, Dr. Ndege was a 2006–2007 HHH Fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University. He used the skills and experience gained during his fellowship to form the nongovernment organization Center for Addiction Studies in Africa, which trained 70 primary healthcare clinicians in the diagnosis and management of drug use disorders. He also established Eastern Medical Consultants Limited, which is committed to providing specialized medical services to rural areas in Kenya at minimal charge. Dr. Ndege currently is working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the best way to introduce opiate substitution therapy and other harm reduction measures in Kenya, particularly among vulnerable populations such as injection drug users, prisoners, and commercial sex workers. He expects to use the information gained from Harm Reduction 2010 not only to update his knowledge in this field but also to acquire skill and contacts in the area of policymaking, so that he can help draft a policy paper on harm reduction in Kenya.

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

Upcoming Program Announcement Receipt Dates From Fogarty International Center

Meetings