Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse
February, 2001
Meetings/Conferences
A meeting on Cardiovascular Complications of HIV and Substance Abuse (cocaine, alcohol) planned, organized and conducted by Lan-Hsiang Wang, Ph.D. of the NHLBI and Jag H. Khalsa, Ph.D., of CAMCODA, NIDA was held September 18-19, 2000. A group of nationally and internationally recognized clinicians and scientists (funded by NHLBI and NIDA-co-sponsored RFAs) presented and discussed current data on the etiology and underlying pathophysiology of cardiovascular complications of HIV/AIDS, and substance abuse (cocaine, alcohol) and HIV infection. They also made a number of recommendations for future research. A brief summary, agenda and the roster of participants appears on the NIDA website. An executive summary is in preparation for publication in a professional journal.
NIDA held its Fifth Annual Research Training Grant Directors Meeting on October 13, 2000 in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Associate Director, NIDA, updated the training directors on NIDA's research initiatives; Drs. Cindy Miner and Angela Martinelli, Science Policy Branch, OSPC, discussed current research training activities at NIDA; Dr. Mark Swieter, Office of Extramural Affairs, updated the directors on current extramural review policies; and Dr. Lula Beatty, Director of NIDA's Special Populations Office, presented NIDA's Health Disparities Plan.
NIDA, the University of California Los Angeles, MATRIX, the Los Angeles County Alcohol and Drug Program Administration, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation co-sponsored a conference, "Blending Clinical Practice and Research to Enhance Drug Addiction Treatment," on November 1-2, 2000, in Los Angeles, CA, to disseminate research-based information on drug abuse and addiction. Researchers and practitioners examined ways to enhance ongoing efforts to ensure research is incorporated into practice settings.
A satellite meeting to the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, sponsored by the NIDA Neuroscience Consortium, was held on November 4, 2000. The meeting, organized by Drs. Rita Liu, OEA, and Roger Brown, DNBR, was entitled "NIDA Neuroscience: Current Status and Future Directions," and included presentations and panel discussions led by NIDA staff on NIDA activities and neuroscience-related research interests. NIDA participants included: Drs. Timothy Condon, Glen Hanson, David McCann, Dionne Jones, Peter Delany, Teri Levitin, Barry Hoffer, Rita Liu, Roger Brown, Joseph Frascella, David Shurtleff, Minda Lynch, Jane Acri, Cora Lee Wetherington and Pushpa Thadani.
NIDA sponsored a satellite symposium at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience held in November 2000 in New Orleans, LA entitled "Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptic Vesicle Trafficking". This symposium, organized by Drs. Jonathan Pollock and Rebekah Rasooly, both of DNBR, presented new results regarding key players mediating and regulating exocytosis and vesicle recycling.
Drs. Nancy Pilotte and Minda Lynch, DNBR, co-chaired a satellite symposium at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in November 2000, in New Orleans entitled "Cross-Sensitization Between Drugs: A Behavioral and Neural Basis for "Gateway"?" The purpose was to examine evidence that prior drug exposure modifies subsequent reactivity to a different drug of abuse, e.g., neurobiological substrate changes, behavioral data, human lab studies and anecdotal reports, and the relevance to vulnerability for addiction.
Dr. Pushpa Thadani, DNBR, chaired a NIDA-sponsored satellite forum "Minority Scholars: Research and Funding Opportunities at the National Institute on Drug Abuse" at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, in New Orleans, LA in November 2000. The event was co-hosted by Xavier University, an HBCU in New Orleans. The forum showcased various NIDA Minority training and research programs including MIDARP and Minority Supplement program designed to attract underrepresented minorities in Drug Abuse Biomedical Research. The forum also showcased students' research findings generated under the MIDARP (Xavier University and SUNY, Stonybrook NY) and Minority Supplement programs. Over 70 people attended the forum and the attendees included undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, NIDA training directors and researchers as well as NIDA staff.
NIDA sponsored a panel on Hepatitis C at the American Public Health Association conference, moderated by David Anderson, MS, editor, NIDA NOTES, in Boston, MA, on November 11, 2000. The panel addressed "Research Update on Hepatitis C among Drug Abusers: What are the Health Consequences and Implications for Treatment, Prevention, and the Community?"
A NIDA sponsored scientific workshop titled: "Bridging Neurobiological, Behavioral, and Prevention Sciences," co-chaired by Dr. Bill Bukoski, Associate Director for Prevention Research Coordination, DESPR and Dr. Minda Lynch, Acting Chief, Behavioral Sciences Research Branch, DNBR was held on November 15, 2000 at the Gaithersburg Hilton Hotel. The workshop convened senior and early career scientists from the disciplines of basic, behavioral, and prevention research to explore the relevance and possible future directions of "multidisciplinary" research and research training opportunities that could advance drug prevention theory and the development of innovative prevention interventions to better reach youth and young adults at high risk for drug abuse and addiction.
NIDA participated as a co-organizer in the trans-NIH conference: "The Science of the Placebo: Toward an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda," held November 19-20, 2000 in Bethesda, MD. This conference brought together researchers from a wide range of disciplines to examine the biological, behavioral, social, cultural, and ethical aspects related to the placebo effect. Dr. Lisa Onken represented NIDA on the executive planning committee for this conference, and also served as a co-chair for a breakout session on the placebos in behavioral treatment research.
NIDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry were co-sponsors of the American Society of Addiction Medicine's Conference, entitled "Adolescent Substance Abuse for the Practitioner", held on November 3-5, 2000 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, in Washington, D.C. The conference presented science-based information on identification of and intervention with adolescents involved in (or at risk for) use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The conference workshops focused on translating clinical and behavioral research into approaches that can be used by practitioners in a number of settings, including primary care. NIDA Director, Dr. Alan Leshner, gave the keynote presentation on the Neurobiology of Addiction: Implications for Practice. Dorynne Czechowicz, M.D., DTR&D represented NIDA on the conference planning committee.
On November 30, 2000, the Special Populations Office, NIDA convened a special one-day Meeting of NIDA's Four Racial/Ethnic Advisory Work Groups including the African American Researchers and Scholars, National Hispanic Science Network, Native American/Alaskan Native and Asian American and Pacific Islander Work Groups in Bethesda, Maryland. The meeting was designed to focus on NIDA's Health Disparity Initiative and to allow individual work groups time to continue ongoing strategies in addressing drug abuse research efforts relevant to their communities.
On December 1, 2000, a NIDA and Managed Behavioral Healthcare Summit Meeting was held in Washington, D.C. Dr. Leshner chaired the meeting that focused on areas of common interest, simplified provider reporting, and roadblocks to supporting clinical trials.
Dr. Jacques Normand and Ms. Moira O'Brien, CRB, DESPR, organized and chaired a meeting, Research on Emerging and Current Drug Abuse Trends: Agenda Setting, in San Francisco, California, on December 11, 2000, held in conjunction with the biannual meeting of the NIDA CEWG. Mr. Nicholas Kozel, DESPR, also participated in the meeting. The meeting convened several NIDA-supported researchers and CEWG participants to discuss issues pertaining to the timely identification and monitoring of new drug abuse trends, and enhancing the linkages between drug abuse monitoring and problem-focused research.
On December 14, 2000, the Special Populations Office held a one-day MIDARP Planning Meeting to receive feedback from grantees and reviewers on the current structure of the program.
On January 11, 2001, NIDA sponsored a meeting, "Turning Scientific Breakthroughs Into Science News," at the Natcher Conference Center at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, for NIDA and grantee university public information staff. Special lectures addressed topics such as the dissemination of research results and the challenges of promoting research. In addition, a "Health Science and the Media" panel discussion included speakers from The Washington Post, CNN, WebMD, USA Today, and Science Magazine.
The First Steering Committee Meeting of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse, which is being implemented through a contract with the University of Miami, took place on January 18 and 19, 2001. Ana Anders, Senior Advisor on Special Populations, serves as Project Officer on the contract.
Dr. Gordon Duval addressed the ethical issues in conducting randomized clinical trials with court diverted patients at a seminar sponsored by the CTN and NIDA's Treatment Work Group held on January 26, 2001.
A CTN National Steering Committee Meeting was held August 21-22, 2000, in Washington, D.C. The members met to review and approve policies and procedures for the CTN; discuss plans for Year 2 of the Network; and to approve a reorganization of the CTN Steering Committee with the establishment of a new executive Operating Committee to focus on the everyday protocol implementation activities of the CTN.
NIDA sponsored a Clinical Trials Network meeting on September 18, 2000, at Yale University, which is the New England node of NIDA's National Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network. At the meeting, NIDA launched the NIDA Clinical Toolbox: Science-Based Materials for Drug Abuse Counselors. The toolbox, packaged in a bright gray box with a large "Tx" on the front, was sent to nearly 12,000 drug treatment programs around the country.
The NIDA CTN Ad Hoc Oversight Board, chaired by Dr. Leshner, met on September 11, 2000, in Bethesda, MD. The Board reviewed and approved the next wave of five new concepts for development into CTN wide protocols.
A CTN National Steering Committee Meeting was held September 19-20, 2000, in Philadelphia, PA. The keynote speaker was Mark Bencivengo, Deputy Secretary of Health, City of Philadelphia. The members discussed the status of the ongoing protocols, plans for development of the approved concepts into protocols, and the expansion of the CTN from the current 6 nodes. The Steering Committee members signed a Declaration of Interdependence.
The first meeting of the CTN Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) was held September 27, 2000, in Rockville, MD. The members discussed the mission, vision of the Board, agreed to review the CTN DSMB policies and SOPs, current protocols, and made plans to meet on a regular basis.
Site Initiation visits were held at 7 Community Treatment Programs starting on October 4, 2000 and ending on October 27, 2000. The meetings were held to assess the readiness of the clinical sites before implementation of the buprenorphine/naloxone detoxification protocols (CTN 00001 and 00002).
A CTN Protocol Kick Off Meeting was held October 17-19, 2000, in New Haven, CT, for the Motivational Enhancement Therapy and Motivational Interviewing Therapy protocols (CTN 00004 and 00005). Participating members from all the CTN Community Treatment Programs attended the meeting.
A New CTN Nodes PI Orientation Meeting was held on October 23, 2000, in Bethesda, MD, to welcome the newly awarded grantees into the CTN. Dr. Leshner gave opening remarks and welcomed the new members to the CTN. Members were briefed on the CTN infrastructure, policies and procedures, current protocols, guidelines for publications, and other pertinent issues.
The CTN National Steering Committee met in Los Angeles on October 30, 2000, followed on October 31, 2000, by the CTN Kick Off Meeting. All eleven nodes participated in the meetings including attendees from other organizations interested in joining the CTN.
The CTN Data and Safety Monitoring Board met on December 8, 2000, in Bethesda, MD. The Board reviewed the initial CTN protocols.
A CTN Steering Committee Meeting was held January 8-10, 2001 in Tampa FL.
A CTN Training Subcommittee Meeting to welcome members from the new nodes was held January 29-30, 2001, in Bethesda, MD.
A GRP (Good Research Practice) Train the Trainer Session was held on January 31, 2001 in Bethesda, MD.
A two-day CTN Quality Assurance Subcommittee Meeting to welcome new node members was held February 1-2, 2001, in Rockville, MD.
At the Sixth Annual Latino Behavioral Health Institute Conference on September 22, 2000, in Los Angeles, CA, NIDA announced a Latino campaign in early 2001 to include radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and a brochure in Spanish to encourage parents to talk to their children about the consequences of drug abuse. The conference offered 50 workshops on Latino behavioral health, and attracted over 1,000 participants including family, consumers, and providers of behavioral health services to the Latino community.
At the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference in Atlanta, GA, on October 12-15, 2000, NIDA released an intergenerational, year 2001 Indian Country Calendar for Native Americans, "Walking A Good Path." NIDA printed 100,000 calendars, and as of December 2000 has distributed 76,580. In addition, at the SACNAS conference, NIDA announced the availability of a variety of new and recently translated NIDA research brochures.
Mr. Richard A. Millstein, NIDA Deputy Director, was keynote speaker at the Utah Fall Substance Abuse Conference, St. George, Utah, September 27, 2000.
Mr. Millstein participated as a panel member of the IMPAC Teen Illicit Drug Expert Panel of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Andrews University Project, Arlington, VA, September 29, 2000.
Mr. Millstein was keynote speaker at the Friends Research Institute Awards Dinner, Baltimore, MD, October 5, 2000.
Mr. Millstein was a speaker at the conference "Drug Abuse and Addiction: Global Answers to a Problem without Frontiers", co-sponsored by the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Rainbow Coalition of Therapeutic Communities, Rimini, Italy, October 27, 2000.
Mr. Millstein greeted attendees at the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA), Alexandria, VA, November 2, 2000.
Mr. Millstein spoke on the science of addiction at the Tobacco Free Suffolk County Conference, Smithtown, NY, November 13, 2000.
Mr. Millstein welcomed participants to a NIDA Workshop, "Bridging Neurobiological, Behavioral, and Prevention Science", Gaithersburg, Maryland, November 15, 2000.
Mr. Millstein was guest lecturer on drug abuse epidemiology, and on drug abuse policy issues, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, November 29, 2000.
Mr. Millstein presented opening remarks at the combined meeting of NIDA's four racial and ethnic minority researchers and scholars groups, Bethesda, MD, November 30, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon Associate Director, NIDA, served as an advisory board member at the Addiction Institute Workshop in Winston-Salem, NC on September 8, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Updates on Drug Abuse Research: Implication for Science-based Prevention and Treatment" at the Michigan Substance Abuse Conference: Working Together-Sharing Solutions, in Grand Rapids, MI on September 19, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "NIDA Prevention Principles" at the Fifth Annual Statewide Prevention Providers Meeting: Strengthening the Voice of Prevention in Phoenix, AZ on September 22, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Raves, Risks, and Research: Update on Club Drugs" at the Thirteenth Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders: Addiction Across the Lifespan: Prevention, Identification and Healing in Hyannis, Cape Cod, MA on October 6, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon spoke at the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Operation PAR's program in Clearwater, FL on October 19, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Research Advances in Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction: Science Replacing Ideology" at the 24th Annual Training Conference for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs, Treatment and Prevention Professionals in Atlantic City, NJ on October 24, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Identification, Assessment and Early Intervention in Children and Adolescents at High Risk for Development of Substance Use Disorders" at the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in New York, NY on October 25, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Using Science and Research to Discuss Substance Abuse as a Chronic Treatable Condition" at the Demand Treatment! San Jose Regional Meeting in San Jose, CA on October 26, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Neuroscience at the National Institute on Drug Abuse" at the 30th Annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in New Orleans, LA on November 4, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Minority Scholars: Research and Funding Opportunities at NIDA" at the 30th Annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in New Orleans, LA on November 6, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "The Epidemiology/ Ethnography of Methamphetamine Use" at the Pacific Regional Research Conference on Methamphetamine and Other Amphetamine-Type Stimulants in Bangkok, Thailand on November 14, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Neurobiology of Addiction" at the Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellows Orientation to NIDA in Bethesda, MD on December 1, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Addiction is a Brain Disease" at the Colorado State Assembly on Offenders with Drug/Alcohol and Mental Health Issues: Partnerships for Effective Policy in Denver, CO on December 4, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon officiated at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the expansion of the Brookhaven National Laboratory's Center for Imaging and Neurosciences in Upton, Long Island, NY on December 7, 2000.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon and Dr. Jack Stein, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented an "Update on NIDA's Research/Practice Blending Activities" at the CTN National Steering Committee Meeting in Tampa, FL on January 8, 2001.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Science Advances in the Emerging Drug Problem: What We Have Learned" at the American Society of Addiction Medicine/Florida Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM/FSAM) Conference 2001 in Orlando, FL on February 10, 2001.
Dr. Jack Stein, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented "Research Advances in Drug Abuse" to the staff of the A&E Television Network in New York, NY on November 13, 2000.
Dr. Jack Stein presented "Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment" at Join Together's, Demand Treatment! Hunt Valley Regional Meeting in Baltimore, MD on November 9, 2000.
Dr. Cindy Miner, Chief, Science Policy Branch, OSPC, organized and participated in the "NIDA Grant Writing Workshop" at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, October 27, 2000 in New York.
Dr. Angela M. Martinelli, Science Policy Branch, OSPC, organized and participated in "NIH Funding and Training Opportunities" at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting held in Boston, MA on November 5, 2000.
Dr. Khursheed Asghar, Chief, Basic Sciences Review Branch, OEA, made a presentation on the review process and conducted a mock SRG meeting at a November meeting of the Special Populations Research Development Seminar, "Grant Application Development and Proposal Review - Follow-up to the Summer Workshop.
Mr. Richard Harrison, Chief, Contracts Review Branch, OEA, attended the American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference in Portland, OR from November 9-12, 2000, where he participated in the NIDA exhibit booth and recruiting activities. Mr. Harrison also represented the NIH Office of Equal Opportunity at the annual meeting of the National Congress of American Indians in St. Paul, MN, November 13-18, 2000 and served as the NIH representative on the Inter-Agency Committee for American Indian-Alaskan Native Heritage Month for the Washington area ceremonies and activities.
Drs. Rita Liu, Mark Green, Mark Swieter, and Bill Grace, all of OEA, participated in a planning meeting addressing the NIDA Minority Institutions Drug Abuse Research Development Program on December 14, 2000. This meeting was organized by the NIDA Special Populations Office.
Dr. Teri Levitin, Director, OEA, served as an evaluator of projects for the INTEL High School Science Talent Search in December 2000.
On December 7, 2000, Dr. Marina Volkov, Clinical, Epidemiological, and Applied Sciences Review Branch, OEA, along with Dr. Kathy Etz, Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, addressed the Maryland Peer Counselors Conference on Avoiding the Brain Change: The Biology and Prevention of Addiction.
Dr. Lula Beatty, Chief, Special Populations Office, participated in the meeting of the Committee on Women in Psychology of the American Psychological Association on September 23-24, 2000 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Lula Beatty gave a presentation entitled "Funding Mechanisms at NIH: What You Need to Know" at a technical assistance workshop on research on HIV/AIDS adherence and treatment for minority investigators sponsored by the NIH Office on AIDS on October 27, 2000 in Crystal City, VA.
Dr. Lula Beatty presented an address entitled "Women Abusing Drugs: Building the Knowledge Base for Effective Prevention and Treatment" at the annual meeting of the American Association of Behavioral Therapists, on November 19, 2000 in New Orleans, LA.
Dr. Lula Beatty participated in a meeting cosponsored by the Special Populations Office and the Women's Office of the American Psychological Association to discuss developing leadership in translational research for women on December 15, 2000 in Washington, DC.
Ana Anders, Special Populations Office, participated in planning the Hispanic Heritage Month Observance at NIH held on October 4, 2000 at which Dr. Jose Szapocznik, NIDA grantee, made a presentation.
Ana Anders participated in planning the annual conference of the Latino Behavioral Health Institute held in Los Angeles, CA September 20-22, 2000. Four drug abuse research workshops were held, and Ms. Anders was the moderator for two.
Ana Anders is a member of the WHO/PAHO planning committee for the World Health Day celebration that will be held on April 6, 2001 in Washington, D.C.
On December 4, 2000 Ana Anders made a presentation to the Upcounty Latino Network Mental Health Committee on NIDA's mission, with particular emphasis on the Institute's Hispanic Initiative.
Flair Lindsey, Program Analyst, Special Populations Office, gave a presentation on the effects/consequences of drug abuse to 7th and 8th grade students at the Hip Hop to Health Conference held at Howard University on October 13, 2000 in Washington, DC.
Flair Lindsey gave a presentation on the effects of marijuana to pre-teens at the Teen Life Choices Center on October 23, 2000 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DTR&D, presented on NIDA's Stimulant Medications Discovery Program at the Workshop on New Knowledge in Methamphetamine Medications Development at UCLA on September 28, 2000.
Dr. Frank Vocci presented at two workshops at the Blending Clinical Practice and Research: Forging Partnerships to Enhance Drug Addiction Treatment conference in Los Angeles on November 1, 2000. Drs. Mary Jeanne Kreek and Ron Jackson were his co-presenters.
Dr. Frank Vocci participated in the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's Physicians Summit on Buprenorphine Education on November 30, 2000 in Bethesda, MD.
Dr. Frank Vocci presented on the Research Programs of the Division of Treatment Research and Development at the Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellows Orientation to the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the NSC on December 1, 2000.
Dr. Betty Tai, DTR&D, gave a presentation on the CTN at the CSAT/NIDA National Addiction Technology Transfer Centers Network Meeting on November 15-16, 2000, in Bethesda, MD. Several of NIDA's CTN staff also participated in the ATTC/CSAT meeting as moderators for workshops.
Dr. Joseph Frascella, DTR&D, participated as a faculty mentor in a Special Populations Research Development Seminar Series entitled "Grant Application Development and Proposal Review - Follow-up to the Summer Workshop" in Rockville, MD, November 27-28, 2000.
Dr. Joseph Frascella participated in the "Joint Meeting of NIDA Work Groups on the Topic of Health Disparities" in Bethesda, MD, November 30, 2000.
Dr. Steven Grant presented a talk entitled "Brain Activity Differentiates Drug Abusers and Controls During Gambling Task Performance" at the conference on Co-Morbidity of Pathological Gambling, Las Vegas, NV, December 3-5, 2000.
Dr. Steven Grant presented a talk entitled "Differential Brain Networks in Drug Abusers and Controls During Gambling Task Performance: A PET FDG-Study" in the symposium "Addiction as a Disease of the Orbitofrontal Cortex" at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, December 10-14, 2000.
Dr. Ahmed Elkashef presented on NIDA's Methamphetamine Medications Portfolio and future plans at the Workshop on New Knowledge in Methamphetamine Medications Development at UCLA on September 28, 2000.
Dr. Ahmed Elkashef presented on NIDA's Medications Discovery Program at a continuing education training course at the Drug Abuse Counselors of Northern Virginia chapter meeting held, May 2000.
Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DNBR and NIDA's Women and Gender Research Coordinator, gave an invited talk, "Gender Matters in Drug Abuse" in the "Drug Addiction" panel at the Society for Women's Health Research Tenth Scientific Advisory Meeting, October 26, 2000, Washington, D.C. She was also the moderator for the panel in which she spoke.
Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington gave an invited talk, "Does Gender Matter in Your Drug Abuse Research?," at the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University, December 7, 2000.
Dr. Minda Lynch, Behavioral Sciences Research Branch, DNBR, directed a break-out group on NIH Career Development Awards at the "Meeting on Training Opportunities" sponsored by NIH and NSF at the Society for Neuroscience annual convention held in New Orleans, LA in November 2000.
Dr. Nancy Pilotte participated in a White House Task Force on Sports and Drugs in Salt Lake City, November 6-7, 2000.
Dr. James Colliver, ERB, DESPR, represented NIDA at the annual meeting of the National Advisory Committee to Monitoring the Future (MTF) at the University of Michigan in October 2000 and presented an overview of environmental factors affecting MTF from the Federal perspective.
Dr. Leslie Cooper, ERB, DESPR, participated in a special session to formalize national efforts for the elimination of Health Disparities held at the American Public Health Association's Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, November 4, 2000.
Dr. Leslie Cooper, ERB, DESPR, participated in the National Stakeholder's Meeting October 16, 2000, to discuss the launching of National Minority Health Month, organized by the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Louis Sullivan. The focus of the meeting was the elimination of Health Disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.
Dr. Leslie Cooper, ERB, DESPR, participated in an evaluation effort for the DC Developing Families Center, along with other DHHS agencies and the community held December 15, 2000. The purpose was to plan an evaluation effort that includes the identification of improved perinatal outcomes; methodological issues in designing community based studies; and the identification of historical interventions that have been successful with similar populations.
Dr. Leslie Cooper, ERB, DESPR, represented NIDA in the HHS Diversity Workshop December 12, 2000, entitled "All of Us...Beyond Race and Gender" which was follow-up to the HHS Conference on Diversity held March 1-2, 2000.
Dr. Coryl Jones, ERB, DESPR, and Bernie Auchter of the National Institute of Justice co-hosted a pre-conference Institute, Violence Against Women and Within the Family, October 1-3, 2000, at the National NIJ Research Conference on Violence Against Women. Research presented at the meeting and the researcher-practitioner conference was the result of 10 grants ($5.5M) supported by the NIH Consortium on Violence Against Women and Within the Family. Dr. Jones served as the program official for all grants funded by the NIH Consortium.
Dr. Coryl Jones, ERB, DESPR, was member of the steering committee and presenter at The Federal Child Neglect Research Consortium meeting held November 30 and December 1, 2000, held under the auspices of the NIH Consortium on Child Neglect. It was the first of five annual Technical Assistance Meetings for Grantees funded by the Consortium, which includes seven NIH institutes, the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (Children's Bureau), the Office of Justice Programs (NIJ and OJJDP), and the Department of Education (Office of Special Education Programs). This meeting focused on instrumentation, data sharing, definitional, legal, and human subject issues, and establishing a cross-institute and cross-agency base of operations.
Dr. Yonette Thomas, ERB, DESPR, was an invited speaker for the National Academies' Ford Foundation Fellows Program and participated in a panel on career development and opportunities for research held at the Annual Conference of Ford Fellows at the Beckman Center in Irvine, CA, October 14, 2000.
Dr.Yonette Thomas, ERB, DESPR, also served as the NIDA representative to the National Institute of Justice's Third Annual International ADAM (Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program) Conference held September 21-23, 2000.
Dr. Yonette Thomas, ERB, DESPR, participated in the National Leadership Forum XI of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, December 6-8, 2000.
Dr. Elizabeth Robertson and Ms. Susan David, PRB, DESPR, participated in a planning conference with other Federal representatives of anti-drug programs, October 30-31, 2000. Dr. Robertson presented a paper on the future of NIDA prevention research. The meeting was convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop recommendations on future directions for substance abuse prevention research and services.
Ms. Susan David and Dr. Bill Bukoski, DESPR, participated in a Prevention Roundtable, November 16, 2000, sponsored by SAMHSA, which included representatives from DHHS programs targeted to youth who are at-risk for substance abuse problems. The purpose was to develop collaborative programming to expand the reach of Department prevention efforts.
Dr. Elizabeth Robertson and Ms. Susan David, DESPR, represented NIDA at a meeting held on December 1, 2000, sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, to identify sources of data on parent and mentoring programs to incorporate into their Program Measurement for Effectiveness System (PME). NIDA presented an overview of its research portfolio on family research and the Westat Campaign Evaluation which will produce information about the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of parents and their children.
Dr. Elizabeth Robertson and Ms. Susan David, DESPR, presented a paper and participated in planning work groups at the Worldwide Inaugural Conference, December 5-7, 2000, on "The Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders," at The Carter Center, Atlanta, GA. The purpose of the conference was to examine how to integrate mental health promotion with the prevention of mental and substance abuse disorders, and cross-cultural transfer of science-based prevention research into cultures around the world. The focus of the paper was to outline NIDA's goals for the next generation of prevention research and encourage new applications to address these goals.
Dr. Eve Reider, PRB, DESPR, gave a presentation on drug abuse prevention research on behalf of Dr. Elizabeth Robertson at The Fall Research Conference: Bridging the Gaps Between Research, Policy and Practice held by Washington State Department of Social & Health Services-Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse and Northwest Frontier Addiction Technology Transfer Center. The conference was held at the Embassy Suites in Tukwila, WA on December 11 -12, 2000.
Dr. Kathy Etz, PRB, DESPR, served as a rapporteur for the meeting, Preventing Adolescent Problem Behaviors on November 20-21, 2000 in Washington DC.
Dr. Kathy Etz presented information on drug abuse prevention at the Maryland Peer Helpers Association meetings in Ocean City, Maryland on December 7, 2000.
Dr. Bill Bukoski, DESPR participated as an expert panelist in a CSAT-sponsored meeting held November 30-December 1, 2000 and titled: "Preadolescent Screening Instrument (PASI) --- Second Expert Panel Meeting." The purpose of the conference was to explore innovative multiple-gating assessment procedures that could be employed to identify and assist children at possible risk to subsequent onset of drug abuse and other psychological and educational behavioral disorders.
Dr. Lynda Erinoff, CRB, DESPR, represented NIDA at the Principal Investigators (PI) Meeting of the NIH Youth Violence Consortium December 12-13, 2000. The PIs all were recently funded under the RFA "Research on the Development of Interventions for Youth Violence" and exchanged information about human subjects issues, study design and measurement issues.
Dr. Jacques Normand and Ms. Moira O'Brien, CRB, DESPR, participated in the NIDA sponsored meeting, Street Children and Drug Abuse: Social and Health Consequences, held in Marina Del Rey, California, September 17-19, 2000.
Dr. Bennett Fletcher, Services Research Branch, DESPR, presented on NIDA's health services research goals at the Little Rock Conference on Substance Abuse Health Services Research: Research in Practice, November 1-3, 2000, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Dr. Bennett Fletcher participated in the planning meeting of the Veterans with HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (VACS), a study currently supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute for Mental Health, and the Veterans Affairs Administration on October 26, 2000 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Dr. Jerry Flanzer, Services Research Branch, DESPR, led a workshop on the implications of recent NIDA neuroscience findings for social work practice. NASW National Conference, November 3-4, 2000, Baltimore, MD.
Dr. Jerry Flanzer led a panel on NIDA's efforts on Drug Court Research at the Annual Conference of the American Society on Criminology, November 15-16, 2000, San Francisco, CA.
Dr. Jerry Flanzer participated on a Steering Committee to review the latest Practice Research Network findings of the NASW. December 1-2, 2000 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Henry Francis, Director of NIDA's Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (CAMCODA), made a presentation on "Hepatitis C" to health care service providers at the Year 2000 World Conference on Co-Existing Medical Conditions, San Francisco, CA, September 2, 2000.
Dr. Henry Francis made a presentation on "Infections in Injecting Drug Users" at a "Meet the Professor Session" of the 38th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 8, 2000.
Dr. Henry Francis presented on "Hepatitis C, the Silent Epidemic" to the founders of the Maryland State Hepatitis Coalition, Inc., Frederick, MD, November 17, 2000.
Dr. Henry Francis presented on "Substance Abuse Trends and Practices in the New Millennium: Implications for STD Prevention" at a Symposium on "Confronting Emerging Challenges for STD Prevention: New Paths, New Approaches" at the 2000 National STD Prevention Conference, Milwaukee, WI, December 5, 2000.
Drs. Henry Francis and Peter Hartsock participated in the Yale University AIDS in Africa Day and AIDS Research Day, where cutting edge NIDA-supported research findings were presented in New Haven, CT, September 21-22, 2000.
Helen Cesari, CAMCODA, presented an overview of the Global Research Network on HIV Prevention in Drug-Using Populations at the Fogarty International Center AITRP/TBITRP Network Meetings, Washington, DC, October 26, 2000.
Dr. Dionne Jones, CAMCODA, attended and participated in workshops at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November 13-16, 2000.
Helen Cesari, CAMCODA, attended and participated in workshops at the 2000 National STD Prevention Conference, Milwaukee, WI, December 4-7, 2000.
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