Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse
May, 2001
Meetings/Conferences
NIDA, with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) and NIMH, sponsored a conference entitled Food for Thought: Substance Abuse and Eating Disorders, on January 23, 2001, in New York, NY. The conference brought together top experts and researchers from around the country to explore the science of how and why these disorders develop, the role of our culture and the media, and prevention and treatment. Dr. Alan I. Leshner delivered the keynote address.
The Fifth Annual PRISM Awards were held on April 4, 2001, in Los Angeles, CA. NIDA sponsored the event with the Entertainment Industries Council and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. These awards are bestowed yearly to members of the entertainment community who have accurately depicted drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse and addiction in their television and motion picture productions. Dr. Alan I. Leshner, Director, NIDA; Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Associate Director, NIDA; Dr. Jack Stein, Deputy Director, OSPC; and Ms. Beverly Jackson, Chief, Public Information and Liaison Branch, OSPC represented NIDA. Winning productions included the feature film "Traffic" and TV series "Cosby: Raising Paranoia" (CBS), "Sex and the City: Quitting Smoking" (HBO), "Third Watch: Know Thyself (NBC), "E.R.: Carter's Addiction" (NBC), and "Days of Our Lives: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome" (NBC). Coverage of this event appeared in The Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, The Washington Post, United Press International, LA Times, City News Service, Daily Variety, and Join Together Online.
NIDA launched its prescription drug abuse initiative at a press conference, Prescription Drugs: Misuse, Abuse, and Addiction, on April 10, 2001. Partners in the initiative are AARP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Pharmaceutical Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the National Council on Patient Information and Education, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. After the press conference, NIDA sponsored a scientific meeting to present research updates on Prescription Drugs: Misuse, Abuse, and Addiction. At this event, NIDA released a new research report to answer questions about the consequences of abusing commonly prescribed medications. Coverage of this event appeared in Associated Press, WebMD, CBS Healthwatch, The Washington Times, USA Today, Reuters Health, Detroit News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Chicago Tribune, Scripps Howard News Service, and United Press International.
As part of this year's Brain Awareness Week activities, NIDA sponsored, Who Wants to Be a NIDA Neuroscientist, on March 14-15, 2001 and attended by 400 middle school children. Intended to teach children about their brains and generate interest in brain research, this event was held at the National Museum of Health and Medicine and was cosponsored by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and NIH. Participating NIDA staff included Drs. Cathrine Sasek, Cindy Miner, Nancy Pilotte, Suman Rao, Angela Martinelli, and Marina Volkov.
On January 11-12, 2001, NIDA and NIDDK co-sponsored the 1st Annual Meeting of RFA-funded Microarray Researchers to discuss the challenges presented by microarray research and to find approaches to overcome these difficulties and facilitate data sharing. The meeting was held in Rockville, MD, and was co-chaired by Dr. Rebekah Rasooly, DNBR. Nearly 30 researchers funded through DA-00-003 and DK-00-002 attended, along with numerous staff from many NIH Institutes. The first day was a joint meeting that focused on issues in experimental design, methodology, analysis and data storage that are pre-requisites for eventual data sharing. On the second day, the NIDA and NIDDK grantees met separately and developed specific data-sharing steps unique to their specialized research interests.
On April 19, 2001 NIDA sponsored a day-long Symposium entitled The Challenge of Psychostimulant Addiction: Both Reward Circuitry and Inhibitory Deficits May Help Explain Why It's So Difficult for Our Patients to Say No, at the American Society of Addiction Medicine's annual Medical-Scientific Conference at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The symposium presented state-of-the-art information on the brain reward circuitry important in psychostimulant addiction, and its modulation by stress, and by frontal inhibitory circuits. Deficits in these inhibitory circuits have been documented in stimulant users, and may help explain not only the ongoing vulnerability to relapse, but also the initial vulnerability to addiction. Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DTR&D, and Dr. Anna Rose Childress, University of Pennsylvania, co-chaired the symposium and discussed the implications of this research for the development of better pharmacological and behavioral treatments for drug addiction. Drs. Steven Grant, Clinical Neurobiology Branch, DTR&D, and Yavin Shaham, Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, also participated as presenters. The Symposium organizers were Drs. Anna Rose Childress, Frank Vocci, and Dorynne Czechowicz.
On April 17-18, 2001, DTR&D's Behavioral Treatment Development Branch sponsored a workshop for currently funded Stage I translational behavioral treatment development researchers. Council member Steven Hayes and BTDB Branch Chief Lisa Onken co-chaired the workshop, designed to facilitate the progress and promote the success of grantees doing this type of novel research.
A CTN National Steering Committee Meeting was held January 8-10, 2001, in Tampa, Florida. The members met to discuss participation of 8 new nodes in the current protocols; select additional members for the Operations Committee from the new nodes; establish a Design and Analysis Work Group; and set up new work groups for developing research agendas which focus on women and gender issues and HIV/AIDS.
The first meeting of the CTN Dissemination Subcommittee was held February 1-2, 2001, in Bethesda, MD. The Subcommittee established definitions, a common language, and discussed guidelines for dissemination activities for the CTN. Presentations were given by NIDA's Office of Science Policy and Communications and CSAT/ATTC representatives.
The Focused Aftercare Protocol Team held a two-day meeting in Los Angeles, CA, on February 8-9, 2001. The participants discussed the new protocol and how to implement it at the community treatment sites.
A CTN Quality Assurance Subcommittee Meeting was held February 26-27, 2001, in Bethesda, MD. The members reviewed quality assurance plans for the current protocols and drafted guidelines for quality assurance monitoring for CTN protocols.
The CTN Data Management Subcommittee met in New Orleans, LA, on March 1-2, 2001. The meeting focused on data management issues with the current protocols and how to standardize the flow of data through the system. Members from thirteen of the fourteen nodes attended.
The CTN Data and Safety Monitoring Board met March 19, 2001, in Bethesda, Maryland. The members reviewed the protocol entitled Buprenorphine/Naloxone: Comparison of Three Taper Schedules for Opiate Detoxification, discussed recruitment and retention reports, and reviewed adverse events.
A CTN National Steering Committee Meeting was held April 2-4, 2001, in Bethesda, Maryland. The meeting focused on the status of the ongoing protocols, updates of the project teams, reports from the various subcommittees, approval of a conflict of interest policy, and creation of work groups to address CTP protocol participation and peer progress review. A representative from one of the National Cancer Institute's clinical trials network gave a presentation on how their network is organized and run.
The CTN Training Subcommittee held a two day meeting April 30-May 1, 2001, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The CTN Training Subcommittee held a training session on Good Research Practice (GRP) on May 2, 2001, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to train protocol on site personnel in GRP standards.
A two-day training meeting on the inpatient protocol for buprenorphine naloxone vs. clonidine for detoxification was held April 23-24, 2001, in Los Angeles, California.
The CTN co-sponsored a meeting with NIDA on women and gender research issues May 14-15, 2001, in Bethesda, Maryland.
NIDA's Special Populations Office convened the African American Researchers and Scholars and the Asian/Pacific Islander Work Groups on March 29-30, 2001 at the Neuroscience Center in Rockville, Maryland.
NIDA's Special Populations office held the first planning meeting of the September 24-26 national conference on minority research on February 21-22, 2001 in Rockville, Maryland. Members of the planning group include NIDA staff and members of NIDA's four racial/ethnic work groups and other constituent groups.
NIDA's Women and Gender Research Group sponsored a seminar by Dr. Wendee Wechsberg entitled Gender Differences, Women Drug Abusers, and HIV Risk: Lessons Learned and Future Prospects, February 5, 2001. The seminar was organized by Dr. Dionne Jones, CAMCODA.
On February 16, 2001 the Prevention Research Branch hosted a presentation by Dr. David Hawkins, Richard Catalano and Michael Arthur from the Social Development Group at the University of Washington. The title of the presentation was: Prevention Science in Communities: From Research to Practice.
Mr. Richard A. Millstein, Deputy Director, NIDA, participated in the Expert Panel Group to the University of Illinois at Chicago on its Impact Teen State Drug Abuse Project, February 15, 2000, Arlington, VA.
Mr. Millstein presented at the New York State Association of Drug Treatment Court Professionals on "Addiction and Treatment: What Does the Science Say?", March 8, 2001, Saratoga Springs, NY.
Mr. Millstein spoke with the Asian-American/Pacific Islander Work Group on NIDA initiatives, March 29, 2001, Rockville, MD.
Mr. Millstein spoke with the African-American Researchers and Scholars Work Group on NIDA initiatives, March 29, 2001, Rockville, MD.
Mr. Millstein was a presenter at the opening session of the Lonnie B. Mitchell Historically Black Colleges and Universities Substance Abuse Conference, April 4, 2001, Baltimore, MD.
Mr. Millstein was the keynote speaker at the Hispanic/Latino Family in the New Millennium Conference: Strategies to Prevent and Treat Substance Abuse Among Hispanic/Latino Children and Adolescents on May 10, 2001 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He spoke on "Science-Based Views of Drug Abuse and Addiction: Where We Are and Where We're Going".
Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Associate Director, NIDA, presented an "Update on NIDA's Research/Practice Blending Activities" at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ on February 5, 2001.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "The NIDA National Clinical Trials Network" at the AACAP K12 Annual Retreat at Seabrook Island, SC on March 9, 2001. He was joined by two CTN investigators, Drs. Kathleen Brady and Paula Riggs who provided perspectives from different CTN nodes.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "National Institute on Drug Abuse: Treatment Principles and the National Clinical Trials Network" at the Join Together - Demand Treatment! Partners Institute at Jupiter Beach, FL on March 13, 2001.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon gave two presentations, "Advances in Drug Addiction Research: Implications for Research and Practice" and "Science Advances in the Emerging Drug Problem: What We Have Learned", and led a discussion during a half day symposium entitled "The Brain and Addiction: Scientific Advances" in Honolulu, HI on April 16, 2001.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Nicotine and the Brain" and co-moderated a workshop on "New Dimensions in Tobacco Cessation" at the Seeing Through the Smoke: 2001 Tobacco Control Conference in Honolulu, HI on April 17, 2001.
Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented an "Update on Club Drugs" at the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse in Washington, DC on April 23, 2001.
Dr. Jack Stein, Deputy Director, OSPC, conducted a workshop, "Update on Drug Addiction Research" at the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance 2001: Leading the Challenge, in State College, PA on April 6, 2001.
Dr. Jack Stein conducted a workshop, "Drugs and the Brain" at the Maryland D.A.R.E. 2001 In-Service Training, in Ocean City, MD on April 11, 2001.
Dr. Jack Stein presented a luncheon keynote, "Putting Drug Addiction Research to Use" at the 35th Annual Spring Conference of the Wisconsin Association on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse in Madison, WI on May 15, 2001.
Beverly Jackson, Chief, Public Information and Liaison Branch, OSPC, led a workshop, "Maximizing News Coverage from Scientific Findings" at the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Institutional Advancement National Professional Development Conference in Savannah, GA on March 9, 2001.
Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DTR&D, presented "Rationales for Immunologic and Metabolic Approaches to Smoking Cessation" at the SNRT meeting held in Seattle, WA, March 23, 2001.
At the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) meeting on April 22, 2001, Dr. Vocci presented "Why Buprenorphine, Why Now, and the Political and Regulatory Environments" at an ASAM training symposium on buprenorphine.
Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DTR&D, presented "Approaches and Promises in the Development of Pharmacotherapies for Cocaine Dependence" at Psychiatry Grand Rounds, University of Texas at San Antonio, April 24, 2001.
Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DTR&D, gave a lecture entitled "Perspective in Drug Abuse Research" at the Georgetown University Medical School, April 30, 2001.
Dr. Joseph Frascella, DTR&D, gave a talk entitled "The Mechanisms of Addiction" in the workshop "The Dynamics of Addiction" at the Lonnie E. Mitchell National HBCU Substance Abuse Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, April 4-6, 2001.
Dr. Joseph Frascella participated in the Eighth Annual Undergraduate and Graduate Science Research Symposium at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, April 19, 2001.
Dr. Betty Tai, DTR&D, gave a presentation on the CTN at the annual American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Meeting on April 19-22, 2001, in Los Angeles, California.
Robert Walsh, DTR&D, presented an update on the status of the NIDA/VACSP #1018 Buprenorphine Best Practices Trial at the National Association of State Controlled Substance Authorities (NASCSA)/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA sponsored meeting held on March 19, 2001. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss and address Federal and State issues of concern that relate to the new Federal legislation (the Drug Abuse Treatment Act, "DATA") and new narcotic medications.
Robert Walsh, DTR&D participated in the Social Sciences Forum entitled "Integrating Primary Care and Substance Abuse Treatment: Lessons from Scotland" held at the University of Maryland, BaltimoreCounty on April 4, 2001.
On February 22-25, 2001, Dr. Dorynne Czechowicz, Behavioral Treatment Development Branch, DTR&D, represented NIDA on the Workshop Planning Committee of the American Methadone Treatment Association, which met in St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Jane B. Acri, DTR&D, participated in a Drug Awareness Mock Courtroom Trial and presented the long-term effects of drug abuse for the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and the Beta Rho Chapter at American University on February 11, 2001.
Dr. Jane B. Acri provided a guest lecture in the Psychopharmacology course at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology entitled "Cocaine Abuse and Medication Development," on April 9, 2001.
Dr. Teresa Levitin, Director, OEA, served as the NIDA representative to the NIH Working Group on the R21 Mechanism, a group examining NIH mechanisms for stimulating and reviewing exploratory and developmental grant applications.
Dr. Kay Nimit, Clinical, Epidemiolgical and Applied Sciences Review Branch, OEA, organized a scientific presentation, "Monitoring Drug Use with Alternative Matrices," by Dr. Marilyn Huestis of the Division of Intramural Research, in conjunction with the NIDA-E (Treatment Research) meeting in February 2001.
Dr. William C. Grace, Deputy Director, OEA, served as a reviewer for HIV proposals for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Prevention Science Review Committee in March 2001.
Dr. Levitin co-chaired the committee to organize the NIDA program at the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD) April 19-22, 2001 in Minneapolis, MN. She also presented information at the discussion hour on child and adolescent research support at NIDA. At SRCD, Dr. Levitin co-chaired a symposium, "Building Bridges between Child Development and Substance Abuse Research: Challenges and Opportunities" and participated in other activities at SRCD to highlight NIDA's interest in child research.
Dr. Mark Swieter, Basic Sciences Review Branch, OEA, served as a judge for the Fairfax High School Science Fair on February 6, 2001.
Dr. Marina Volkov, Clinical, Epidemiological, and Applied Sciences Review Branch, OEA, co-organized with Dr. Minda Lynch, Division of Neurobiology and Basic Research, a seminar at Macalester College for faculty members of non-research intensive colleges and universities in Minnesota. The seminar, which took place on April 18, 2001, covered NIDA programmatic interests and the NIH grant application process.
Dr. Swieter participated in the African American Researchers and Scholars Group (AARSG) meeting held at NIDA March 29-30, 2001 and answered questions about the review process.
Dr. Lula Beatty, Chief, Special Populations Office, attended the governance meetings of the American Psychological Association in Crystal City, Virginia on March 22-25, 2001. She was selected Vice-Chair of the Committee on Women in Psychology for 2002.
Dr. Lula Beatty presented an overview of NIDA to participants in NIH's Extramural Research Associates Program on January 30, 2001.
Dr. Lula Beatty presented a seminar on March 27, 2001 at Howard University entitled Drug Abuse in African American Women.
Dr. Lula Beatty attended the Lonnie Mitchell HBCU Substance Abuse Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on April 4-6, 2001. She co-chaired the student program which consisted of six sessions including a student poster session which featured work accomplished by students working with NIDA's intramural scientists, a session featuring minority supplement recipients, and a presentation by NIDA staff members, Drs. Joseph Frascella and Eric Moolchan.
Ana Anders, Senior Advisor on Special Populations, met with the newly formed National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse (NHSN) Steering Committee at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida on January 17-19, 2001.
Ana Anders chaired the Latino Behavioral Health Institute annual conference planning committee meeting held on February 16, 2001.
Ana Anders chaired a meeting of NIDA's internal Asian American and Pacific Islander Workgroup on February 1, 2001 in Rockville, Maryland.
Ana Anders, as a member of the HHS/Hispanic Employee Organization, planned for a HHS-wide meeting that was held on March 23, 200l in Bethesda, Maryland.
Ana Anders attended and participated in the National Hispanic Medical Association Annual Conference on March 23, 2001.
Dr. David Shurtleff, Deputy Director, DNBR, represented and described NIDA's mission and funding opportunities at an Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) sponsored symposium on funding opportunities from Federal agencies at the Annual EPA meeting held on April 20-22, 2001 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DNBR and NIDA's Women and Gender Research Coordinator, gave an invited talk, "How Does Gender Matter in CTN Research?" at the CTN Steering Committee meeting, January 8-10, 2001, Clearwater, FL.
Dr. Minda Lynch, BCSRB, DNBR, participated in a Spring Research Festival at the State University of New York at Buffalo in May 2001. Her presentation was entitled "Career Funding Mechanisms at NIH".
Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DNBR and NIDA's Women and Gender Research Coordinator, along with Dr. Debbie Henken, NICHD, made a luncheon presentation at the American University in Washington, DC on NIH funding opportunities, March 19, 2001. The event was sponsored by the American University Office of Sponsored Research.
Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, chaired the session, "Sex Hormones and Neurotransmitter Functioning" at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco meeting, March 23-25, 2001, Seattle, WA. The session was co-organized by Drs. Sharon Allen (University of Minnesota), Dorothy Hatsukami (University of Minnesota), and Dr. Wetherington. The speakers were Drs. Allen, Hatsukami, Neal Benowitz (University of California San Francisco), Imad Damaj (Medical College of Virginia), Rosemarie Booze (University of Kentucky), Eric Donny (Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center), and C. Oncken (University of Connecticut Health Center).
Dr. Peter Hartsock, CAMCODA, represented the Department at the annual Seniors Meeting of the federal Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), National Science Foundation, April 10, 2001. IARPC coordinates all federal research related to the Arctic and is chaired by the Director of the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, PRB, DESPR, was a delegate to the Enhancing Prevention in America's Communities think tank meeting at the Palo Alto Center, Stanford University, on April 5 and 6, 2001. This is a jointly funded project by NIDA, RWJF and other organizations to develop a consensus statement of prevention actions to improve living conditions for youth in the U.S.
Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, PRB, DESPR, presented on the topic of "Prevention Science: Moving into the Future" at Grand Rounds, Washington University, St. Louis on April 24 and 25, 2001.
On May 14 and 15, 2001, Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, PRB, DESPR, was guest lecturer at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, on the topic of "Prevention Science: Taking a Life Course Perspective."
Drs. James Colliver, Elizabeth Robertson, Jacques Normand, and Nick Kozel of DESPR and Dr. Cindy Miner of OSPC met with Matt Magio, Philip Ponzurick, and John Nolan of the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), Department of Justice, to discuss use of NIDA-generated information in NDIC reports, NIDA's need for information from NDIC, and procedures for cooperating with NDIC in generation and review of their documents.
Dr. James Colliver, DESPR, is NIDA's representative to the Department of Health and Human Services Data Council Youth Substance Use Workgroup, which meets monthly. This workgroup is examining ways of improving the coordination between the Department's three main surveys that collect data on drug and alcohol use among youth -- Monitoring the Future, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Dr. Jacques Normand, DESPR, presented at a NICHD Workshop on Bias in Intervention Research, Bethesda, MD, February 21, 2001.
Dr. Jerry Flanzer, DESPR, presented a grantmanship workshop along with Dr. Peter Delany, Acting Deputy Director, DESPR, at the Annual Meeting of the Society on Social Work Research, Atlanta, January 19-21, 2001.
Dr. Flanzer met with the executive council of the National Association of Social Workers, to discuss future involvement in drug abuse research activities, March 23, 2001.
Dr. Thomas Hilton, DESPR, represented NIDA at the Center for Therapeutic Research Scientific Advisory Board meeting at the National Drug Abuse Research Institute in New York, February 12, 2001.
Dr. Jean Lud Cadet, IRP, presented "Research Opportunities for Physicians" at Hunter College in New York, January 16-17, 2001.
Dr. Jonathan Katz, IRP, chaired a Symposium in Honor of W. H. Morse at the Forty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Behavioral Pharmacology Society, Orlando, Florida, May 2001.
Dr. Jonathan Katz presented a paper entitled "Behavioral Studies of Heterogeneity of Actions of Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors". The paper was an invited presentation at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, April 2001.
Dr. Amy Newman, IRP, presented an invited lecture entitled "Novel Probes for the Dopamine Transporter" to the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, November 2000.
Dr. Amy Newman presented a paper entitled "Tropane-based Irreversible Ligands for the Dopamine Transporter". This was an invited presentation for the Symposium on Synthesis and SAR Studies of New Targets for the Dopamine Transporter at the Joint 52nd Southeast/56th Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, New Orleans, LA, December 2000.
Dr. Amy Newman presented an invited lecture entitled "Novel Probes for the Dopamine Transporter" to the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD, February 2001.
Dr. Stephen Heishman, IRP, presented an invited lecture entitled "Tobacco, Nicotine, and Human Cognition" at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Catonsville, MD, December 2000.
Dr. Stephen Heishman presented an invited lecture entitled "Pharmacology of Cannabis and Detection of Marijuana Intoxication" at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Seattle, WA, February 2001.
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