During the first cycle, this T32 Program has functioned under the auspices of the Center for Drug Discovery (CDD) initially at the University of Connecticut (UConn) and more recently at Northeastern University (NU). All slots have been filled, and by summer of 2006 seven students will have received Ph.D. degrees. Of the postdoctoral fellows who have participated in the program, four have progressed to careers involving drug abuse research. In this proposed renewal we will continue to produce scientists trained in the multidisciplinary effort required to develop medications for drug abuse. This request for renewal of the Program at the same level of activity as our current grant includes 5 postdoctoral positions and 6 predoctoral student trainee slots, which will spend 2-3y and 4-5y, respectively, in the Program. Our primary objective is to familiarize trainees with the chemical, physiological, pharmacological, and clinical aspects of drug discovery and development in the field of drugs of abuse. Currently drug discovery is experiencing a major transformation initiated by the introduction of powerful new technologies. This training program is committed to cover this new terrain by providing trainees with novel coursework and the opportunity to train in leading academic laboratories. Their training is broadened by the participation of premier scientists and laboratories from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. We have sought to include in our training faculty scientists with a strong record of accomplishment representing some of the novel technologies that have become an integral part of drug discovery. These include high throughput chemistry and screening, the use of mass spectrometry to study genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, NMR and x-ray crystallography to extend the study of target-based discovery as well as in vivo imaging. Predoctoral students will register at NU with affiliation to the CDD and will earn a Ph.D. in either Pharmaceutical Sciences or in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Post-doctoral fellows training in areas including medicinal chemistry, structural and molecular biology, biochemical pharmacology, behavioral science, separations technologies (LC-MS), and in vivo imaging may chose mentored academic projects at any of the program sites. Relevance: Societal and medical problems involving substance abuse continue to plague the United States. Few medications are yet available to help health care professionals treat dependent and addicted individuals, and this area is badly underrepresented within the pharmaceutical industry. By training junior scientists, this Program seeks to address this deficiency.
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