This is a competing continuation application submitted by the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) for R13 support of the ICRS Symposium on the Cannabinoids, an annual international conference. The ICRS is a not-for-profit professional scientific society incorporated in the United States in 1992. The annual ICRS Symposium attracts a wide range of cannabinoid researchers with expertise ranging from molecular approaches in ligand design to human studies on the psychological effects of cannabis use. The symposium format has been designed to promote open communications and to foster collaborations between cannabinoid researchers. The 3 day conference provides the opportunity for all researchers (predoctoral, postdoctoral, young investigators, as well as, established investigators) to communicate recent important findings in a short talk or poster format. At the time of submission, the next ICRS meeting will take place at the Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, CA (July 11-14). This meeting will be held in conjunction with the International Narcotics Research Conference (1NRC) and as a satellite of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR) meeting. The long term goal of this R13 project is to expand the pipeline of cannabinoid scientists by improving the retention of young scientists trained in the cannabinoid field. To this end, we propose here three Specific Aims. 1) The ICRS will sponsor a Student Travel Grant program that will be used to increase the participation of young cannabinoid researchers (predoctoral, postdoctoral and young investigators) who wish to present their findings at the ICRS Symposia on the Cannabinoids. Special emphasis will be placed on support for young scientists from US racial and ethnic minorities. 2) The ICRS will sponsor a special symposium session for young scientists at each annual ICRS Symposium. This session will offer information on NIDA fellowship and mentored scientist grant programs, as well as programs for newly independent investigators. Panel presentations on fellowship/grant writing skills and scientific careers may also be part of this special session. 3) The ICRS will recognize outstanding predoctoral and postdoctoral student presentations. Awards will be made at the last session of the ICRS Symposium each summer. As an extra recognition, student awardees will be profiled in the Fall ICRS newsletter.
