The NIAAA Doctoral Training Program at the Heller School at Brandeis University prepares students to become alcohol-related health services research scholars for teaching and research careers in universities, government agencies, research organizations and major service delivery systems. It has been an integral component of the Ph.D. in Social Policy program at the Heller School since the training grant's beginning in 1994. This program in alcohol-related health services research specifically focuses on how organization, management, financing and payment make a difference in the effective delivery of prevention and treatment services for alcohol problems. In this competitive renewal, the successful leadership and program structure and content of the current NIAAA multi-disciplinary training program is maintained, and nine predoctoral training slots for the next five-year cycle are requested. Three new students enter the program each year and are typically supported for three years. The Heller NIAAA training program has a number of educational goals that function at the intersection of three domains: theory, applied research, and policy. A rigorous multi-disciplinary education, intensive discipline-based mentoring, and hands-on research experience combine to provide the Heller NIAAA doctoral trainees with the skills and knowledge needed to be successful and effective alcohol-related health services researchers. The doctoral program at the Heller School constitutes the foundation of the educational program of the alcohol-related services research training program. The NIAAA training program adds the specialization in services research and policy analysis in the field of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. The NIAAA training program in alcohol-related services research is sequenced to provide students with broad substantive knowledge regarding the evolution of and current issues in major policy areas relevant to alcohol use disorders, advanced training in the principles of research design and statistical reasoning, experience in the conduct of applied research, and directed study through the dissertation on a topic in the area of alcohol- related prevention and treatment services. Collaborations with local universities, including Boston University, Brown University, and Harvard Medical School complement Heller's strengths in social science research with more clinically-oriented approaches to studying alcohol problems. Heller and the NIAAA training program seek students who have real-world experience, including clinical, organizational, public health, and governmental careers, who bring a depth and breadth of knowledge to the Heller School experience and to social policy analysis and research, and are able to link their research foundation with real-world service delivery. The progress and commitment of the current and former trainees of the Heller NIAAA Doctoral Training Program provide evidence for the success of this approach to doctoral training.
Alcohol-related services research can lead to improved systems for prevention and treatment services, enhancing quality, and reducing the adverse consequences of alcohol use disorders. Training the next generation of alcohol services researchers continues to be crucial because of the continued magnitude of alcohol problems in the US, and the complexity of the alcohol prevention and treatment systems, and the rapid changes in the overall healthcare environment.
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