The Cincinnati Addiction Research Center (CinARC) proposes to form the Ohio Valley Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and to function as its Regional Research and Training Center (RRTC). The Ohio Valley Node would initially encompass the University of Cincinnati-based RRTC and six community-based treatment programs (CTPs) in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. It would thus contribute a mid-western and Appalachian presence to the CTN, enhancing the network's geographical and cultural diversity. The goal of this proposal is to facilitate the CTN's evaluation and implementation of effective substance abuse treatments in community settings by operating a highly efficient and effective node that includes diverse treatment programs and patient populations. The Ohio Valley Node RRTC is primarily composed of the research team that has successfully conducted clinical trials for the Cincinnati NIDA Medication Development Research Unit (MDRU) since 1995. The RRTC team thus has extensive experience in conducting both single- and multi-site substance abuse trials in cooperation with NIDA and other NIDA-funded centers and has been recognized by NIDA for excellence in conducting clinical trials. The initial six CTPs of the Ohio Valley Node bring a rich variety of substance abuse services, treatment modalities, and patient populations to the CTN. Together, they treat almost 18,000 substance abuse patients per year from a population pool of 6.8 million persons. The CTPs have been highly involved in the development of this proposal and are committed to the goals of the CTN. The success of a CTN node is largely contingent upon establishing collaborative relationships among its RRTC and CTPs. The organizational and management plan of the Ohio Valley Node has been designed to enable the RRTC to provide the infrastructure, scientific leadership, and support functions necessary for successful operation while ensuring that the RRTC and CTPs are able to work collaboratively at a variety of levels. Parallel functional areas have been built into the RRTC, CTP, and node structures to facilitate communication between CTP and RRTC staff, to encourage the flow of experience-based insights from the CTPs to the RRTC, and to foster the transfer of technology from the RRTC to the CTPs.
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