With this Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (KO5), the Candidate will provide mentorship to 3- 5 faculty interested in interdisciplinary alcohol research. Preference will be given to junior faculty or faculty with strong disciplinary training who are new to the alcohol area. The Candidate already has a sustained track record of successful mentorship and scientific leadership in the alcohol field. Mentorship will include guidance on grant writing and other skills, the development of their research program, professional development and how to effectively work within interdisciplinary teams. In order to sustain the Candidate's performance as a scientific leader, the Candidate will continue extensive collaborations in interdisciplinary research at Yale University and nationally. Continued scientific growth will benefit from activities related to research mentoring and participation in research review and advisory group participation. Additionally, the PI will continue her contributions to the alcoholism field through clinical research on psychotherapeutic interventions, pharmacotherapy development, and human bio-behavioral laboratory studies. The reciprocal influence of alcohol and tobacco use will be considered in this program of research. As an example, the research plan presents a R01 funded study of naltrexone and BASICS counseling to reduce heavy drinking by young adults ages 18-25. This study integrates information on naltrexone derived from basic research, human laboratory studies, survey studies, and clinical trials to optimize its use for young adults who receive brief counseling to motivate and teach skills for reducing their drinking. Demonstration of the efficacy of naltrexone in this population will provide the essential information for its adoption by college counseling centers and other health care settings committed to reducing the risk of heavy drinking in young adults. Ultimately, early intention during this critical period may have long term benefits by altering trajectories of drinking. Plans for future research include secondary analyses of existing clinical trials, using human laboratory paradigms to screen new medications for alcohol dependence and clinical trials of promising compounds.
An interdisciplinary approach to understanding and addressing hazardous alcohol use and alcohol dependence has the potential to substantially improve the effectiveness of prevention and treatment of alcohol dependence. This award will help train new investigators in interdisciplinary alcohol research.
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