America has a shortage of physicians trained in Addiction Medicine and Addiction Medicine research. The American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) Foundation is addressing this deficiency by fostering the development of formal Addiction Medicine training programs. The ABAM Foundation approved the first 10 Addiction Medicine Residency Programs in the spring of 2011, and this number is expected to increase to a total of 25 over the next 5 years. Given that Addiction Medicine residencies are in their beginning stages, the timing is critical to ensure that they evolve with a strong research component so that drug abuse research can be more effectively translated into treatment of patients with drug and alcohol use disorders. The long term goal of this proposal is to train and mentor Addiction Medicine residents and Addiction Medicine residency programs in order to develop a cadre of physician investigators and residency programs with clinical research training expertise in Addiction Medicine. This application seeks to build upon the Program Directors' previous successes in research mentoring and proposes to create the Research in Addiction Medicine Scholars (RAMS) Program, which will develop skills in addiction medicine research among physicians from ABAM Foundation - accredited residency programs across the United States. The Research in Addiction Medicine Scholars (RAMS) Program will pursue the following Specific Aims: 1) To select Addiction Medicine residents and provide clinical research training by recruiting 5 residents per year who will pursue research as part of 2-year ABAM Foundation -accredited residencies. 2) To augment institutional mentoring of Addiction Medicine residents in the conduct of an Addiction Medicine research project by nationally recognized researchers (RAMS National Advisory Committee [NAC]) over a 2-year period. 3) To facilitate the development of a robust research training infrastructure as part of Addiction Medicine residency by providing training to RAM Scholars' institutional mentors. 4) To build a network of physicians trained in Addiction Medicine research by establishing a RAMS alumni network and providing guidance on research career development grant award applications (e.g., NIDA K awards). The Research in Addiction Medicine Scholars (RAMS) Program will make important contributions to the development of the next generation of Addiction Medicine physician researchers in order to provide better care for patients with and at risk for addictive diseases.
The Research in Addiction Medicine Scholars (RAMS) Program is significant because it will expand the nation's research capacity among trainees in the new medical specialty of Addiction Medicine. This will ultimately improve patient care and reduce the medical, social, and financial burden of drug abuse and addiction.
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