The Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research Program (BST) grew from 4 fellows in Year 1 (9/84) to 16 in Years 11-15. This application requests authorization to maintain the current levels of appointments (7 postdoctoral and 9 predoctoral trainees) and activities during each of Years 16-20. The program is sponsored by three collaborating institutions, Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, Inc. (MHRA), the grant administrator, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI), the training site, and the School of Public Health (CSPH) at Columbia University, the university affiliate. Dr. Bruce D. Johnson directs a core faculty of 26 leading researchers from MHRA, NDRI, and CSPH, who provide highly structured and rigorous training at NDRI, one of the nation's largest centers for social science research on drug abuse, AIDS, and drug-related crime. The program has trained 94 postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows since 1984. The mission of the BST program is to prepare behavioral scientists, especially from minority backgrounds, for careers in drug abuse research and allied fields. This is accomplished by: (1) appointing promising scientists, half from minority backgrounds, for NIDA-approved traineeship; (2) providing fellows with advanced substantive and empirical training about drug abuse and HIV/AIDS; (3) mentoring and advising fellows; and (4) handling administrative matters and providing stipends. The program emphasizes advanced courses in drug abuse theory and research methods; HIV/AIDS; crime; criminology; and other drug- related topics; and proseminars about fellows' research, methodologies and professional practices and ethics. Trainees engage in direct participation in over 50 Federal grants/contracts supervised by Core faculty and in their own independent research. Core faculty mentor fellows, model professional careers, and facilitate job placement. The program's success is evident in the significant contributions of 78 graduates and 16 current fellows. Those who provided curriculum vitaes have collectively published 24 books, 200 journal articles, and 50 book chapters, and made over 350 conference presentations. BST trainees have also received support from 24 NIH grants, and 38 grants from non-NIH sources. Eight have become Principle Investigators of nine NIH-funded projects.
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