The purpose of this competing continuation is to continue our training program in the human behavioral pharmacology of drug dependence. Our decision to seek to continue this training program is driven by our training successes. For example, during the past ten years we have trained 14 pre-doctoral student of whom 12 (86%) remain involved in research or academics (teaching) and 23 postdoctoral students of whom 22 (96%) remain involved in research or academics. We are very proud to note that among our 23 postdoctoral trainees, 13 (57%) currently hold university faculty positions. Collectively, our trainees have authored over 500 publications. The value of continuing our training program in human behavioral pharmacology relates to the unique niche that it fills. Human behavioral pharmacology of drug dependence is concerned with factors that affect the development, maintenance, and cessation of drug abuse in humans. In our view, individuals trained in human behavioral pharmacology are at the crossroads of basic and clinical research and as such provide a crucial link between these two research domains. In this competing continuation, we propose to continue our training program that consists of 4 pre-doctoral psychology students, and 4 postdoctoral (M.D. or Ph.D.) fellows in the behavioral pharmacology of human drug dependence. The 6 core faculty consist of 5 Ph.D.s and 1 M.D. who have joint appointments in Psychiatry, Psychology and Family Practice. These core faculty have 14 NIDA and 1 drug company grants. Research opportunities range from laboratory studies of human drug self-administration to outpatient studies of behavioral and pharmacological treatments of cocaine, heroin, nicotine and marijuana dependence. Training is conducted at the Human Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory (HBPL), Substance Abuse Treatment Center (SATC), or Treatment Research Center (TRC). Trainees are selected on the basis of excellence in their scholastic record and by their commitment to a career in drug abuse research. Pre-doctoral psychology students are required to take psychology courses including those developed specifically for this training program, and complete masters and doctoral theses. Medical students are enrolled in a summer internship program that provides didactic training as well as 'hands on1 experience. Postdoctoral students have the opportunity to further enhance their education via course-work as well as conduct independent research. The training period will generally be 4 to 5 years for Ph.D. candidates and 2 to 3 years for postdoctoral fellows. Each trainee has a primary advisor from the core faculty. An annual off-campus retreat permits trainees to present their research and discuss research issues. Additionally, trainees attend colloquia in the Psychology and Psychiatry Departments. The proposed project will continue to train human behavioral pharmacologists to empirically examine behavioral and pharmacological factors contributing to drug use, the consequences of drug use, and how that basic understanding translates to novel treatments for drug dependence. Moreover, this training program will continue to train qualified individuals to be successful independent researchers in the human behavioral pharmacology of drug dependence.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 209 publications
