International Substance Abuse Research Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Individuals with substance abuse related disorders present with significant personal, legal, medical, occupational, and societal costs. These problems are particularly evident in Poland where recent social, cultural, and economic changes have resulted in significant increases in the number of people experiencing substance abuse and mental health problems. This proposal seeks to augment existing substance abuse research efforts in Poland in order to combat these escalating problems through the increasing implementation of evidence based treatment and prevention activity. To accomplish this goal, a multi-tiered research training program will be established through collaboration among researchers at the University of Michigan, Department of Psychiatry (Division of Substance Abuse); the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, Poland; and several other academic medical centers in Poland. The program will train a cadre of Polish scientists at the University of Michigan in research methodology, and develop mentored programs of research that address current issues in substance abuse prevention, treatment and evaluation. The program would facilitate this process by the provision of funds for research projects in Poland that parallel research done at Michigan, and conduct advanced workshops on methodology, design, and substance abuse research in Poland, making use of the train-the-trainer model where possible. The proposed program will build upon the NIAAA funded Multidisciplinary Alcoholism Research Training Program at the University of Michigan (PI: Robert A. Zucker, Ph.D.) that is currently in its eleventh year of operation, as well as the Division?s extensive NIDA, NIAAA, and foundation supported portfolio of over 20 research projects. Over the long term, the Polish research infrastructure for addressing substance abuse related problems will be improved by the provision of an essential core of clinically trained scientists capable of conducting independent research projects and utilizing and evaluating innovative treatment methodologies. Continued access to the latest information and methodology, will be provided through established collaborations, including involvement in NIDA?s Clinical Trial Network, and acquired expertise and experience in research training that should continue the diffusion of clinical, prevention, and evaluation research practices to other sites in Poland, the CEEC, and the Newly Independent States.