Pharmacologic MRI of Smoked Tobacco: Effects of Abstinence and Dependence

描述(申请人提供)：简介：本申请描述了一项在K01导师研究科学家发展机制下进行三年导师培训的建议。候选人在非人类灵长类药物滥用研究的背景下有一些行为药理学方面的经验，并建议过渡到与人类研究参与者合作。应聘者还具有PET神经成像的相关经验，并建议过渡到磁共振(MR)成像。要求支持一个相对较短的三年培训计划，该计划包括课程作业、会议和积极参与研究。作为人类行为药理学的导师，斯科特·E·卢卡斯博士以及磁共振神经成像的共同导师佩里·伦肖博士和布莱斯·弗雷德里克博士将密切参与候选人的培训和拟议研究的执行。拟议的培训计划将使这位申请者能够在相关领域建立坚实的基础，并以一种有助于她发展成为行为药理学和神经成像领域的独立研究人员的方式完善她的专业知识，并使她能够成功地回答与药物滥用和公共卫生有关的重要科学问题。机构和培训计划：麦克莱恩医院神经影像中心非常适合本申请中建议的培训类型。它位于行为精神药理学研究实验室的同一栋建筑内，地理位置便利。这促进了在涉及行为药理学部分和神经成像部分的项目上的合作。神经影像中心拥有高素质的教职员工，致力于职业发展，特别是年轻研究人员。拟议的培训计划是全面的，提供了教学和实践两个组成部分，将帮助这位候选人实现她的目标，成为行为药理学和磁共振神经成像领域的专家。这项题为“烟草吸烟的药理学核磁共振成像：戒烟和依赖的影响”的研究项目将回答有关烟草吸烟对BOLD信号的急性影响的几个重要和及时的问题，以及为候选人提供机会学习独立和富有成效的研究生涯所需的基本知识和研究技能。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Introduction: This application describes a proposal for three years of mentored training under the K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development mechanism. The candidate has some experience with behavioral pharmacology in the context of drug abuse research with nonhuman primates, and proposes to make a transition to working with human research participants. The candidate also has relevant experience with PET neuroimaging, and proposes to make a transition to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Support is requested for a relatively short three-year training program that consists of a combination of coursework, meetings, and active participation in research. A mentor in human behavioral pharmacology, Dr. Scott E. Lukas and co mentors in MR neuroimaging, Drs. Perry Renshaw and Blaise Frederick will be closely involved in the candidate's training and the execution of the research proposed. The proposed training program will enable this applicant to build on strong foundations in related areas and refine her expertise in a way that will facilitate her development into an independent researcher in behavioral pharmacology and neuroimaging, and enable her to successfully answer important scientific questions relating to drug abuse and public health. Institution and Training Program: The McLean Hospital Neuroimaging Center is very well suited for the type of training proposed in this application. It is conveniently located in the same building as the Behavioral Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory. This promotes collaboration on projects involving both a behavioral pharmacology component and a neuroimaging component. The Neuroimaging Center is staffed with highly qualified faculty and is committed to career development, especially for young investigators. The proposed training program is comprehensive and offers both didactic and practical components that will help this candidate achieve her goal of becoming expert in the fields of behavioral pharmacology and MR neuromaging. The research project, entitled Pharmacological MRI of tobacco smoking: Effects of abstinence and dependence, will answer several important and timely questions about the acute effects of tobacco smoking on BOLD signal, a correlate of brain activation, as well as provide opportunities for the candidate to learn the essential knowledge and research skills necessary for independence and a productive research career.