World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics with Emphasis on Genes for Drug Abuse

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Drug abuse is a serious disabling mental illness that has been shown to have a genetic component. This current proposal is for the provision of funds to facilitate the training of new young investigators who want to pursue research with a focus on the genetics of drug abuse. This will be done within the program of the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics (the WCPG) for the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 meetings. The WCPG is an annual international meeting that attracts both young and senior researchers actively pursuing the genetic mechanisms for serious mental illnesses. Four full-days, preceded by an educational day of courses to facilitate the learning of new investigators and a wider public audience about the latest findings and methods for research applicable to this field. The main meeting consists of plenary lectures from senior scientists with expertise in areas that are needed for this type of research and of sessions that consist of reports on new, never before presented data on a wide-range of genetic topics related to psychiatric illness. Thus scientists of multiple disciplines with an interest in psychiatric genetics come together to facilitate progress in the field with discussions about new data and formulation of plans for future collaborative studies. The meetings are held in Northern America and Europe in alternating years and less frequently in Asia. The Aims of this proposal will be to provide travel fellowships to young investigators and students working on aspects of the genetics of drug abuse, to provide a section of the educational day on this topic and to pay expenses for a plenary speaker on a relevant topic that will facilitate research in this field.