Immersion in Drug Abuse

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A NIDA conducted national survey reported that 5.5% of 4 million women who gave birth in the United States in 1992 used illegal drugs while they were pregnant. In addition to the psychosocial ramifications, illicit drug use also has adverse effects on the development of the nervous system in the fetus and newborn and increases the possibilities of risk taking behavior in adolescence. Little is known about the biology of addiction to illicit drugs in the developing fetus and newborn and few investigators specialize in this important field. In response to the program announcement (PAR-04-054), Research Education Grants in Drug Abuse and Addiction, the overall goal of this proposal is to bring together the scientific and educational expertise in drug abuse research at Johns Hopkins and Morgan State University to create a novel educational/research training program with the mission of training researchers in the basic biology and psychosocial aspects of illicit drug use in the young woman entering reproductive age, the pregnant woman, and her fetus and newborn. Under the co-directorship of Estelle Gauda, M.D., a physician-scientist at Johns Hopkins, and Gabrielle McLemore, Ph.D., a educator-scientist at Morgan State University, we have created a partnership between investigators from the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, the Kennedy Krieger Family Center, the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, and Morgan State University to accomplish this goal through 2 educational programs. The Summer Immersion in Drug Abuse Research Program (SIDARP) is a 10 week educational-research/training experience which will target doctoral students, medical students, and physicians at an early stage of their professional careers. The Drug Abuse Research Training (DART) Program is a long-term (2-3 years) research experience designed to target pre and postdoctoral students and clinician-scientists to be the next generation of leaders in the field of drug addiction and abuse research and education. The training program will use a competency based learning strategy to maximize learning. Emphasis will be given to having educational and research opportunities that will include basic mechanisms mediating drug dependence and tolerance in the fetus and newborn, effects of opiate exposure on human fetal behavior and newborn brain development, alternative treatment and detoxification strategies for opiate addiction during pregnancy and in the newborn, and drug abuse intervention and prevention strategies in women of reproductive age.