Substance Abuse Treatment Development and Clinical Research Mentoring

描述（由申请人提供）：在以患者为导向的研究中，这个K24中期职业研究者奖的总体目标是让Frances Levin博士继续扩大她的临床研究和指导的项目线。三个目标驱动申请人的工作：1）开发药物治疗，考虑物质滥用者的异质性2）为初级临床研究人员提供指导，3）为该领域提供服务。主要活动和成就包括促进对药物滥用者中成人注意力缺陷多动症的认识和治疗，为可卡因和大麻依赖者制定新的综合药物治疗战略，并寻求有希望的药物与大麻依赖的动机和行为治疗相结合。在获奖期间，Levin博士将担任3项RO 1的PI（其中两项是多中心对照试验）和一项针对医生培训的T32的PI。此外，她将继续担任一个主要的R 01等效项目的PI，该项目调查大麻依赖的联合药物疗法，并担任长期药物开发中心的教育核心主任。此外，她将担任其他几个RO 1的Co-PI或Co-I，与初级和中级职业同事一起扩展她的兴趣领域。 此应用程序的职业发展计划将通过访问这些领域的专家的专业知识，将莱文博士的知识扩展到分子遗传学和神经认知领域。指导计划包括不同发展水平的学员：（1）博士前学员;（2）博士后学员（精神病住院医师或药物滥用研究员）;（3）初级教员。一个总体的职业目标是培训和指导临床研究人员，并通过与其他研究人员的协同合作，通常与莱文博士指导过或目前正在指导的个人，推进药物滥用领域的知识。 研究和指导计划具有重大的公共卫生意义。药物滥用往往伴随着额外的精神病合并症和有效的治疗共病个体仍然难以捉摸。此外，尽管大麻依赖的发病率很高，但对大麻依赖药物疗法的评价研究很少。公众非常关注的是缺乏对临床药物滥用研究事业感兴趣的训练有素的医生调查人员。通过莱文博士的活动，希望通过她的研究和与同事的合作，以及通过她对下一代临床研究人员的培训，改善对药物滥用者的治疗。 公共卫生相关性：这项以患者为导向的K24提案的目标是更多地了解药物使用障碍的新型治疗方案，以及可能使某些人群面临药物滥用风险并阻碍治疗效果的可能弱点。这些目标解决了一个关键的公共卫生需求，并将通过申请人的以患者为导向的研究和她的实习生，初级教师和其他学员的导师，使他们获得必要的研究技能，追求独立的临床研究生涯的方案线实现。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall aim of this K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research is to allow Dr. Frances Levin to continue to expand her programmatic line of clinical research and mentoring. Three objectives drive the applicant's work: 1) develops pharmacotherapies that consider the heterogeneity of substance abusers 2) provides mentorship to junior clinical investigators, and 3) contribute service to the field. Primary activities and accomplishments include promoting the recognition and treatment of adult attention- deficit hyperactivity in substance abusers, developing novel combined medication treatment strategies for cocaine and cannabis-dependent individuals, and pursuing promising medications combined with motivational and behavioral treatments for cannabis dependence. During the course of the award Dr. Levin will be PI of 3 RO1s (two are multi-site controlled trials) and PI of a T32 that targets the training of physicians. Additionally, she will continue to serve as the PI of a major R01-equivalent project investigating a combined pharmacotherapy for cannabis dependence and serve as the Director of the Education Core of a long-standing Medications Development Center. Further, she will serve as a Co-PI or Co-I on several other RO1s with both junior and mid-career colleagues that extend her areas of interest. The career development plan for this application will expand Dr. Levin's knowledge into the areas of molecular genetics and neurocognition through accessing the expertise of specialists in these areas. The mentoring plan incorporates trainees at various levels of development: 1) pre-doctoral trainees; 2) post- doctoral trainees (psychiatric residents or substance abuse research fellows); and 3) junior faculty. An overarching career goal has been to train and mentor clinical investigators and advance knowledge in the substance abuse field through synergistic collaborations with other investigators, often with individuals that Dr. Levin has mentored or is currently mentoring. The research and mentoring plan has major public health significance. Substance abuse is often accompanied with additional psychiatric comorbidity and effective treatments for comorbid individuals remain elusive. Moreover, there has been minimal research evaluating pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence, despite its substantial morbidity. Of great public concern is a dearth of adequately trained physician- investigators interested in clinical substance abuse research careers. Through Dr. Levin's activities it is hoped that the treatment of substance abusers will improve, both through her research and collaborations with colleagues, and through her training of the next generation of clinical investigators. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The objectives of this patient-oriented K24 proposal is to gain greater knowledge of novel treatment options for substance use disorders as well as possible vulnerabilities that might place certain populations at risk for substance abuse and impede treatment efficacy. These goals address a critical public health need and will be attained through the applicant's programmatic line of patient-oriented research and her mentorship of trainees, junior faculty, and other mentees such that they obtain the necessary research skills to pursue independent clinical research careers.