Clinical Trials Network Mid-Atlantic Collaborative Group

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Mid Atlantic Node was among the first participants in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. It's Regional Research and Training Center (RRTC) is comprised of distinguished faculty from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University and Friends Research Institute as well as directors of affiliated community treatment programs (CTP's). This partnership between researchers and clinical service providers has been functioning effectively over the past 10 years and has allowed the Node to make substantial contributions to the CTN including leadership of two studies, and participation in 7 additional studies with 601 subjects enrolled during the last 5-year funding period. Importantly, the Node has an outstanding record of publication productivity with 24 publications reporting on CTN main study findings, ancillary studies and secondary analyses and supports the Chair of the CTN Publications Committee. In the upcoming grant period, the Node will maintain collaboration with VCU while expanding its affiliation with Friends Research Institute. This will bring additional faculty expertise and infrastructure support into the Node including expertise in medications development (e.g. Frank Vocci) and criminal justice research (Timothy Kinlock). We have formed broader affiliations at VCU with the Women's Health Institute (Susan Kornstein), the Institute for Drug Addiction Science (Robert Balster) and the Institute for Genetics Research (Kenneth Kendler). At Johns Hopkins, we have expanded faculty affiliates to bring in additional expertise in clinical trials, contingency management, cognitive testing, and marijuana research. We have established affiliations with the Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine, with the School of Dentistry at University of Maryland and with the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical Translational Research (ICTR). Finally, we have added CTP's, including the Whitman Walker Clinic in Washington DC, that incorporate primary care, HIV care and co-occurring mental health disorders in their scope of service and a new clinic (Richmond Behavioral Health) with extensive experience in community participatory research. All these new affiliations will help the Node to meet short- and long-term expansion in the mission of CTN and to participate in a wide variety of studies that are likely to be developed. Finally, the Node will continue its strong dissemination activities that provide significant benefit to affiliated CTP's while promoting adoption of evidence-based practices. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Mid Atlantic Node is part of a national multi-site clinical trials network supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Mission of the network is to conduct research at community treatment programs that will identify effective therapies for treatment of drug users. Subsequent adoption of new effective treatments by community programs will improve the quality of drug abuse treatment nationwide.