Substance Abuse Treatment Development and Clinical Research Mentoring

描述（由申请人提供）：本次K24患者导向研究中期研究者奖的总体目标是允许Frances Levin博士继续扩大她的临床研究和指导计划线。申请人的工作有三个目标：1)开发考虑药物滥用者异质性的药物疗法；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的成人注意缺陷多动的认识和治疗，为可卡因和大麻依赖者开发新的联合药物治疗策略，以及寻求有希望的药物结合动机和行为治疗大麻依赖。在授奖期间，Levin博士将担任3个ro1项目（其中2个是多地点对照试验）的PI和一个T32项目（针对医生培训）的PI。此外，她将继续担任一个主要的r01等效项目的PI，该项目调查大麻依赖的联合药物治疗，并担任一个长期药物开发中心的教育核心主任。此外，她还将与初级和中期职业同事一起担任其他几个ro1的Co-PI或Co-I，扩展她感兴趣的领域。该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Levin博士的知识扩展到分子遗传学和神经认知领域。师徒计划包括不同发展水平的学员：1)博士预科学员；2)博士后培训生（精神科住院医师或药物滥用研究人员）；还有初级教员。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（通常是与莱文博士曾经指导或目前正在指导的个人）的协同合作，提高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。药物滥用通常伴随着额外的精神共病，对共病个体的有效治疗仍然难以捉摸。此外，对大麻依赖的药物治疗进行评估的研究很少，尽管其发病率很高。公众非常关注的是缺乏对临床药物滥用研究感兴趣的训练有素的医师-调查员。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，对药物滥用者的治疗将得到改善。

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.