Mentoring of Clinical Investigators in Patient Oriented Research

描述（由申请人提供）：这是一项针对以患者为导向的研究 (POR) 领域的 K24 职业生涯中期研究者奖的竞争性续展申请。申请人是约翰·霍普金斯大学医学院精神病学系的医师兼研究员埃里克·C·斯特兰（Eric C. Strain）。 Strain 博士将其职业生涯奉献给了 POR，特别是与药物滥用研究和药物滥用患者治疗相关的问题。他的重点领域包括（除其他外）治疗阿片类药物和可卡因依赖的药物开发、药物测试与行为治疗干预相结合、精神症状和合并症在物质使用障碍中的作用、药物滥用倾向的测试以及药物滥用女性和男性的特殊治疗需求。在为 K24 提供资助的过去五年中，他还将时间和精力投入到招募和培养对与药物滥用障碍相关的 POR 感兴趣的研究员和初级教职人员上。他的工作环境非常优越；他在一个主要的学术研究机构（约翰霍普金斯大学）工作，他是一个富有成效的研究小组（行为药理学研究单位[BPRU]）的成员，并且 BPRU 有一个完善的博士后 T32 培训计划（由 George Bigelow 博士指导；候选人是该计划的教员，该 K24 的博士后学员已注册并受到 T32 计划的支持）。候选人的职业目标和目的与成瘾相关 POR 领域的下一代临床研究人员的发展有关；此外，候选人的个人目标与其自身持续的研究生产力相关（这将与他的指导活动同时进行，并促进指导过程）。他的近期目标和目标涉及 招募和培养年轻的临床研究人员，他们有潜力成为独立资助的致力于成瘾 POR 研究的研究人员。此外，他还有更直接的目标，涉及持续的独立资助和生产力（通过同行评审的论文和科学演示来衡量），以及对更广泛的成瘾科学领域的贡献（例如，通过编辑期刊，以及通过委员会工作，例如研究部分的主席）。他的长期目标涉及在霍普金斯大学培养成瘾领域的下一代临床医生学者，预计该项目将持续进行，并超出 K24 提供的五年资助。候选人得到了所在机构和部门领导的大力支持，并致力于指导过程的所有特点（包括他自己的培训以及对受训者进行负责任的研究行为的培训）。他在 NIH 资助的研究方面拥有良好且持续的记录，过去五年的 K24 资助表明，他已经能够成功招募即将毕业的住院医师和心理学家，并帮助他们开始临床研究职业生涯。该应用程序提供了两个研究项目的示例；第一个与候选人自己资助的工作有关，第二个与他的受训者之一的兴趣有关。总之，K24 机制是支持该候选人作为临床研究者和导师的研究和成长的理想手段，对 Strain 博士的持续资助将为致力于以患者为导向的成瘾研究的下一代临床研究者的发展提供连续性和持续增长。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a competing renewal application for a K24 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (POR). The applicant is Eric C. Strain, a physician-researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Strain has devoted his career to POR, and specifically to issues related to research on drug abuse and to treatment of substance abusing patients. His areas of focus have included (among others) the development of medications for the treatment of opioid and cocaine dependence, the testing of medications combined with behavioral treatment interventions, the role of psychiatric symptoms and comorbidity in substance use disorders, the testing of abuse liability of medications, and the special treatment needs of women and men with substance abuse. Over the past five years of funding for this K24, he has also shifted time and effort to the recruitment and development of fellows and junior faculty members who are interested in POR related to substance use disorders. He is in an excellent environment for such work; he is at a major academic research institution (Johns Hopkins), he is a member of a productive research group (the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit [BPRU]), and the BPRU has a well-established T32 training program for post-doctoral fellows (directed by Dr. George Bigelow; the candidate is a faculty member of that program, and post-doctoral mentees for this K24 have been enrolled in and supported by the T32 program). The candidate's career goals and objectives are related to the development of a next generation of clinician investigators in addictions-related POR; in addition, the candidate's personal goals are related to his own continued research productivity (which will occur concurrent with his mentoring activities, and facilitate the mentoring process). His immediate goals and objectives relate to the recruitment and development of young clinical investigators who show potential to develop as independently funded investigators committed to POR in addictions. In addition, he has more immediate goals related to continued independent funding and productivity as measured by peer-reviewed papers and scientific presentations, and related to contributions to the broader field of addictions science (e.g., through editing of a journal, and through committee work such as chair of a study section). His longer-term goals relate to the establishment of the next generation of clinician scholars working in the area of addictions at Hopkins, which is expected to be ongoing and to extend beyond the five years of funding that would be provided by this K24. The candidate has the strong backing of his institution and departmental leadership, and is committed to all features of the mentoring process (including his own training as well as the training of mentees in the responsible conduct of research). He has a strong and sustained track record of NIH-funded research, and the past five years of K24 funding show that he has been able to successfully recruit graduating physician residents as well as psychologists and help them begin their clinical research careers. This application provides examples of two research projects; one related to the candidate's own funded work, and the second related to one of his mentee's interests. In summary, the K24 mechanism has been an ideal means for supporting this candidate's research and growth as a clinician investigator and mentor, and continued funding for Dr. Strain will provide continuity and continued growth in the development of a next generation of clinician investigators devoted to patient oriented research in addictions.