Clinical Trials Network: Pacific Northwest Node

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a competing renewal application for the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Node, which joined the NIDA National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) in January, 2001. Our primary aim is to continue our active support of the CTN's mission, to "improve the quality of drug abuse treatment throughout the country using science as the vehicle" by conducting studies of behavioral, pharmacological, and integrated behavioral-pharmacological treatment interventions in rigorous, multi-site clinical trials to determine their effectiveness across a broad range of CTP settings and diversified patient populations and ensuring the transfer of research results to treatment providers. In order to effectively meet these objectives, the (PNW) Node proposes to: Maintain an effective, bidirectional partnership and working relationship among researchers, treatment providers, and policy makers; Maintain and expand a highly successful and well-established treatment research infrastructure within the Node; Expand the Node's geographical reach by incorporating a community-based treatment program (CTP) from Alaska, also broadening the ethnic diversity within the Node; Enhance the Node's capacity to conduct pharmacotherapy trials and respond more rapidly to emerging public health priorities by adding a larger, highly research-experienced CTP; Broaden and deepen the clinical research expertise of the Node by adding a number of affiliated investigators who bring a wealth of experience from prior intervention trials on topic areas directly relevant to the CTN. We have successfully contributed to the CTN's mission over the past 6 years and anticipate continuing to do so in the future. From a public health perspective, our continued success in conducting such research and dissemination as part of the CTN will facilitate empirically supported, evidence-based interventions being implemented in community-based treatment programs, with a resultant improvement in the quality and effectiveness of substance abuse treatment.