Research Training Program in Substance Abuse Prevention

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This renewal application requests support for the T32 Postdoctoral Training Program in Substance Abuse Prevention Research at Yale University. The host site for the program is the Division of Prevention and Community Research and The Consultation Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, which is joined by partner sites: the Division of Substance Abuse in the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and the Department of Psychology. Yale faculty from four other departments and centers are also affiliated with the training program. This application builds on a highly successful recruitment, training, and career development program in substance abuse prevention research for postdoctoral fellows initially funded by NIDA in 2005. With continuing demand for rigorous interdisciplinary, community-based substance abuse prevention research, renewal funding is requested to sustain the training program's current focus on developing future prevention scientists for careers as independent investigators. The program is fully consistent with NIDA research objectives identified in its most recent strategic plan and with related cross-cutting priorities. The current program trains postdoctoral fellows: 1) to understand substance use/abuse and related behaviors within an ecological framework that emphasizes relevant developmental, neurobiological, environmental, and cultural contexts, such as families, schools, worksites, neighborhoods, and communities; 2) to recognize that prevention science involves a process of knowledge development and application that progresses through specific phases (pre- intervention, intervention, and diffusion or going-to-scale); 3) to apply rigorous research methodologies that utilize advanced data analytic strategies and, when appropriate, use of rigorous mixed methods designs; 4) to emphasize interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research; and 5) to translate research into real-world contexts that impact prevention practice and policy. These program emphases are reinforced through didactic seminars and individually-tailored training experiences across two years that include a close working relationship with two scientific advisors. Over the past four years, the program has trained or is currently in the process of training 13 postdoctoral fellows; six trainees have completed the program, and all six are currently engaged in a research career. Five in academic settings and one in an interdisciplinary research organization. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This program offers postdoctoral training in prevention research critical to public health: the prevention of adolescent substance use/abuse; intimate partner violence and substance abuse; substance abuse among populations with HIV; stress as a biological risk factor for addictive behaviors; prevention of substance abuse through workplace interventions; and parental substance abuse as a risk factor for child outcomes. Faculty from diverse settings and disciplines provide a unique environment for training future prevention scientists.