Training in Drug Abuse Related Research

描述(由申请人提供)：本申请旨在续签由Louis Hersh指导、Linda Dwoskin和Sharon Walsh共同指导的培训计划。我们请求继续支持4名博士后和2名博士后实习生，利用肯塔基大学内3所学院和5个不同系的15名培训教师。所有的培训人员都是通过NIDA资助的，或者与NIDA资助的培训人员合作，他们的研究主要集中在药物滥用的分子方面。肯塔基大学在参与药物滥用研究方面有很长的历史，包括药物和酒精研究中心以及药物和酒精研究和翻译中心。这一培训计划的目标仍然是为有前途的研究生和博士后研究员在药物滥用研究领域的职业生涯做准备。该计划在药物滥用研究的现代方面提供广泛的培训，特别强调研究参与药物反应的受体的细胞和分子方面，以及与这些受体相互作用的配体的开发，作为治疗药物滥用的潜在药物疗法。培训人员在分子水平上理解与药物滥用有关的基本机制方面有着共同的兴趣。培训的重点是阿片受体配体的结构，阿片受体配体对生理过程的影响，以及参与阿片受体的蛋白质和配体的结构和功能。受训者从一个强大的教员那里学习，他们利用最先进的方法来研究药物滥用。这个项目的一个独特之处是学员与其他涉及药物滥用行为方面的教职员工和学员的互动，使他们对药物滥用研究有一个广泛的了解。这一独特的培训机会有望填补药物滥用研究中对该领域有广泛了解的新调查人员的需求。 公共卫生相关性：该项目旨在培养从事药物滥用研究的研究生和博士后，为他们提供进行药物滥用分子方面研究的工具，同时使他们了解药物滥用的行为方面。

DESCRIPTION ( provided by applicant): This application is for renewal of a training program directed by Louis Hersh and co-directed by Linda Dwoskin and Sharon Walsh. We request continued support for four predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees utilizing a training faculty of 15 housed in three colleges and 5 different departments within the University of Kentucky. All of the training faculty have been funded through NIDA or collaborate with NIDA funding training faculty with their research broadly focused on the molecular aspects of drug abuse. The University of Kentucky has a long history of involvement in drug abuse research and includes the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research and the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research and Translation. The goal of this training program continues to be the preparation of promising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for careers in drug abuse research. The program provides broad-based training in modern aspects of drug abuse research with a particular emphasis on studying the cellular and molecular aspects of receptors involved in the response to drugs and the development of ligands which interact with these receptors as potential pharmacotherapy's for drug abuse. The training faculty share a common interest in understanding basic mechanisms related to drug abuse at the molecular level. The emphasis of the training faculty focus on the structure of opiate receptor ligands, the effects of opiate receptor ligands on physiological processes, and the structure and function of the proteins and ligands involved in opiate receptors. Trainees learn from a strong faculty who utilize state-of-the-art methodological approaches to drug abuse research. A unique aspect of this program is the interaction of trainees with other faculty and trainees involved in the behavioral aspects of drug abuse, giving them a broad based understanding of drug abuse research. This unique training opportunity is hoped to fill the need for new investigators in drug abuse research who have a broad understanding of the field. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This program is designed to train graduate students and postdocs for a career in drug abuse research, providing them with the tools to conduct research on the molecular aspects of drug abuse while at the same time endowing them with an understanding of the behavioral aspects of drug abuse.