NIDA Epidemiology Training Program: Johns Hopkins University

描述（由申请人提供）：NIDA药物依赖流行病学培训计划旨在增加将药物依赖流行病学确定为主要终身职业的专家科学家的数量和质量，特别关注先进统计方法的应用流行病学研究数据的设计和分析以及所有形式的研究传播。现在，在NIDA竞争性地重新提供支持的第十四个年头，该提案将再提供五年的支持。博士预科生获得博士学位。通过完成所需的课程工作，研究学徒，实地研究和考试，然后完成论文研究和答辩，获得学位。博士后学员完成研究培训的个性化计划，通常持续两年，专注于与两个或两个以上的项目教师的研究合作，以汇编第一作者，发表的科学文章和职业发展计划的投资组合。研究培训计划保留了以前批准的培训计划中与教育和研究有关的内容，并进行了改进，以反映在研究培训过程中积累的经验。最近的事态发展包括：（a）扩大了由国家药物滥用研究所资助的专门从事药物依赖流行病学的核心教员;（B）由此增加了侧重于药物依赖流行病学的课程和研究学徒机会;（c）增加了利用实验室科学方法的核心教员;（d）实施了新的培训举措，以便利研究员在培训期间建立第一作者出版记录。我们还重振了我们的承诺，招募代表性不足的少数民族参加全国教师促进的培训计划。药物依赖领域目前面临的一些挑战是我们这个时代所独有的，因此，实验室科学的进步正在为流行病学领域研究中整合遗传实验室方法提供基础。其他挑战是长期存在的，持续需要设计良好的研究，以帮助确定易导致药物依赖的生物和环境因素，并制定有经验支持的药物预防方法。在约翰霍普金斯大学的培训计划是很好的定位，以满足这些挑战，通过促进专家科学家的发展，能够应用先进的流行病学和生物统计方法的药物依赖性的研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The NIDA Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training Program is designed to increase the number and quality of expert scientists who identify drug dependence epidemiology as their major lifelong career, with a special focus on the application of advanced statistical methods to the design and analysis of epidemiologic study data and all forms of research dissemination. Now in its fourteenth year of competitively renewed support by NIDA, this proposal is for an additional five years of support. Pre-doctoral trainees earn the Ph.D. degree by completing required course work, research apprenticeships, field research, and examinations followed by the completion of thesis research and defense. Post-doctoral trainees complete an individualized program of research training, typically lasting two years, focusing on research collaboration with two-or-more program faculty to assemble a portfolio of first-authored, published scientific articles and career development plans. The research training plan retains educational and research-related elements from previously approved training plans, with refinements that reflect accumulating experience during the research training process. Recent developments include: (a) expansion of NIDA-funded core faculty specializing in drug dependence epidemiology; (b) a resulting increase in courses and research apprenticeship opportunities that focus on drug dependence epidemiology; (c) the addition of core faculty utilizing bench science methodologies; and (d) the implementation of new training initiatives to facilitate fellows' establishing a record of first-author publication during their training experience. We have also revitalized our commitment to recruit underrepresented minorities into the Training Program facilitated by faculty nationwide. Some challenges currently facing the drug dependence field are unique to our era such that advances in bench sciences are now providing the basis to integrate genetic laboratory methodologies within epidemiologic field studies. Other challenges are long-standing with a sustained need for well-designed studies to help identify the biological and environmental factors that predispose to drug dependence and to develop empirically supported approaches to drug prevention. The Training Program at Johns Hopkins University is well positioned to meet these challenges by fostering the development of expert scientists capable of applying advanced epidemiologic and biostatistical methodologies to the study of drug dependence.