Alcohol Research Training: Methods & Mechanisms

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议的UNM培训计划“酒精研究培训；改变方法和机制”的核心目标是提供多学科的博士后和博士后培训，使未来的科学家能够开展研究以阐明饮酒行为的改变过程，开发和测试通过改进治疗和指示预防来实现改变的有效方法，以及开发和测试向不同人群传播有效干预知识的模型。学员将讨论的中心问题包括：(1)什么因素刺激高危人群和临床人群的变化？(2)在个人层面上成功的变化的心理、社会和生物机制？(3)不同变化轨迹的建模如何有助于理解变化过程？(4)在创造长期行为变化方面，哪些类型的干预措施更有效或更不有效，以及同样重要的是，治疗的哪些具体方面对其有效性起到了作用？(5)风险概况研究(例如，遗传、神经生物学、心理学、(6)变化进程和干预措施如何根据个体差异而变化(例如，遗传特征、社会人口特征、共发病、社会/文化环境)？(7)传播有关变化的知识的有效和高效的方法是什么？拟议的培训计划将支持4名博士前研究员，他们来自新墨西哥大学心理学系。四名博士后研究员将在拨款的前三年分阶段实施，他们将来自与培训计划目标相关的学科，包括心理学、社会学、传播学、精神病学、社会工作和卫生经济学。该计划将由酒精中毒、药物滥用和成瘾中心(CASAA)指导和运行，该中心是一个致力于酒精和其他物质使用障碍的治疗、预防和流行病学研究的多学科中心。精神研究网络(MRN)是北卡罗来纳大学校园内的一个私人的、非营利性的神经成像中心，是一个重要的合作伙伴。CASAA的调查人员对减少酒精相关伤害的有效预防和治疗模式的研究、治疗的有效成分和潜在变化机制的研究以及传播/扩散研究有着良好的记录。MRN强大的人类神经科学小组为培训计划带来了互补的研究技能。相关性(见说明)：大量饮酒和酒精使用障碍是对健康和安全的主要担忧。研究带来了更好的预防和治疗方法，但结果并不理想。拟议的培训赠款利用多个学科为研究人员做好准备，以调查支撑变化过程的心理、社会和生物机制；将这些知识应用于开发和测试新的预防和治疗模式；并将这些模式应用于服务不足的人群。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The central aim of the proposed UNM Training Program, "Alcohol Research Training; Change Methods & Mechanisms," is to provide multidisciplinary pre- and post-doctoral training to prepare future scientists to conduct research to elucidate the processes of change in drinking behavior, develop and test effective methods to effect change through improved approaches to treatment and indicated prevention, and develop and test models of disseminate knowledge of effective interventions to diverse populations. Central questions that trainees will address include: (1) What factors stimulate change in at-risk and clinical populations? (2) What psychological, social, and biological mechanisms underlie successful change at the individual level? (3) How does modeling of different trajectories of change contribute to understanding change processes? (4) What types of interventions are more and less effective in creating long-term behavior change, and, equally important, what specific aspects of treatments account for their effectiveness? (5) How does the study of risk profiles (e.g. genetic, neurobiological, psychological, socio-environmental) contribute to understanding change processes and improving efforts to tailor interventions to groups with different risk profiles? (6) How do change processes and interventions vary based on individual differences (e.g. genetic profiles, socio-demographic characteristics, co-morbidity, social/cultural environment)? (7) What are effective and efficient approaches to disseminate knowledge about change? The proposed training program would support 4 pre-doctoral fellows, drawn from the Department of Psychology at the University of New Mexico. Four post-doctoral fellows, phased in over the first 3 years of the grant, will come from disciplines relevant to the goals of the training program, including psychology, sociology, communication, psychiatry, social work, and health economics. The program will be directed and run by the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), a multidisciplinary center devoted to treatment, prevention, and epidemiological research on alcohol and other substance use disorders. The Mind Research Network (MRN), a private, non-profit neuroimaging center on the UNM campus, is an important contributing partner. CASAA investigators have a strong record of research on effective models for prevention and treatment to reduce alcohol-related harm, research on active ingredients of treatment and underlying mechanisms of change, and dissemination/diffusion research. The strong human neuroscience group at the MRN brings complementary research skills to the training program. RELEVANCE (See instructions): Heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders are major concerns for health and safety. Research has led to better prevention and treatment approaches, but outcomes are less than optimal. The proposed training grant draws upon multiple disciplines to prepare researchers to investigate the psychological, social, and biological mechanisms that underpin the process of change; apply this knowledge to developing and testing new models for prevention and treatment; and apply these models to underserved populations.