E-news

Number 9, April 2006

HIGHLIGHTS OF CURRENT FELLOWS

Three Distinguished International Scientist Collaboration Awards (DISCA/USDISCA) Announced
Three researchers have been selected as 2006 NIDA Distinguished International Scientists. The competitive DISCA and USDISCA awards provide support to senior scientists during research exchange visits of 1 to 3 months so that applicants and their partners can cooperate on drug abuse research.

• DR. RAKA JAIN, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), will work with Dr. Michael H. Baumann, NIDA Intramural Research Program (IRP), to evaluate the acute neurochemical effects of modafinil, individually and in combination with cocaine, on extracellular dopamine and serotonin levels in the nucleus accumbens of rats. Modafinil is a potential pharmacotherapy to treat cocaine dependence. Drs. Jain and Baumann began collaborating when she visited the NIDA IRP as part of her 2005 WHO/NIDA/CPDD International Traveling Fellowship. A former NIDA INVEST Fellow, Dr. Jain is an AIIMS professor; directs the pre-clinical behavior laboratory where she conducts research on tolerance, dependence, and abuse liability; and supervises drug testing of patients at the De-Addiction Centre.
• DR. TATIANA P. TSAROUK, Moscow State Medical Stomatology University, Russia, will work with Dr. Elaine Thompson, University of Washington, on their collaborative efforts to test a drug use and HIV prevention model designed specifically for Russian adolescents. The two began collaborating in 2001, when Dr. Tsarouk spent her NIDA INVEST Fellowship with Dr. Thompson adapting the Reconnecting Youth and Parents and Youth in Schools (PAYS) interventions to conduct a pilot prevention program in Russian schools. The collaboration continued when NIDA funded an international administrative supplement to expand the PAYS program in Russia. Drs. Tsarouk and Thompson will use the DISCA award to finalize two journal articles and revise an R01 grant application.
• DR. RONALD E. SEE, Medical University of South Carolina, will work with Dr. Juan J. Canales, Universidad de Valencia, Spain, to assess the underlying neural mechanisms in an animal model of relapse to cocaine-seeking behavior. By combining Dr. See's studies on the neurobiological substrate of relapse and Dr. Canales's studies of changes in striatal morphology with long-term psychostimulant treatments, the investigators will employ an interdisciplinary approach to generate insights on the role of the basal ganglia in addiction. Drs. See and Canales anticipate publishing a journal article as a result of the USDISCA award.

NIDA, World Health Organization (WHO), College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Select 2006 International Traveling Fellows
Two scientists have been selected as WHO/NIDA/CPDD International Traveling fellows: Kostyantyn Dumchev, M.D., Ukraine, and Min Zhao, M.D., Ph.D., China. The Fellowships provide travel support for international researchers to conduct research visits to NIDA grantees and participate in two scientific meetings: the NIDA International Forum and the CPDD Annual Scientific Meeting. Dr. Dumchev will work with Dr. Joseph E. Schumacher, University of Alabama at Birmingham, to analyze data from their pilot study of behavioral treatments for injection drug users (IDUs) in Vinnitsya, Ukraine, and to begin statistical analysis of another study, predictors of hepatitis C/HIV status in Ukrainian IDUs. Dr. Zhao will work with Dr. Walter Ling, University of California Los Angeles, observing the research and clinical units of the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, reviewing pharmacological and psychological treatments for drug abuse, and planning their project to develop and validate a Chinese version of the Addiction Severity Index. NIDA, the WHO, and CPDD cosponsor the International Traveling Fellowships.

NIDA and Department of State Select 2006-2007 Humphrey Fellows
NIDA and the U.S. Department of State have selected eight scientists as the 2006-2007 Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellows: Mr. Alamgir Golam Mahmood, Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs; Kevin Goulbourne, M.D., Western Regional Health Authority, Jamaica; Mehboob Singh, M.D., Patiala Government Medical College, India; Ms. Desiree Molina, Jose Felix Ribas Foundation, Venezuela; Mr. Nassery Ruhullah, Afghan Ministry of Public Health; Peter Ndege, M.D., Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya; Mr. Duc Nguyen, Vietnam Office on Drugs Control; and Mr. Amani Msami Kisanga, Tanzania Drug Control Commission. The 10-month NIDA Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellowships combine academic studies and professional affiliations with NIDA-supported researchers.

INVEST Fellows Tour NIDA Intramural Research Program in Baltimore, Maryland
The 2005-2006 NIDA INVEST Drug Abuse Research Fellows toured the NIDA Intramural Research Program in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 2, 2006. The following Program staff members met with the Fellows: Kenzie Preston, Ph.D., Chief, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch; Marilyn Huestis, Ph.D., Chief, Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section; Stephen Heishman, Ph.D., Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section; David A. Gorelick, M.D., Ph.D., Chief, Clinical Pharmacology Section; Eliot Stein, Ph.D., Chief, Neuroimaging Research Branch; Alane Kimes, Ph.D., PET Center; Eric Moolchan, M.D., Chief, Teen Tobacco Addiction Research Center; and David Epstein, Ph.D., Treatment Section.

INVEST, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows Attend Grant-Writing Seminar
NIDA hosted a grant-writing seminar March 3, 2006, for the 2005-2006 NIDA INVEST and Hubert H. Humphrey Drug Abuse Research Fellows. The group met with Ms. Dale Weiss, International Program; Dr. Eliane Lazar-Wesley, Office of Extramural Affairs; Dr. David Thomas, Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research; and Dr. Kathleen Michels, Fogarty International Center. The NIDA INVEST Fellows included Dr. Oscar Quintela, Spain; Dr. Tsafrir Loebl, Israel; and Dr. Young Hoon Sung, South Korea. Ten Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows from Johns Hopkins University participated in the grant writing seminar: Dr. Anna Tkachenko, Russia; Ms. Nataliya Vlasova, Ukraine; Dr. Fadi Hammal, Syria; Ms. Alexandra Hill, El Salvador; Dr. Danesh Gupta, India; Dr. Abdallah Mansour, Egypt; Dr. Stephen Nsimba, Tanzania; and Dr. Islam Miftari, Kosovo.