Scientific Program

7:30– 8:30am

Registration and Breakfast

8:45– 10:15am

Scientific Panel 2 - Imaging

Chairs:

Diana Martinez, M.D.
Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute

Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D.
University of California Davis School of Medicine

Speaker:

Edythe London, Ph.D. .
David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
The Methamphetamine Problem: Identifying Therapeutic Targets through Brain Imaging

Abstract:

Methamphetamine abuse and addiction are public health problems that have become notable in Mexico and Brazil in the past decade. Brain imaging techniques, including studies of brain biochemistry and function with PET scanning, as well as MRI scans of brain structure and function, have revealed abnormalities that can have important consequences for the effectiveness of treatment. In addition, brain imaging can provide information about the time-course of brain recovery and the effects of potential medications on dysfunctional circuits. This presentation will review findings from brain imaging studies of methamphetamine dependence, in the context of using brain imaging to develop and optimize treatments for addiction.

Speaker:

Rita Goldstein, Ph.D. .
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Targeting the Prefrontal Cortex and Cognition for Intervention in Cocaine Addiction

Abstract:

Cocaine addicted individuals show cognitive compromises encompasing learning, memory and higher-order executive functions. These individuals also evidence modified activation in the brain regions underlying these cognitive functions, encompassing the anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices. In this talk, we will discuss promising novel interventions options, that could potentially serve as neurorehabilitation strategies in cocaine addiction. We will also examine whether treatment and abstinence modulate (i.e., enhance recovery in) these brain-behavior compromises.

Speaker:

Diana Martinez, M.D. .
Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute
Using Imaging to Choose Treatment Strategies for Cocaine Dependence

Abstract:

Previous human Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radioligand imaging studies have clearly demonstrated that cocaine addiction is associated with impaired striatal dopamine signaling. Our goal is to investigate the role of dopamine signaling in the limbic striatum and how this correlates with cocaine seeking behavior and relapse. Data will be presented that uses PET imaging in combination with a behavioral treatment for cocaine dependence, which shows that low dopamine transmission was associated with a relapse and a failure to respond to treatment. This presentation will present this and other date from PET imaging studies, in conjunction with results from recent clinical trails, in order to discuss how this modality may be used to inform better treatment approaches for cocaine dependence.

10:15– 10:45am

Questions and Answers for this session

10:45– 11:15am

Coffee-break and Networking

11:15–12:15pm

10 Fatal Flaws of NIH Grant Proposals and How to Avoid them

Chairs:

Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D
University of California, San Diego

Tom Patterson, Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego

Abstract:

The best scientists are not always the best grantwriters and vice versa. New and seasoned investigators alike sometimes learn how to write an outstanding NIH grant proposal the hard way, by submitting an NIH grant that fails to make the payline, or worse, ends up not being discussed. Based on our combined experience and input from colleagues, fellow grantwriters, NIH program officers and other reviewers, we have created our top ten list of fatal flaws that sink even the best idea for an NIH grant proposal. In this one hour session, we present these “top 10 flaws”, and more importantly, we discuss ways to avoid them. Our perspective draws from our backgrounds in health psychology and epidemiology, but we offer take home messages for everyone. We are actively writing grants in the fields of drug abuse and mental health, and have reviewed and chaired numerous study sections for more years than we care to admit. We welcome you in this interactive session to share and learn, in an effort to ensure that your best science gets funded.

12:15–1:30pm

Membership Meeting
Patricia Molina, M.D., Ph.D. 
Vice-Chair NHSN

CTSA and Opportunities for Partnership
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D.
University of California Davis School of Medicine

Jeffrey Schulden, M.D.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institutes of Health
Opportunities for Drug Abuse Research in Partnership with CTSA Sites

Description:

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is committed to developing innovative drug abuse research in cooperation with academic centers supported through the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Consortium. A major NIH initiative, the CTSA Consortium is transforming how clinical and translational research is conducted in the U.S., building an infrastructure for multidisciplinary researchers and clinicians to perform research and develop new treatments more efficiently. As a part of this infrastructure, CTSA sites have established partnerships with a range of clinical settings and have established access to large, multi-generational population cohorts. CTSA sites offer a unique opportunity to integrate a wide range of drug abuse research in these settings. NIDA’s support for cooperative efforts with CTSA sites spans the range of potential drug abuse research endeavors. It includes epidemiology, prevention, and health services research under the auspices of a specific program announcement though NIDA’s Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research. It also includes the potential leveraging of NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network to work together with CTSA sites to develop, refine, and deliver new drug abuse treatment options through partnerships between community treatment providers and academic researchers. Topics discussed in this session will include current drug abuse research initiatives at CTSA sites, research areas of particular interest for NIDA in partnership with CTSA sites, and strategies to develop drug abuse research projects in collaboration with the CTSA Consortium.

1:30–1:45pm

Transtion

1:45–3:30pm 

Young Investigator Panel

Chair:

Laura O’Dell, Ph.D.
University of Texas at El Paso

3:30–4:00pm

Questions and Answers for this session

4:00–6:00pm 

Breakout Session 2

Speaker:

Abe Bautista, Ph.D., National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health
Albert Avila, Ph.D., National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
E) Transdisciplinary Approach to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Interactions with HIV/AIDS

Description:

TBA

Speaker:

Richard C. Cervantes, Ph.D., Behavioral Assessment, Inc.
David Cordova Jr., Ph.D., Behavioral Assessment, Inc. & Dharma Cortes, Ph.D, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School
F) Developing Culturally Relevant Assessment Instruments for Hispanic Populations: The Hispanic Stress Inventory

Description:

TThe purpose of this breakout session is to provide an introduction to the methods employed in two different, 2-Phase studies aimed at developing stress assessments specifically tailored to Hispanic youth and adults. We will demonstrate how to apply both qualitative and quantitative methods in assessment instrument development. We will present: a) qualitative preliminary studies, b) quantitative research and standardization studies, and c) analytic approaches to scale development. Participants will become familiar with key methodologies of developing surveys and clinical measures and explore ways in which they can adapt these methods for future research on the development of new clinical and research measures for Hispanic populations. .

Speaker:

Keith Trujillo, Ph.D., California State University, San Marcos
Edward Castañeda, Ph.D., University of Texas, El Paso
G) Basic Science Datablitz

Description:

There are two goals for this breakout session: 1) to share the latest basic research findings with the NHSN community, and 2) to begin to organize NHSN basic scientists into a workgroup. For the first goal, NHSN members will share their latest discoveries in the basic sciences and discuss them with other scientists with similar interests. For the second goal we will begin steps to organize a Basic Science Workgroup within NHSN to facilitate communication among scientists during the intervals between NHSN meetings. Ongoing communication throughout the year will help to launch collaborations among NHSN basic scientists. All interested NHSN scientists are encouraged to attend, especially graduate students and postdocs.

Speaker:

Wilson R. Palacios, Ph.D., University of South Florida
Robert Heimer, Ph.D. & Russell Barbour, Ph.D., Yale University
H) Narrative Data Mining: Appling a Transdisciplinary Framework

Description:

This breakout session will provide an introduction to and an overview of three leading software packages in the field of narrative data mining: NVivo8, Atlas.tiV6, and AutoMap. During the session we will demonstrate basic qualitative data analysis (QDA) and network text analysis (NTA) procedures across a sample of narrative data collected to highlight both the complementary and unique attributes of each software tool. Within a transdisciplinary framework, we will demonstrate how to (a) develop and interpret respective coding schemes, (b) identify critical points of similarities and dissimilarities across narrative data points, (c) examine and refine related hypotheses statements, and (d) “model” narrative data in novel ways.

6:00–7:30pm

Poster Session 2