Volume 1, Issue 4October 2008
El Faro Staff
Liliane Cambraia Windsor, Ph.D., M.S.W., Editor
Sheila Kaupert,
Newsletter Coordinator
National Office
Jane Brooks, M.Sc., C.M.P.
Website Coordinator
This Month's Contributors
Frank Bandiera
Luis Bedregal, Ph.D.
Rubi Blancas
Mary Boggiano, Ph.D.
Raul Caetano, M.D., Ph.D.
Liliane Cambraia Windsor, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Alice Cepeda, Ph.D.
Christiane Farentinos, M.D., M.P.H.
Lori K. Holleran Steiker, Ph.D.
Irene Lopez, Ph.D.
Yolanda Martin, M.Phil.
Ian Mendez, M.A.
Manuel Miranda-Arango, Ph.D.
Antonio J. Molina-Fernandez
Luis R. Torres, Ph.D.
Monica Ulibarri, Ph.D.
William Vega, Ph.D.
National Steering Committee
José Szapocznik, Ph.D., NHSN Chair
Patricia E. Molina, M.D., Ph.D., NHSN Vice Chair
Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D.
Margarita Alegría, Ph.D.
Hortensia Amaro, Ph.D.
Hendricks Brown, Ph.D.
Ana Mari Cauce, Ph.D.
Diana Martínez, M.D.
Maria Elena Medina-Mora, Ph.D.
Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D.
Yonette F. Thomas, Ph.D.
Avelardo Valdez, Ph.D.
William Vega, Ph.D.
Volume 1, Issue 4
Summer Research Training Institute Corner
by Alice Cepeda
As we all well know, SRTI has been one of the most integral components of the NHSN through the support it provides in recruiting, training, and mentoring some of the most promising young scientists to succeed in the field of Hispanic drug abuse research. Unfortunately, 2008 was SRTI’s last funded year. Dr. Avelardo Valdez has submitted a proposal to NIDA requesting the continuation of these funds. If the proposal is not approved, 2008 may be the last year in which young scientists had the opportunity to engage in such a valuable training.
As we continue our efforts to maintain SRTI alive, we would like to celebrate this program’s outstanding performance by sharing its outcomes with the NHSN membership. Since its inception six years ago, SRTI has provided intensive training in a 7-day institute organized series of lectures and workshops on Hispanics and drug research by some of the leading Hispanic researchers and other scientists in this field. The purpose of SRTI has been to promote interest and professional commitment to Hispanic drug abuse research and to foster mentoring relationships between students and senior drug abuse researchers.
The NHSN SRTI has had 113 participating fellows from different academic institutions and disciplines.
Table 1 provides a brief overview of selected characteristics of the 81 fellows who provided follow up data as of 2007 (data for 2008 fellows not included).
Tracking and Follow Up
Follow up data from 81 (80%) fellows has been collected including progress in their respective educational programs (i.e. degrees awarded), NHSN membership, publications, presentations (i.e. verbal or poster), submission and funding of research grants, and academic appointments.
Academic Degrees: Since the SRTI, 39 percent (n=31) of the fellows have received a degree. Of these, 11 report completing a thesis focused on substance use. Peer Review Publications: Twenty-three percent of the fellows have published one or more peer reviewed articles since the SRTI. Of these, 113 were co-authored with an NHSN member. Book Chapters: Twenty-two percent have published book chapters, of which 18 were co-authored with an NHSN member. Oral Presentations: Since the SRTI, 50 percent have given oral presentations at academic conferences with 107 of these co- presented with an NHSN member. Poster Presentations: Twenty-three percent of the fellows who responded to the follow up survey have presented poster presentations at academic conferences in their respective discipline since participating in the SRTI. The majority of these (n=116) were presented with an NHSN member.
Funding: SRTI participating fellows have also been active in developing and submitting NIH applications for funding consideration. For instance, since the SRTI eight fellows have submitted an application to NIDA and three received funding. Nineteen fellows reported submitting applications to other institutes or agencies other than NIDA. Three fellows received funding for NIDA diversity supplements, two of which were done with principal investigators that are members of the NHSN. In addition, 4 fellows submitted NIH Loan Repayment Program applications of which one was funded. Finally, 16 fellows reported submitting some other type of fellowship since the SRTI. Overall, forty fellows reported collaborating with senior research scientists from the NHSN. Overall, a large proportion of the SRTI fellows have successfully advanced their drug abuse research careers as a result of this institute.
As you can see, SRTI has been a great success. We hope not only to obtain continuation funds for the program but also to expand it by developing a similar program that would focus on providing training and membership to early career post-doctoral scientists. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of both the SRTI fellows and the senior researchers who have made this program such a success.