“ Community, Behavioral and Molecular Sciences in Addictive Disorders”
2009 International Scientific Conference
About the Conference
Conference Overview:
The 2008 NHSN conference addressed vital issues in Latino drug use. The planning committee for the 2008 conference was quite purposeful in designing a scientific program that addresses a variety of scientific issues that are transdiciplinary in scope, and cover the spectrum of NHSN member interests. At this year's conference, the addiction analogue between obesity and drug use was explored, and a panel provided additional information and analyses from different disciplinary perspectives on this topic, including neurobiology, behavioral science, and epidemiology. Other panels examined research evidence pertinent for reducing the impact of Latino drug use in the community and for improving policies and programs. This included scientific support for current criminal justice programs that interface with the Latino community in order to reduce the impact of drug consumption on individuals, families and neighborhoods. Another panel extended this exploration into drug marketing by providing research driven explorations about the organization of drug markets, their economic functions, and their influence on cognitive and decision making processes of individuals who are drug users and traffickers. Our fourth panel examined theory and research evidence regarding the connections between "risky environments" and the social and built environment. Public health researchers are placing increasing emphasis on place as the foremost research paradigm for determinants of disease including drug abuse and addiction. The 2008 NHSN Conference also featured several special interest break-out sessions of technical and substantitive interest to our members, and mentoring and training activities to improve grant writing skills and overall scientific productivity. This proved to be a very exciting, innovative conference, once again spanning scientific perspectives from basic to applied sciences in all facets of conference activities.
For more information on the 2008 NHSN conference program click here and to view a news article.
Conference Chair and Co-Chairs:
Chair: William Vega, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Family Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Co-Chair: Joseph Frascella, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Co-Chair: Guillermo Prado, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Conference Co-Chair & International Chair: Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Ph.D.
Professor & Associate Dean of Faculties
Texas A&M University
International Co-Chair: Steve Gust, Ph.D.
Director, NIDA International Program
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Conference Program