The Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award reissued program announcement (PA-05-143) was published jointly by most NIH Institutes in the July 22, 2005 issue of the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The announcement is available on the NIAAA Home Page (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov) under Research Information/Career Development Program Announcements.

The purpose of the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Award (K-23) is to support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research. The award provides support for a period of supervised study and research experience for clinically trained professionals who have the potential to develop into productive, clinical investigators focusing on patient-oriented research.

For purposes of this award, patient-oriented research is defined as research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator directly interacts with human subjects. This area of research includes: 1) mechanisms of human disease; 2) therapeutic interventions; 3) clinical trials; and, 4) development of new technologies. While the focus of this career development program is on the conduct of patient-oriented research, there can be complementary basic research directly related to the patient-oriented research proposed in the application.

The NIAAA is committed to increasing the number of scientists trained to conduct high quality alcohol-related clinical research. The NIAAA is especially interested in increasing the number of scientists trained to conduct high-quality clinical research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. Specific research emphases include, but are not limited to: studies on the effectiveness of treatment; discovering how alcohol damages the brain and other organ systems of the body; developing prevention and treatment strategies and protocols or models for application in traditional alcohol treatment settings as well as in primary care medical offices, emergency rooms, and other health care settings; developing interventions to reduce or prevent drinking and driving and alcohol-related violence; and developing medications for treating or preventing alcohol abuse.

For further information, please contact one of the following program officials:

Updated: September 15, 2008