Meetings/Conferences

NIDA/OSPC organized a special research track held at the PRIDE2005 World Drug & Violence Prevention Conference, April 6-9, 2005 at the Cinergy Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. NIDA workshops include sessions on "Cigarette Smoking: What Every Community Can Do to Save Lives"; "Truth and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse"; and "Sniffing and Huffing: The Impact of Inhalant Abuse on Youth." Each year this conference provides a forum for some 5,000 attendees, hundreds of organizations - large and small, local, national, and international - that are fighting against drugs.

On March 15-16, 2005, the Motivational Incentives for Enhanced Drug Abuse Recovery (MIEDAR) Blending Team met in Chicago, Illinois. The MIEDAR Blending Team is part of the NIDA/SAMHSA-ATTC Blending Initiative, an interagency agreement encouraging the use of evidence-based treatment interventions by professionals in the drug abuse treatment field. "Blending Teams" are comprised of staff from CSAT's Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network and NIDA/CTN researchers. They work together to develop a strategic dissemination plan to introduce research findings for effective adoption within communities, such as trainings, self-study programs, workshops, and distance learning opportunities. The MIEDAR Blending Team is lead by Lonnetta Albright (Great Lakes ATTC) and is being coordinated by Denise Pintello (NIDA) and Karl White (SAMHSA). Team members include: NIDA/CTN: Scott Kellogg, John Hamilton, Therese Killeen and Nancy Petry; ATTC: Anne-Helene Skinstad, Amy Shanahan and Joseph Rosenfeld. The Blending Team discussed the MIEDAR protocol research results. Future efforts will initially focus on developing training and dissemination materials to promote awareness of the use of Motivational Incentives throughout the drug abuse field.

The Native American and Alaska Native Workgroup met January 24-25, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda, Maryland. Workgroup members provided updates on their current research and activities. In addition, workgroup members received updates from NIDA Divisions. Dr. Aria Crump provided an update from the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research (DESPR), Dr. Paul Schnur provided an update from the Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (DBNBR), Dr. Joseph Frascella provided an update from the Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Development and Behavioral Treatment (DCNDBT) and Dr. Richard Hawks provided an update from the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (DPMCDA). Following an update from Dr. Lula Beatty in the Special Populations Office, workgroup members reviewed and discussed the "Conducting Research with American Indians" Manuscript prepared by Drs. Bernard Segal and Jerry Stubben and organized by Dr. Sally Stevens who are all members of the workgroup. Dale Walker, M.D. gave an update on the One Sky Center and the group discussed additional workgroup activities.

On April 12-13, 2005, members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Workgroup convened for a meeting at the Wyndham Grand Bay Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida. Members were provided with an update on the Special Populations Office from Lula Beatty, Ph.D. and an overview of the National Hispanic Science Network from Jose Szapocznik, Ph.D. and Yolanda Mancilla, Ph.D. Workgroup members, Tooru Nemoto, Ph.D., Rumi Price, Ph.D., and Frank Wong, Ph.D. presented the group with updates on their AAPI research.

On April 16, 2005 a day long Symposium Prescription Drug Abuse: Science to Practice was held at the American Society of Addiction Medicine's 36th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas, Texas. This Symposium was co-sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse/NIH, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment/ SAMHSA, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

The 57th meeting of the Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG), chaired by Moira O'Brien, DESPR, was held in Los Angeles, California, on January 26-28, 2005. The January 2005 CEWG meeting, in addition to CEWG area reports, included a panel session on natural history, long-term consequences, and treatment approaches for methamphetamine abuse; and a panel session which explored the potential of using the Internet as a tool for identifying and monitoring new drug abuse trends.

On April 28, 2005, Dr. Timothy P. Condon and Beverly Jackson represented NIDA at the 9th Annual PRISM Award Celebration in Los Angeles. The PRISM Awards are sponsored by the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC), NIDA, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The PRISM's recognize the efforts of the entertainment industry to accurately depict drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction. PRISM's were awarded to Jamie Fox for Performance in a Theatrical Feature Film, "Ray," with the movie also receiving a separate award; Katey Sagal for Performance in a Comedy Series, "8 Simple Rules; Ray Liotta for Performance in a Drama Series Episode, "E.R.," with the series also receiving an award; Christine Lahti for Performance In a Drama Storyline, "Jack and Bobby;" and Justine Waddell for Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries, The Mystery of Natalie Wood. The hit TV show Desperate Housewives was honored in the TV Comedy Multi-Episode Storyline category; Lost and Queer As Folk tied for TV Drama Multi-Episode Storyline; and Dr. Phil for TV Talk Show Episode. The 9th Annual PRISM Awards will air as a one-hour television special on the FX Network, Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 5:00 p.m.

NIDA co-sponsored a meeting on Developing a Research Agenda to Improve the Impact of Tobacco Use Quitlines. The meeting-a collaborative effort among NIDA, CDC, NCI, Health Canada, and the Canadian Tobacco Control Research Initiative-was organized by Drs. Beverly Pringle and Dionne Jones, of the Services Research Branch, DESPR. It was held on February 23-24, 2005, at the Rockville Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center.

NIDA participated in SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's 2005 Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment, March 21-23, 2005, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director, gave a plenary talk entitled Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Adolescent Drug Abuse. Dr. Jack Stein, DESPR gave a presentation as part of a workshop on Moving Adolescent Treatment to Evidenced-Based Practice. Mr. Noble Jones, SRB/DESPR chaired a workshop on Contingency Management for Adolescent Substance Abusers. Dr. Melissa Racioppo, BITB/DCNBT, chaired a workshop on Nicotine Addiction Interventions for Adolescents. Dr. Jerry Flanzer, SRB/DESPR gave a presentation as part of a workshop on Strength-Based Treatment: From Case Management to Family Therapy. Drs. Racioppo and Pringle and Mr. Jones conducted a workshop on preparing research applications for submission to NIDA.

NIDA staff members participated in multiple activities at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) meeting in Atlanta, April 7-10, 2005. Activities included two sessions on translational research, a session on issues and implications of real time data capture methodology for developmental research, a session on research priorities and the grant review process, and a session providing an NIH update on human subjects issues. Several of the sessions were collaborative efforts with other components of NIH. NIDA staff also presented a poster on child and adolescent research opportunities at NIDA, and met with conference attendees at the NIDA exhibit booth. Drs. Nicolette Borek, Jessica Campbell, Aria Crump, Kathy Etz, Teri Levitin, and Vince Smeriglio represented NIDA in these activities.

Drs. Jack Stein, Beverly Pringle, and Jerry Flanzer, DESPR, served on the planning team of the CASA Conference entitled, Missed Opportunity: Substance Abuse in Primary Care. The conference was headed by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) and was cosponsored by NIDA, the National Center on Primary Care (NCPC) at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It was held at the Kaiser Foundation's Barbara Jordan Conference Center in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2005.

The Steering Committee of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) met at NIDA on April 4-6, 2005.

Recent CTN-Related Meetings

CTN National Steering Committee Meetings were held February 7-12, 2005, in San Francisco, CA. Dr. Nora Volkow attended via Video Teleconference. She outlined her goals for the CTN over the next five years, identified steps the CTN might take to meet increasing resource challenges, and identified additional opportunities for the CTN. In addition, the Steering Committee discussed new studies for initiation in 2005 and the status of ongoing efforts.

The CTN CTP Caucus and the PI Caucus met on February 7, 2005. Representatives from community treatment providers from all 17 Nodes attended.

The CTN Executive Committee met on February 8-9, 2005. The committee reviewed plans for prioritization of trials and protocols under development.

The CTN Portfolio Coordinating Committee (PCC) met on February 9, 2005, at the San Francisco meeting. During this meeting, they reviewed the progress of the CTN's Special Interest groups and reviewed the CTN's Common Assessment Battery.

The CTN Operations Coordinating Committee (OCC) met on February 9, 2005, to review the progress of all ongoing protocols and to discuss methods to improve retention and follow-up rates.

The CTN External Affairs Coordinating Committee (EACC) met on February 9, 2005, at the San Francisco meeting. During this meeting, they discussed Internal Dissemination as well as opportunities to promoting the CTN more actively as a research platform through possible studies on dissemination, health care linkages, and genetics.

The CTN Quality Assurance Subcommittee (QAS) met on February 10, 2005, to discuss priorities for the upcoming year and to reorganize to meet adjusted objectives, which include an increased emphasis on monitoring of training opportunities.

The following CTN Special Interest Groups (SIG) met during the San Francisco Steering Committee Meeting: Adolescent, Behavior Therapy, Buprenorphine, Co-Occurring Disorders, Nicotine, Pharmacotherapy, and Treatment Matching.

In collaboration with CSAT, a Buprenorphine Detox Training Session was held in San Francisco, CA on February 7, 2005. The session discussed the rationale for providing detoxification to opioid dependent patients, characterization of opiate withdrawal, goals of detoxification, results of the CTN studies, technical protocol implementation training, patient and treatment program staff perspectives, and overdose risk following detoxification.

A three-day CIDI (Composite International Diagnostic Interview) Train the Trainer program was held February 10-12, 2005, in San Francisco, CA.

The CTN Executive Committee met on April 5, 2005, in Cary, NC. The committee reviewed plans for CTN reorganization and ways of integrating the new coordination centers into CTN operation.

An Advanced QA Monitoring Meeting was held April 6-7, 2005, in Cary, North Carolina to establish a uniform quality monitoring standard and a common approach to monitoring across the CTN trial sites.

On March 21 — 23, 2005, Melissa W. Racioppo and Debra Grossman, DCNDBT, participated in a meeting of CSAT grantees and others involved in adolescent substance abuse treatment entitled, "2005 Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness". The meeting was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., and was co-sponsored by SAMHSA, NIDA, NIAAA, and SASATE (the Society for Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Effectiveness). Together with NIDA's Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research, DCNDBT organized 2 symposia (addressing the treatment of adolescent substance abuse using contingency management, and addressing the treatment of adolescent smoking cessation), and a grant-writing workshop (along with Program Officials from NIAAA).

Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Deputy Director, NIDA, presented "National Institute on Drug Abuse: Progress, Priorities & Plans for the Future" at the American Psychiatric Association's Academic Consortium, April 12, 2005, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon provided opening remarks at the SAMHSA/NIDA co-sponsored "Buprenorphine Summit 2005," on April 11-12, 2005, at SAMHSA Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Methamphetamine: The Science of Addiction" to the Iowa State Legislature, March 29, 2005, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Methamphetamine: The Science of Addiction" to the New Hampshire State Legislature, March 24, 2005, in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon planned and participated in the "Medications Development Scientific Workgroup Meeting," on March 21-22, 2005, in Bethesda, Maryland. The creation of the Medications Development Workgroup is in response to recent recommendations of a subcommittee of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon co-chaired the "Methamphetamine Research Workgroup Meeting," sponsored by NIDA and the University of California, Los Angeles, on March 9-10, 2005, in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Addiction as a Brain Disease: Science & Sentencing," to the Judicial Focus Group, Criminal Division, Cook County Circuit Court, February 28, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented " The Science to Services Initiative: A NIDA Update" at the 41st National Advisory Council meeting of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) on January 26, 2005, in Rockville, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Research Priorities for the Study of Substance Abuse in the Elderly" at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), December 13, 2004, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, chaired a workshop entitled "Sniffing and Huffing: The Impact of Inhalant Abuse on Youth" at the World Drug & Violence Prevention Conference April 8, 2005, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Cindy Miner presented a talk on "Prescription Drug Abuse" at the American Insurance Association Conference on January 28, 2005 in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Gayathri Dowling, Deputy Branch Chief, Science Policy Branch, OSPC, participated in an Expert Panel Meeting of the Older Americans Substance Abuse and Mental Health Technical Assistance Center, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, on March 29, 2005, in Rockville, Maryland. Through partnerships with state and federal agencies and community health care providers, the Center will serve as a national repository to disseminate information, training, and direct assistance in the prevention and early intervention of substance abuse and mental health problems.

Dr. Lula Beatty, SPO, participated in a faculty development seminar for the Office of Sponsored Research, Morgan State University, on March 3, 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session on funding opportunities at a conference at Florida International University on February 24, 2005 in Miami, Florida.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session on drug abuse research at a faculty development seminar at Spelman College on February 25, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Drs. Lula Beatty and Kathy Etz made a presentation on Native American research and research development at the Department of the Interior on March 24, 2005 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in the Lonnie E. Mitchell HBCU Substance conference on April 20-22, 2005.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session on funding opportunities at the NAADPC meeting on April 22, 2005 in Washington, DC.

Ana Anders, SPO, co-chaired the Asian American and Pacific Islander Researchers and Scholars Workgroup meeting on April 12 and 13, 2005 in Miami, FL.

Flair Lindsey, SPO, made a presentation on NIDA's research training opportunities at the Science, Technology and Research Training Conference on April 22, 2005 at the PG Community College in Largo, Maryland.

Dr. Betty Tai, Director, CCTN, presented "CTN as a research platform" at the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Program in Los Angeles on March 11, 2005.

Dr. Wilson Compton, Director, DESPR, chaired a symposium on Drug Abuse and Suicide at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Meeting, December 12, 2004, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented "Methamphetamine in the United States: Epidemiology and Neuroscience" at the Second Annual Methamphetamine Conference in Casper, Wyoming, January 5, 2005.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented "Opioid Prescription Abuse: National Institute on Drug Abuse Perspective" at the Opioid Risk Management Conference, March 29, 2005, Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented "The Impact of Research on the Care of Addicted Patients" and "Epidemiology of Prescription Drug Abuse" at the American Society of Addiction Medicine Meeting, April 14-17, 2005.

Drs. Jack Stein, Elizabeth Robertson, Beverly Pringle, and Tom Hilton, DESPR, hosted a meeting on May 4, 2005, in Bethesda, MD. The purpose of the meeting was to develop an action plan for stimulating community participation in NIDA-supported research.

Dr. Jessica Campbell, DESPR, presented "Translational Research at NIDA" and participated in a discussion hour "Priorities and Opportunities for Mental Health and Drug Abuse Translational Research," chaired by Drs. Vincent Smeriglio and Susan Swedo at the biennial Society for Research on Child Development meeting, Atlanta, GA on April 8, 2005.

Moira O'Brien, DESPR, organized a panel on Current and Emerging Drug Abuse Trends and gave a presentation titled, "Understanding Current and Emerging Drug Abuse Trends: The Role of the Community Epidemiology Work Group" for the CADCA National Leadership Form XV, January 13, 2005.

Drs. Naimah Weinberg, Kevin Conway, and Yonette Thomas, of the Epidemiology Research Branch, DESPR, convened a panel of outside experts to review NIDA's portfolio of grants on the genetic epidemiology of drug abuse on February 22, 2005. The panel reviewed progress in this area of research since a prior review in 1999 and the issuance of a program announcement in 2002. Key findings and developments as well as continued gaps and challenges were discussed, which will inform future programs and initiatives.

Dr. Kathy Etz, DESPR, chaired a session entitled Real Time Data Capture: Implications for Developmental Research at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, April 7, 2005, Atlanta, Georgia.

Drs. Elizabeth Robertson and Eve Reider hosted a two-day meeting on January 25 and 26, 2005 titled "Youth with Multiple Problem Behaviors: A Translational Perspective." The meeting was held at the Bethesda Marriott, Bethesda, Maryland.

On April 7, 2005 Dr. Aria Crump, DESPR, participated in a NIMH-organized panel held as a part of the Society for Research on Child Development's annual meeting. The panel was designed to inform investigators about current NIH research policy.

Dr. Aria Crump, DESPR, chaired a symposium entitled "Translating the Science of Human Development Into Preventive Interventions: Case Studies From the Field" at the Society for Research on Child Development Meeting on April 10, 2005 in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. William S. Cartwright conducted a seminar, Cost-effectiveness and Financing of Drug Abuse Treatment, March 11, 2005 at the Medical University of South Carolina.

On April 1, 2005, Melissa W. Racioppo presented a talk entitled, "Identifying -Effective' Treatments for Substance Abuse" at the annual meeting of the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program in Omaha, Nebraska.

Drs. Joseph Frascella and Laurence Stanford, DCNDBT, conducted a grant-writing workshop at the University of Hawaii-Manoa and also participated in the dedication of the University's new 3 Tesla imaging facility on February 23-25, 2005 in Honolulu, HI.

Dr. Joseph Frascella participated in the National Hispanic Science Network Steering Committee and Program Committee meeting held in Miami, Florida on March 3-5, 2005.

Dr. Joseph Frascella participated in a small meeting on the state-of-the field on methamphetamine research held in Los Angeles, California on March 9-11, 2005.

Dr. Joseph Frascella participated in the Asian American Pacific Islander Research Scholars Workgroup meeting held in Coconut Grove, Florida on March 11-14, 2005.

Dr. Harold Gordon, DCNDBT, participated by invitation to a Quality of Life Workshop sponsored by Self-Care & Health Program of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America on February 16-17, 2005, in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the conference was to explore new approaches to understanding the role of sleep and sleep disorders in a person's well being.

Dr. Steven Grant, DNDBT, presented a talk on "Imaging the Addicted Brain: Treatment Implications " as part of the FDA CDER Seminar Series on March 16, 2005 in Rockville, MD.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society held in New York City, held in Bethesda, MD on April 9-12, 2005.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the biannual Motivational Neural Network Conference. The topic of the conference was "Regulation and Development of the Prefrontal Cortex: Basic and Clinical Perspectives". The conference was held in Clearwater, Florida on May 1-4, 2005.

Dr. Nicolette Borek, DCNDBT, participated as a scientific staff collaborator in the Network Meeting of the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions in Arlington, VA, April 13-16, 2005. The ATN is a collaborative network cosponsored by NICHD, NIDA, NIMH, and NIAAA.

Dr. Nicolette Borek presented a talk on NIDA's research priorities at the Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, April 7-10, 2005.

Debbie Grossman, DCNDBT, hosted a roundtable to discuss the Behavioral Therapies Development Program at the Society of Behavioral Medicine on April 14, 2005. The Behavioral Therapies Development Program is an ongoing program of research in the Behavioral and Integrative Treatment Branch to develop and test behavioral therapies for drug abuse and dependence.

On March 24-25 2005, Dr. Lisa Onken, DCNDBT, participated in an NIMH meeting on translational research in neurobiology and interpersonal processes.

Dr. Susan Volman, DBNBR, and Dr. Geoffrey Schoenbaum, University of Maryland School of Medicine, co-chaired a symposium on "Drug Addiction" at the Winter Conference on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, January 8, 2005, Park City, UT.

Drs. Cora Lee Wetherington, DBNBR and NIDA's Women & Gender Research Coordinator, and Lisa S. Onken, Chief, Behavioral and Integrative Treatment Branch, DCNDBT, gave an invited presentation, "Drug Abuse Treatment in Women," at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, March 17, 2005, Gaithersburg, MD.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington was co-author with Drs. Gary Swan and Taline Khroyan on a presentation, "Women, Tobacco, and Cancer: Recommendations for Research on Addiction," given by Dr. Swan at annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, March 23-25, 2005, Prague.

Dr. Minda Lynch, DBNBR, attended the Winter Conference on Brain Research in Breckenridge, CO during January 2005. She participated in a Federal Funding session with NINDS, NIMH and NIA, and also represented NIDA at an institutional exhibit in the exhibit/poster area of the conference.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock, DBNBR, in collaboration with Dr. Jane Peterson, Dr. Mark Moore, and John Hodges organized the NIH Planning Meeting for the Knockout Mouse Project that was held March 24-25, 2005.

Dr. David Shurtleff, Director, DBNBR, participated in the National Inhalants Awareness week press conference with ONDCP, SAMHSA and the National Inhalants Prevention Coalition (NIPC) held on March 17, 2005 at the National Press Club, Washington DC.

Dr. David Shurtleff held a workshop on "NIDA Programs and Funding Opportunities" at the Society for Neuroimmune Pharmacology (SNIP), in Clearwater FL on April 9,2005.

Dr. Paul Schnur, Deputy Director, DBNBR, attended a conference on "Extinction: The Neural Mechanisms of Behavior Change" in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on February 2-6, 2005. The conference was supported partially by NIDA and NIMH.

Dr. Jerry Frankenheim (DBNBR) hosted an illustrated talk entitled Inhalant Abuse at the Rockville Jewish Community Center on April 13, 2005.

Dr. David Gorelick, IRP, organized and chaired a symposium on "Update on Treatment of Stimulant Abuse" at the 156th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New York, NY, May 6, 2004. Stories about this symposium, with quotes from Dr. Gorelick and other speakers, appeared in JAMA, 292, pp. 1807-1809, Oct. 20, 2004, and in ASAM [American Society of Addiction Medicine] News, 19, pp. 6-7, Winter 2005-2005.

On March 9, 2005, Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DPMCDA, presented on medications for methamphetamine at the NIDA-UCLA Methamphetamine workshop in Los Angeles, CA.

Dr. Frank Vocci made several presentations to the International Society for Addiction Medicine meetings in Argentina. Dr. Vocci's talks were as follows: April 19: Buenos Aires: ISAM Satellite Symposium: Neurobiology of Addiction April 20: Buenos Aires: ISAM Satellite Symposium: Pharmacology of cannabinoids April 21: ISAM main Meeting in Mar Del Plata: Addiction is a Brain Disease April 21: ISAM in MDP: Pharmacology of cannabinoids.

Dr. Jag Khalsa, DPMCDA, presented a mini-symposium on Management of Hepatitis C Infection in Drug Abusers at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Dallas, TX, April 14-16, 2005. Drs. Diana Sylvestre of UCSF, Dr. Richard Garfien of UCSD, and Dr. Ramesh Ganju of Harvard covered epidemiological, basic and clinical issues including disease progression and neuropsychological complications and interventions. A brief summary of the symposium will be placed on NIDA's website.

Dr. Jag Khalsa co-chaired with Dr. Robert Donahoe a mini-symposium on Role of Drugs of Abuse in HIV/AIDS Progression at the Annual Meeting of the Society of NeuroImmune Pharmacology (SNIP), Clear Water, FL, April 5-10, 2005. Drs. David Vlahov and Aftab Ansari served as the discussants. Dr. Robert Muga from Spain and Dr. Maria Prinz from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, presented data on drug abuse and HIV disease from two different cohorts that have been followed for disease progression. A brief summary of the findings presented will be placed on NIDA's website.

Dr. Jag Khalsa along with other colleagues (Drs. Vocci, Montoya, and Elkashef) from DPMC delivered talks on the Medical Consequences of Cocaine and Marijuana at the International Society of Addiction Medicine, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 19-24, 2005. In addition, Dr. Khalsa and colleagues met with investigators from Buenos Aires and discussed future collaborations.