Meetings/Conferences

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) held a research track at the American Psychiatric Association's 158th Annual Meeting, May 21-26, 2005, in Atlanta, GA with some 22,000 conference attendees. The NIDA program included sessions on increases in opioid analgesic abuse, scientific advances in the neurobiology of behavior, cannabis dependence treatment and the neurobiology of compulsive reward-seeking. This year's program built on the major research track NIDA held at APA's conference in 2004 to raise awareness of new and emerging issues in addiction and psychiatry and provide important information related to best practices and treatment strategies. A number of NIDA staff, including NIDA's Director, Dr. Nora Volkow, participated in the 2005 meeting.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in collaboration with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) held a meeting "Forging Federal-State Collaborations to Blend Research and Practice," on June 5, 2005 at the Sheraton Bal Harbour Hotel in Miami, Florida in conjunction with the 2005 Annual NASADAD Conference. This meeting built on a series of meetings held over the past year to examine collaborative strategies to enhance the adoption of evidence-based practices in State drug abuse prevention and treatment systems.

NIDA hosted a two-day Blending Conference at the Sheraton Bal Harbour Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida on June 6 - 7, 2005, titled "Smart Practice, Practical Science: Blending Clinical Treatment and Research." This successful event brought together clinicians and researchers to present and discuss scientific findings related to empirically supported treatments for drug abuse research. A hallmark of this meeting was that Spanish translation was available. The Conference was dedicated in memoriam to Mr. Glen Fischer. The NIDA planning committee of this meeting included Drs. Timothy P. Condon, Cindy Miner, Suman King and Denise Pintello, as well as Jane Smither, OSPC.

NIDA convened a Grant Writing Workshop on June 21, 2005, at the 2005 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Conference in Orlando, Florida. Approximately 60 early-career scientists attended and were provided information about the grant process at NIDA and how to apply for NIH grants. The presenters included: Drs. Cindy Miner, David Shurtleff, Mark Swieter from NIDA; Dr. Scott Lukas, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Dr. Jeffery Hoffman, Danya International Inc. The Workshop was chaired and coordinated by Dr. Denise Pintello, OSPC.

A NIDA Grant Writing Workshop was held in Annapolis, Maryland at the 2005 International Narcotics Research Conference (INRC) on July 13, 2005. Presenters from NIDA were: Drs. Cindy Miner, Rita Liu and Mark Greene, and Dr. Ellen Unterwald from Temple University. Workshop attendees included approximately 75 early-career researchers.

On August 3 - 4, 2005, NIDA hosted its first "Mentored K Awardees Meeting: Making the Transition to Independent Scientist" in Bethesda, MD. The meeting offered a forum for successful K grantees from various areas within drug abuse to present their experiences, provide a grant-writing workshop for R applications, learn about the NIDA and NIH review process, meet with NIDA Program Officials as well as other K colleagues, and for showcasing research posters by current K awardees. The meeting was a success with over 70 awardees attendance as well as program staff representation from all Divisions and Centers of NIDA. The NIDA planning committee included: Drs. Susan Weiss, Suman King, Allison Chausmer, and Aria Crump.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) organized a major program of events at this year's American Psychological Association's (APA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. August 18-21, 2005. A number of NIDA staff were involved in organizing and/or presenting on a wide range of session topics such as, "Behavior Genetics of Drug Abuse in the Molecular Genetics Era," "Adolescent Brain Development - What Does It have to do with Cognitive Processes?," "Drugs, African Americans, HIV, and Criminalization: Breaking the Cycle," and the "Neurobiological Aspects of Drug Addiction: Implications for Treatment." In addition, NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow, presented in an invited symposium on "Are Alcohol and Drug Dependence Developmental Disorders?" NIDA also sponsored an Early Career Investigator Poster Session with APA's Divisions 28 and 50 and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as part of the two Divisions' Social Hour. NIDA sponsored 54 poster participants, giving them an opportunity to present their research to clinicians and researchers who attended this session. A highlight of this event was the presentation of APA's Presidential Citation Award to Dr. Volkow to recognize her contributions in support of psychological and behavioral science.

On June 17, 2005, just prior to the CPDD meeting in Orlando, NIDA DPMCDA and DBNBR held a consultants meeting entitled Review and Evaluation of NIDA Targets for Potential NIH Roadmap Library Screening Efforts. A series of 30 minute presentations were given by NIDA-funded researchers whose findings suggest specific targets for potential library screening efforts within the NIH Roadmap-supported Molecular Libraries High Throughput Screening Centers. The potential targets under discussion ranged from traditional receptors (such as the D-1 dopamine receptor) that are highly validated as targets for medications discovery to less traditional targets (such as G protein-coupled receptor kinases) that may yield useful research tools. A group of five consultants with pharmaceutical and biotechnology company experience in target identification/validation and high-throughput screening assay development participated in the meeting. They are in the process of providing written recommendations to NIDA regarding the perceived merits and readiness of each potential target for high-throughput screening and additional target validation and/or assay development efforts that may be desirable. The consultant recommendations will help NIDA to prepare NIDA-relevant targets for incorporation into the NIH Roadmap library screening effort. The meeting organizers were Dr. Dr. David McCann, DPMCDA, Dr. Jane B. Acri, DPMCDA, Dr. Frank Vocci, DPMCDA, Dr. David Shurtleff, DBNBR, Dr. Paul Schnur, DBNBR and Dr. Christine Colvis, DBNBR.

On May 4-5, 2005, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Chevy Chase, MD. Drs. Christine Colvis and Joni Rutter, DBNBR, convened a meeting of experts to discuss "Epigenetics of Drug Addiction."

On June 23, 2005, the Prevention Research Branch, DESPR, hosted a briefing by Drs. David Hawkins, Richard Catalano, and Michael Arthur for the co-funding agencies of the Science-based Prevention: Testing Communities that Care. Representatives from NCI, NIMH, NICHD, CSAP and SAMHSA were in attendance.

NIDA's National Hispanic Science Network Summer Research Training Institute was held in June 2005 at the University of Houston, Houston TX. A number of NIDA staff gave presentations on a variety of topics.

NIDA's Special Populations Office supported the Health Disparities grantees meeting on July 20-21, 2005 in Rockville, Maryland.

NIDA's Special Populations Office convened a meeting of the African American Researchers and Scholars Work Group on July 19, 2005 at the Marriott Pooks Hill in Bethesda, Maryland. Workgroup members continued to work on development of the objectives previously outlined in their strategic plan. Members received an update on activities within the Special Populations Office from Dr. Lula Beatty, Ph.D. Work group members also provided updates on their current research and activities.

A workshop entitled Telling Your Story: The Art of Professional Authorship was held on June 5, 2005, in Miami, FL, preceding the NIDA Blending Meeting. This was a 3 1/2 hour workshop for clinicians and researchers to receive "authorship coaching" from CTN presenters who spoke about successful strategies for CTP/Researcher collaboration in the authorship of CTN findings.

CTN National Steering Committee (SC) Meetings were held June 8-10, 2005 in Miami, Florida. Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director, outlined 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. The SC discussed a modified governance structure for the CTN and the status of ongoing efforts. Representatives from community treatment providers from all 17 Nodes attended.

NIDA's Translationally Oriented Approaches and Devices (TOADS) Workgroup co-sponsored The Critical Issues In E-Health Conference in Bethesda, MD, June 9-10, 2005.

NIDA co-sponsored the First Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Clinical Supervision June 16-18, 2005 in Buffalo, NY.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Deputy Director, NIDA, gave a plenary presentation entitled "Addiction as a Brain Disease: New Implications for Research and Practice" and presented a workshop on "Methamphetamine: The Science of Addiction," at the 39th Annual Wisconsin Association on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (WAAODA) conference, on May 9, 2005 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon was the plenary speaker on "Addiction as a Brain Disease and the Implications for Treatment and HIV/AIDS," at the 14th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR) on May 14, 2005 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented the keynote address entitled, "Advances in Drug Abuse and Addiction Research: Implications for Prevention," at the 4th Annual Substance Abuse Prevention Regional Conference on May 23, 2005 in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented an "Update on the Blending Initiative: The Partnership Between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)," at the Forging Federal-State Partnerships to Enhance Service Quality on June 5, 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented an "Update on the Blending Initiative," at the Clinical Trials Network (CTN) External Affairs Coordinating Committee on June 8, 2005 in Miami, Florida.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon welcomed participants and presented "The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Institute Update," at the Community Epidemiology Work Group Meeting on June 14, 2005 in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Blending Science and Services: The Work of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)" at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Satellite session and participated in the 2005 NIDA International Forum, "Linking Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS Research" at the Sixty-Seventh Scientific Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) on June 18, 2005 in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon supported the NIDA Director in organizing and convening the second meeting of the Medications Development Work Group on July 26-27, 2005, in North Bethesda, Maryland. The purpose of this Work Group (composed of members from the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse and distinguished leaders from the drug abuse and addiction fields) was to help NIDA's medications development program engage in creative visioning for the future with a focus on preclinical grants.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented the closing keynote address - "Addiction as a Brain Disease: Blending Research and Practice to Enhance Prevention and Treatment in Your Community" at the Arizona Summer Institute: Life in the Community, Preventing and Treating Substance Use through Evidence-Based Practices on July 29, 2005 in Sedona, Arizona.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Methamphetamine: The Science of Addiction" at the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) on methamphetamine on August 18, 2005 in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented the Keynote Address - "Addiction as a Brain Disease: Implications for Treatment" at the Chief Resident Immersion Training Program (CRIT) on May 19, 2005 in Cape Cod Massachusetts.

Dr. Cindy Miner participated in a session entitled "Workers Compensation - Rising Medical Costs and Reinsurance" at the Reinsurance Association of America's 2005 Current Issues Forum on May 24, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Cindy Miner participated in a Grantwriting Workshop at the 67th Annual College on Problems of Drug Dependence on June 21, 2005 in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Cindy Miner presented "Addiction as a Brain Disease: Blending Research and Practice at the NAADAC/TAPP 2005 Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 7, 2005.

Dr. Cindy Miner participated in a workshop entitled "NIDA Update and Grantwriting Workshop for Young Investigators" at the International Narcotics Research Conference, July 13, 2005 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Dr. Suman King, OSPC, presented at the Tenth Annual Research Colloquium for Junior Investigators at Emory University School of Medicine on May 22, 2005 in Atlanta, GA. She presented information about research training and funding opportunities available at NIDA.

Dr. Suman King hosted the NIDA Tutorials Workshop at the 2005 College on Problems of Drug Dependence Conference (CPDD) on June 18, 2005. Approximately 30 pre-doctoral fellows received NIDA Directors' Travel Awards to attend this event that showcased cutting-edge areas within the drug abuse field presented by four current NIDA T32 Directors.

Dr. Suman King coordinated the NIDA Training Mixer at the 2005 College on Problems of Drug Dependence Conference (CPDD) on June 20, 2005 in Orlando, Florida. Seven NIDA T32s co-sponsored this successful networking event for trainees to meet with each other and T32 Program Directors.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr., Special Assistant to the Director, NIDA, gave the keynote address at the 1st Annual Dug Conference at the McMillen Center at the Torrance Memorial Medical Center on May 17, 2005 in Torrance, CA.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. presented in a panel to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) on May 24, 2005 in New York City.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. was the morning session plenary presenter for the Maryland State Attorney Training Day at the Maryland Public Defenders Conference on June 3, 2005 in Ocean City, MD.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. presented at the Summer Expert Panel Meeting on Adolescent Trauma and Substance Abuse, organized by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, which is funded by SAMHSA on June 20-21, 2005 in Boston, MA.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. presented at the National Youth Leadership Forum held at Georgetown University on July 19, 2005 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. presented updates on drug abuse research to the Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Public Health Sections of the National Medical Association at the Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly July 23-26, 2005 in New York City.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. presented on a panel entitled, "African Americans, Drugs, HIV, and Criminalization: Research, Training and Service Needs" with NIDA colleagues Dr. Lula Beatty and Dr. Dionne Jones at the Annual Convention of the Association of Black Psychologists on August 11, 2005 in Miami, FL.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. was a plenary presenter at the annual meeting of the Department of Education's Safe and Drug Free Schools Program on August 16, 2005 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. was the keynote presenter at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Association of State Substance Abuse Counselors on August 18, 2005 in Lafayette, LA.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. was the opening plenary speaker and ran a workshop on drug abuse treatment and prevention research at the Merrill Scott Symposium, an annual event in the state of Washington for drug treatment and prevention professionals, on August 25, 2005 in Yakima, WA.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. was the dinner speaker for the NIH funded Minority Trainee Research Forum on September 8, 2005 in Aventura, FL.

Dr. Donald R. Vereen, Jr. was the guest speaker at the 3rd Annual ASAM Region VII Symposium on September 10, 2005 in San Antonio, TX.

Dr. Lula Beatty, Chief Special Populations Office, NIDA, participated in the following sessions at the American Psychological Convention, August 18 - 21, 2005 in Washington, D.C.: (1) Drugs, African Americans, HIV, (2) Criminalization: Breaking the Cycle, Drug Use in Communities of Color: Inside Perspectives and Needs, (3) Funding Opportunities at NIH, CDC and SAHMSA as a moderator and presenter.

Dr. Lula Beatty chaired and presented with Drs. Dionne Jones and Donald Vereen a symposium entitled African Americans, Drugs, HIV, and Criminalization: Research, Training, and Service Needs at the convention of the Association of Black Psychologists on August 11, 2005 in Miami, FL.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session entitled Addressing AAPI Concerns at the National Institute on Drug Abuse at NAPAFASA on May 12, 2005 in Los Angeles, CA.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session entitled Improving Health in the Black Population through Psychological Research: Responsibilities, Opportunities, and Challenges for Black Psychologists and Universities at Graduate School's Psychology Symposium on May 13, 2005 at Howard University in Washington, DC.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session entitled Unlocking the Doors to the National Institute on Drug Abuse: Keys to Success for HBCUs at the annual meeting of the National Sponsored Programs Administrators Alliance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Inc. on June 9, 2005 in Norfolk, VA.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session on funding opportunities at NIDA for the NIH Extramural Associates Program on June 30, 2005 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Lula Beatty hosted a roundtable at NIDA's mentored K meeting on August 4, 2005 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ana Anders, Senior Advisor on Special Populations, SPO, participated in the "Blending" conference held June 7- 9, 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Ana Anders participated in the CPDD conference on June 17-19, 2005, in Orlando, Florida.

Ana Anders presented information on NIDA's National Hispanic Science Network to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities faculty at a meeting hosted by NIMH on July 20, 2005.

Dr. Betty Tai, Director, CCTN, updated participants on the CTN program at the State Director's meeting in Miami, June 5, 2005.

Paul Wakim, Ph.D., CCTN senior statistician, chaired an invited symposium on special design challenges in multi-site trials involving behavioral interventions, May 24, 2005, as part of the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials in Portland, Oregon. Speakers included : Daniel Feaster, University of Miami School of Medicine; Paula Schnurr, VA National Center for PTSD and Dartmouth Medical School; Rickey Carter, Medical University of South Carolina; and Ellen Hodnett, University of Toronto Faculty of Nursing.

Janet Levy, Ph.D. and Paul Wakim, Ph.D., CCTN, presented a poster, titled: "The selection of population-average versus subject-specific models for analyzing longitudinal data from clinical trials of treatments for drug addiction" at the Society for Clinical Trials in Portland, Oregon, May 2005.

On June 18, 2005, Dr. David Shurtleff presented "Basic Research in HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse" at NIDA's International Forum in Orlando, FL.

On June 20, 2005 at the College on Drug Dependence meeting in Orlando, FL. Dr. Christine Colvis chaired and organized a symposium entitled, "Proteomics and Its Application to Drug Abuse Research".

On June 20, 2005 at the College on Drug Dependence meeting in Orlando, FL, Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock, chaired and organized, the symposium, entitled: "Using Molecular Genetics to Understand Addiction".

On June 22, 2005 at the College on Drug Dependence meeting in Orlando, FL, Drs. Rutter and Shurtleff chaired and organized the symposium entitled "Pharmacogenetics and Drug Abuse." Dr. Rutter also served as the symposium discussant.

On June 21, 2005 at the College on Drug Dependence meeting in Orlando, FL Dr. David Shurtleff participated in the NIDA Grant-writing workshop and presented on "Defining the Role of NIDA Program Staff and Navigating the Research Funding Process".

In July of 2005 Dr. Jonathan Pollock presented Molecular Genetics of Addiction at the INRC Meeting in Annapolis, MD.

On August 10, 2005, Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock spoke about the funding process in the "Cellular Biology of Addiction" course, CSHL, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Dr. Jerry Frankenheim, FNRB, DBNBR, presented the seminar "Inhalant Abuse," Science and Technology, Gerber Adult Seminars, Jewish Community Center, Rockville MD in April 2005.

Dr. Jerry Frankenheim, DBNBR, presented the seminar "Methamphetamine Effects," 2005 National Conference, U.S. Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Washington DC in August 2005.

Dr. Rao S. Rapaka, DBNBR, organized a Lipidomics symposium at the 2005 National Biotechnology Conference (NBC) of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), June 2005, San Francisco. This symposium was selected as a HOT TOPIC for this meeting. Dr. Rapaka served as the Chair. The proceedings of this symposium will be published.

Dr. Rao S. Rapaka, along with Dr. Allyn Howlett, presented a talk on grant writing and funding mechanisms for young scientists at the International Cannabinoid Research Society's Annual meeting at Clearwater, FL.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DBNBR and NIDA's Women & Gender Research Coordinator, gave a presentation, Show Us the Money: Opportunities for Women's Health at NIDA, at the conference, "Show Us the Money: Unlocking Doors to Funding for Women's Health," Virginia Commonwealth University, May 16, 2005, Richmond, VA.

Dr. Joseph Frascella, Director, DCNDBT, together with Dr. Michael Sesma of NIMH conducted a workshop on the NIH Grant-Writing Process at the National Hispanic Science Network Summer Research Training Institute on Hispanic Drug Abuse in Houston, Texas, June 10, 2005.

Dr. Joseph Frascella co-chaired with Dr. Nora Volkow an all-day satellite symposium to the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence entitled "Food, Drugs, Obesity and Addiction: Common Neurobiologic Processes?" The meeting was held in Orlando, Florida on June 18, 2005.

Dr. Nicolette Borek, DCNDBT, attended the Pediatric Academic Society's 2005 Annual meeting, May 14-17th in Washington, DC.

Dr. Vincent Smeriglio, DCNDBT, collaborated with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), SAMHSA, in the planning of a session on child and adolescent research for the CSAT Women and Children's Treatment meeting held August 1-3, 2005 in Washington, DC. He also made a presentation on NIDA research. Drs. Nicolette Borek and Melissa Racioppo also participated in the meeting.

Dr. Laurence Stanford, DCNDBT, co-organized and co-chaired a symposium entitled New Advance in Pediatric Neuroimaging at the 11th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, June 13-16, 2005 in Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Cecelia McNamara, DCNDBT, chaired a panel on the Critical Issues In E-Health Conference in Bethesda MD, June 10, 2005 entitled Health Behaviors in eHealth Research-The Good, The Bad, and Their Methodological Challenges (The Ugly).

On June 17 & 18, 2005 Dr. Cecelia McNamara presented several talks on NIH funding opportunities for research on clinical supervision at the First Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Clinical Supervision in Buffalo New York.

In August 2005, Judy Cole, M.A., and Dr. Melissa W. Racioppo, DCNDBT, presented a workshop on deciphering the NIH Roadmap and a poster on marriage and family treatments for substance abuse at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Ro Nemeth-Coslett, DCNDBT, represented NIDA at the NIH SBIR Conference, Natcher Auditorium, July 29, 2005.

Dr. Ro Nemeth-Coslett was a co-organizer for NIDA's SBIR Showcase, NIDA NSC, August 25, 2005.

Dr. Ro Nemeth-Coslett presented at a mini-symposium on Substance Abuse Treatment with Game Technologies at the Games For Health Conference, September 22, 2005 in Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Steven Grant, DCNDBT, co-chaired a breakout group on Neuroimaging and participated in the Program Discussion at the NIDA Mentored K-Awardee Training Meeting, held on August 3-4, 2005 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroeconomics on September 15-18, 2005 in Charleston, NC.

Dr. Steven Grant was an organizer and chair of the NIDA workshop on "Cognitive Approaches to Drug Addiction" September 11-12, 2005 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Melissa W. Racioppo, DCNDBT, collaborated with Program staff from the Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research, in organizing several symposia and a grants workshop at the Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness. The NIDA-, CSAT-, and SASATE-sponsored meeting was held in Washington, D.C. on March 21 - 23, 2005. Symposia on the use of contingency management in the treatment of adolescent drug abuse, and on the treatment of adolescent smoking were presented, with several NIDA-funded adolescent researchers contributing their perspectives on these problems.

Dr. Racioppo presented a talk on treatments for drug and alcohol abuse at the NIMH-sponsored Outreach Partnership Program Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, April 1, 2005. The meeting brought together "outreach partners" from across the country whose role is to advocate for treatment programs with community, state, and federal partners who have a stake in mental health service delivery.

Dr. Racioppo participated in an orientation meeting of newly-recruited trainees for the continuation of an institutional K12 awarded to the American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Miami, Florida on June 14-17, 2005.

Dr. Lisa Onken hosted an OBSSR-sponsored symposium featuring Dr. Mark Bouton on May 16, 2005. Dr. Bouton spoke about "Learning and Extinction: The Place of Basic Behavioral Science in a Translational Research Agenda."

Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DPMCDA, was a discussant at the Marijuana Therapy symposium at the CPDD meeting in Orlando, June 23, 2005. Dr. Robert Stevens and Dr. Alan Budney spoke about the behavioral treatments for marijuana dependence. Dr. Margaret Haney spoke about developing pharmacotherapies and Dr. Alan Green spoke about pharmacotherapies in marijuana-abusing schizophrenic patients that may alter both the psychosis and marijuana abuse.

Dr. Frank Vocci presented on Opiate Abuse Patterns in the United States: A Changing Scene at the INRC meeting in Annapolis, MD on July 12, 2005.

Dr. Ivan Montoya, DPMCDA, co-chaired the symposium entitled Smoking Cessation and Psychiatric Comorbidity: Treatment Implications, during CPDD in Orlando, on Sunday June 19th, 2005. The sessions covered: 1) Biological determinants of nicotine dependence in severe mental disorders: Cognitive deficits and genetic polymorphisms as targets for therapeutics development. 2) Treatment of nicotine dependence in individuals with schizophrenia, 3) Treatment of comorbid ADHD and nicotine dependence, and 4) Current research and future directions for treating nicotine dependence among illicit drug users. The speakers were Tony P. George (Yale University), Douglas M. Ziedonis (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Himanshu P. Upadhyaya (Medical University of South Carolina), and Kimber P. Richter (University of Kansas Medical Center). The discussant was Dr. Lirio S. Covey from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Dr. Ivan Montoya was the discussant of a workshop entitled Data and Safety Monitoring for Clinical Trials in Health Services Research, during CPDD in Orlando. The workshop was organized by NIDA-DESPR and co-chaired by Wilson M. Compton (NIDA) and Michael L. Dennis (Chestnut Health Systems). The topics discussed included: 1) NIH and NIDA policies regarding Data Safety Monitoring Boards for Multi-site and phase III clinical trails (Redonna K. Chandler, NIDA), 2) The Practical and Effective use of DSMB in Health Services Research (Michael Dennis), 3) HIV community interventions for drug-involved women: Risks of partner abuse, self- empowerment and safety planning (Nabila El-Bassel, Columbia University), 4) DSMB Issues in Conducting Research in Criminal Justice Settings (Gary Field) and 5) Medical Adverse Events and DSMBs (Robert P. Schwartz, Friends Research Institute).

Dr. Ivan Montoya presented a poster during CPDD in Orlando entitled Exploratory Evaluation of the Effect of Buprenorphine on Marijuana Use. The co-authors were Jennifer R. Schroeder (NIDA), Carlo Contoreggi (NIDA), Kenzie Preston (NIDA), Rolley E. Johnson (Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals), Paul J. Fudala (University of Pennsylvania).

Dr. Wilson Compton, Director, DESPR, presented three papers at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, May 21-26, 2005, Atlanta, Georgia on: 1) Prevention of secondary disorders, 2) An update on preparations for revisions to the DSM system of diagnosis, and 3) Prescription drug abuse. Dr. Compton co-chaired the symposium on Prescription Drug Abuse.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented at the State of Missouri Spring Training Institute, May 19, 2005.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented at the joint NIDA-NASADAD meeting, Miami, FL, June 5, 2005.

Dr. Wilson Compton co-chaired a workshop on data safety monitoring boards for services and intervention research at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, June 21, 2005, Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Wilson Compton participated in a round-table discussion at the annual meeting of Research Society on Alcoholism, Santa Barbara, California, June 28, 2005.

Dr. Kevin Conway, ERB, DESPR, chaired a symposium entitled Translational Research on Drug Abuse: Linkages between Genetics and Prevention at the Society for Prevention Research, May 26, 2005.

Dr. Kevin Conway co-chaired a symposium entitled Behavior Genetics of Drug Abuse in the Molecular Genetics Era at the American Psychological Association, August 18, 2005.

Dr. Naimah Weinberg, ERB, DESPR, served as discussant at a symposium entitled Longitudinal Relationships between Psychopathology and Substance Use Disorders, at the meeting of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, in June, 2005, in New York City.

Dr. Naimah Weinberg organized and chaired a symposium on Using Mental Health Intervention Outcomes to Inform Substance Abuse Etiology and Prevention, at the annual meeting of the Society of Prevention Research in Washington, DC, in May 2005.

Drs. Wilson Compton and Elizabeth Robertson, DESPR, presented a workshop at the National Prevention Network meeting in New York City August 30, 2005. The topic of the workshop was recent findings in epidemiologic, etiologic and prevention research sponsored by NIDA.

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson made a presentation titled: The Role of Attitudes and Beliefs in Predicting Drug Use Behaviors at ONDCP on July 13, 2005.

Dr Elizabeth Robertson participated in the Strategic Prevention Framework - State Incentive Grants Technical Assistance workshop on May 27 and 28, 2005 in Boston, MA.

On May 26, 2005, Dr. Elizabeth Robertson was the discussant for a symposium at the Society for Prevention Research titled Issues in a Population-Level Approach to Strengthening Parenting. Presenters were Drs. Denis Embry, Matt Sanders and Ron Prinz. Each presenter discussed their experiences implementing the Triple-P program in different environmental contexts.

Dr. Aria Crump, DESPR, co-chaired a panel for Junior Investigators entitled "NIH New Investigator's Workshop" at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Society for Prevention Research in Washington, DC on May 26, 2005.

Dr. Eve Reider, DESPR, moderated a session at the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference on June 14, 2005, in Atlanta, Georgia. The title of the session was "Integrating Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention." Presenters included: Sheila Harmison (SAMHSA), Mary Allen (Maryland AIDS Administration), and Ron Stall (University of Pittsburgh).

Drs. Eve Reider and Elizabeth Robertson chaired a Scientific Dialogue/Roundtable Discussion at the Society for Prevention Research Conference in Washington D.C. on May 25, 2005. The title of the Roundtable Discussion was "Foster Care and Substance Abuse: Understanding and Ending the Cycle." The panel of discussants included: Richard Barth (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Patricia Chamberlain (Oregon Social Learning Center), John Landsverk (San Diego State University), John Reid (Oregon Social Learning Center), Steve Hornberger, and Mary Bruce Webb (Administration for Children and Families, DHHS).

Drs. Eve Reider and Elizabeth Robertson chaired a Scientific Dialogue/Roundtable Discussion at the Society for Prevention Research Conference in Washington D.C. on May 25, 2005. The title of the Roundtable Discussion was "Youth with Multiple Problem Behaviors: What Have We Learned about Them, How Successful Have We Been in Intervening with Them, and Where to Go from Here?" The panel of discussants included: Anthony Biglan (Oregon Research Institute), Deborah Capaldi (Oregon Social Learning Center), Thomas Dishion (University of Oregon), David Olds (University of Colorado), and Mary Jane Rotheram Borus (University of California Los Angeles).

Dr. Elizabeth Ginexi, PRB, DESPR, chaired a Paper Symposium at the annual meeting for the Society for Prevention Research in Washington, DC on May 25, 2005. The title of her Symposium was "The Developmental Plasticity of Neural Systems: Implications for Prevention Science." Ronald Dahl, M.D. of University of Pittsburgh, Philip A. Fisher, Ph.D. of the Oregon Social Learning Center, and Diana H. Fishbein, Ph.D. of RTI International, presented papers. Daniel Shaw, Ph.D. of University of Pittsburgh, led discussion.

Dr. Elizabeth Ginexi co-authored a paper presentation with Drs. Booil Jo of Stanford University and George W. Howe, of the George Washington University titled "Randomized Trials with Non-participation and Non-response: Model Choices in Intention-to-treat Analysis" at the annual meeting for the Society for Prevention Research in Washington, DC on May 25, 2005. The paper was presented as part of a Symposium on Advances in Latent Variable Modeling chaired by Daniel Feaster of University of Miami, Bengt Muthen of University of Southern Florida and Karen Nylund of University of California Los Angeles.

Drs. Elizabeth Ginexi, DESPR and Minda Lynch, DBNBR, along with Drs. Michael Bardo, University of Kentucky and Steve Sussman, University of Southern California, organized a satellite workshop at the CPDD meeting in June 2005, Orlando, FL. This interactive full-day workshop titled "Translating Basic Research from Neural, Behavioral and Social Sciences to Prevention: Challenges and Opportunities," was co-sponsored by NIDA and the Center for Drug Abuse Research Translation (CDART) at the University of Kentucky. Expert panel members from both basic and prevention science presented examples of translation research in action, and discussed strategies, challenges and barriers to the translational process in prevention with a focus on cross-disciplinary models, tools, and technologies. Travel awards were offered to Early Career investigators to attend the meeting and present posters on a variety of basic science and prevention research topics.

Dr. William S. Cartwright, DESPR, participated in the Conference Planning Meeting on Alcohol: Impact on the Health of Women, Children, and Families, June 19-20, 2005 at the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Beverly Pringle, DESPR, participated in several symposia at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, August 18-21, 2005. Dr. Pringle chaired a symposium entitled Translational Research on Smoking Cessation: Types I and II; co-chaired a symposium entitled, The United States-Netherlands Binational Collaboration on Drug Abuse; and served as discussant on a symposium entitled Rural Substance Abuse Research: New Methods, New Findings, New Funding.

Dr. Beverly Pringle, DESPR, presented on a panel entitled "Is the Cup Half Full or Half Empty?" Tobacco Control and Systems Change Research Funding at the capstone meeting of Addressing Tobacco in Managed Care, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Chicago, IL, May 3, 2005.

Dr. Redonna Chandler, DESPR, presented on a panel entitled, Data Safety Monitoring for Clinical Trials in Health Services Research, at the annual meeting of The College On Problems of Drug Dependence, Orlando, FL, June 18-23, 2005.