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Medications Discovery & Toxicology Branch
Mission: To facilitate, though preclinical medications discovery and safety assessment efforts, the translation of basic research findings into pharmacotherapies for the treatment of drug addiction.
The MDTB plans and implements a preclinical Addiction Treatment Discovery Program (ATDP), with the goal of identifying potential medications to treat drug dependence disorders. The Program is implemented by coordinating the extramural activities of the MDTB and the Chemistry & Pharmaceutics Branch (CPB) and through close interactions with chemists and pharmaceutical company contacts. Within the ATDP, contract-supported activities range from in vitro receptor activity profiling to compound evaluations in advanced animal models. The MDTB also supports grants aimed at evaluating potential new pharmacotherapies to treat drug dependence.
Beyond medications discovery, the MDTB plans and implements a comprehensive preclinical Toxicology Program. Through contracts, the Toxicology Program supports all of the standard Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) preclinical safety studies required for IND and NDA filings with the FDA. In addition, contracts have been established to support specialized preclinical drug interaction studies in which the safety of potential medications is established in the presence of drugs of abuse.
Medications Discovery and Toxicology Branch Staff Contacts
Jane B. Acri, Ph.D., Chief (acting)
301-443-8489
ja96v@nih.gov
Supervises staff responsible for coordinating the Division's contract- and grant-based medications discovery and preclinical safety assessment efforts. Oversees grant-related issues in medications discovery and activities of the Addiction Treatment Discovery Program, Toxicology Program, and branch participation in the Safety Assessment Candidate team. Project officer on related contracts and grants. Has served as a project leader on a number of drug development projects. Eight years of direct experience in drug abuse research at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the NIDA Intramural Research Program prior to joining DPMCDA in 1996.
Nathan M. Appel, Ph.D., Health Scientist Administrator
301-443-8475
nappel@nih.gov
Director of the Division's Toxicology Program and Director of the Safety Assessment Candidate Team. Project Officer on related contracts and member of most drug development project teams. Joined the NIDA Extramural Program in 1999. Eight years previous experience at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Naresh Chand, D.V.M, Ph.D., Health Scientist Administrator
301-443-8895
nchand@mail.nih.gov
Responsible for coordinating the Division's preclinical cardiovascular safety testing, including in vitro estimates of risk for Q-T prolongation and in vivo assessments of hemodynamic interactions with cocaine and methamphetamine. Project Officer on related contracts. Serves as a member of the Safety Assessment Candidate and Toxicology Program Teams. Joined DPMCDA in 2000 with twenty previous years of diverse pharmacology and toxicology experience within the pharmaceutical industry.
Hirsch D. Davis, M.A., Psychologist
301-443-8849
hdavis@nida.nih.gov
Serves as member of the Addiction Treatment Discovery Program Team, with expertise in the effects of drugs on cognitive performance. Project Officer on related grants and contracts. Seven years experience at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) and eleven years experience at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Joined DPMCDA in 2002.
Carol Hubner, Ph.D., Health Scientist Administrator & Associate Director, Addiction Treatment Discovery Program
301-443-4459
ch83a@nih.gov
Associate Director of the Addiction Treatment Discovery Program. Project Officer on rodent behavioral pharmacology contracts supporting this program. Seven years of preclinical research experience studying drugs of abuse (primarily cocaine) at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, University of Maryland, and the National Institute of Mental Health. Joined DPMCDA in 1992.
David A. White, Ph.D., Health Scientist Administrator & Director, Addiction Treatment Discovery Program
301-443-8889
whitedav@nida.nih.gov
Serves as a member of the Addiction Treatment Discovery Program Team and is a Project Officer on related contracts. Serves as a NIDA representative to the Interagency Committee on Drug Control (ICDC). More than six years of previous research experience in the area of drug abuse at Emory University's School of Medicine in the Department of Pharmacology. Joined DPMCDA in 2006.
Medications Discovery & Toxicology Branch (MDTB)
Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 4123, MSC 9551
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9551
(301) 443-6270
(301) 443-2599 (fax)
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