Meetings/Conferences

NIDA and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) organized and co-sponsored a special research-based program track entitled Integrating the Science of Addiction Into Psychiatric Practice during the 157th APA Annual Meeting held May 1-6, 2004. The nearly 30 sessions featured in this track, including 7 major lectures by some of the world's leading drug abuse and addiction researchers, addressed a wide array of topics linked to mental illness and drug abuse. Some of the topics built into the series included stress, trauma, and drug abuse; obesity and addiction; smoking and comorbid mental disorders; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and drug abuse. NIDA also highlighted a number of other sessions from the APA program based on scientific content that complements the series theme. The goal of this special track was to raise awareness of new and emerging issues in addiction and psychiatry and provide important information related to best practices and treatment strategies.

On February 26 and 27, 2004, NIDA sponsored a science meeting entitled Identifying the Mechanisms of Action of Behavioral Treatments: Setting the Stage for Dissemination. The meeting was organized and co-chaired by Drs. Melissa Racioppo and Lisa Onken. This meeting brought together experts in behavioral treatment research to discuss the challenges to identifying how behavioral treatments work, including the key ingredients, mediators, moderators, and mechanisms of treatment. This meeting was designed to highlight an area necessary for successful dissemination of efficacious treatments to community settings, and is part of NIDA's ongoing efforts to bridge the gap between clinical science and practice.

A NIDA-sponsored science meeting on Enhancing Addictions Assessment, Behavioral Treatment, and Provider Training Using Information Technology organized and co-chaired by Dr. Cece McNamara and Dr. Lisa Onken, DTR&D, was held on March 4-5, 2004 in Gaithersburg, MD.

On March 23-24, 2004, a meeting entitled Long-Term Follow-Up of Prenatal Drug Exposure: Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities was held in Bethesda, MD. The meeting was co-sponsored by NIDA, NICHD, and ORWH, NIH. Twenty-three longitudinal cohort studies were represented, and a total of more than 100 individuals attended the meeting. In addition to reports on progress and directions for all ongoing studies, there were sessions on neuroimaging in the cohort studies, genetic analyses, and relevant toxicological procedures. Group discussions addressed issues of measurement (e.g., risk and resiliency factors, substance abuse vulnerability), methodological considerations in longitudinal data analyses, and biological and social/environmental mechanisms underlying associations between prenatal exposure and developmental outcomes. The meeting was organized and co-chaired by Drs. Vincent Smeriglio (NIDA), Rosemary Higgins (NICHD), and Loretta Finnegan (ORWH). Other NIDA members involved in the meeting were Drs. Marilyn Huestis and Joni Rutter, both of whom made presentations, and Drs. Jonathan Pollock, Laurence Stanford, and Cora Lee Wetherington, each of whom chaired sessions.

A workshop on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Drug Abuse and Other Brain Disorders, organized and chaired by Dr. Maria Majewska, DTR&D, was held on March 16, 2004 in Bethesda, Maryland. The theme of the workshop was the review and evaluation of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) technology in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, with a discussion emphasis on TMS potential in the treatment of substance use disorders.

The CTN Data and Safety Monitoring Board met March 18-19, 2004, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The group reviewed progress on several ongoing studies, discussed criteria for requiring interim analyses in CTN trials, and reviewed the data and safety monitoring plans for new protocols.

An ASI Train the Facilitators Workshop was held April 13-15, 2004 at Duke Clinical Research Institute in the North Carolina Node.

NIDA's CCTN coordinated a meeting between the National Cancer Institute's Community Oncology and Prevention Trials Research Group and NIDA's Clinical Trials Network to discuss smoking cessation. Nine NIDA researchers and seven NIDA staff (including Bill Corrigall) were joined by ten NCI researchers and six NCI staffers on March 23, 2004, at the Bethesda Marriott Suites. After introductions, Lori Minasian, MD, of the NCI, presented an overview of the NCI Community Oncology & Prevention Trials Research Group, and then described completed trials on smoking cessation, trials on smoking cessation currently in progress, and smoking cessation concepts being considered for future protocol development. In turn, Betty Tai, Ph.D., gave an overview of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network, and then described the trial on smoking cessation currently in progress, and the smoking cessation concepts being considered for future protocol development. Afterward, Richard Hurt, MD, a researcher from the NCI Trials Research Group, and James Sorensen, Ph.D., a researcher from the NIDA Clinical Trials Network, jointly led a group discussion of the feasibility of NCI and NIDA working together. The group discussed critical elements for collaboration; the possibilities and challenges of running one protocol over two networks versus two protocols over two networks; data management and data sharing; and cohorts and settings. There was enough enthusiasm and positive expectations for collaboration that Lori Minasian, MD and Betty Tai, Ph.D. decided to continue the discussion and preliminary planning at a second meeting to be held this summer.

The CTN Concept and Protocol Review Subcommittee met April 20-21, 2004 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to review the Wave 5 protocol concepts. A total of 42 new protocol concepts have been received and were reviewed by a panel of experts from within the CTN. The submitted concepts span a broad range of research areas, with particular emphases on buprenorphine/ naloxone, smoking cessation, marijuana treatment, adolescents, psychiatric co-morbidity, and HIV and HCV interventions.

The inaugural Hand-Off Meeting for the CTN's Motivational Interviewing Protocol (Dr. Kathleen Carroll, P.I.) was held on May 17 -18, 2004 in Bethesda, MD. This meeting served to present the results of the protocol and how it can address critical needs in the treatment field via dissemination product(s). Dr. Suman Rao, OSPC, organized this meeting, designed to discuss dissemination strategies for a specific target audience.

The CTN Dissemination Subcommittee Face-to-Face Meeting was held on May 13 - 14, 2004 in Gaithersburg, MD. This meeting focused on creating a strategy to disseminate training materials of completed protocols within the CTN and interfacing with existing Blending Teams that are responsible for dissemination to the outside community. Dr. Suman Rao, OSPC, coordinated this meeting with the Dissemination Subcommittee Workgroup leaders.

Dr. Nemeth-Coslett, DTR&D and Drs. Appel and Thomas, DNBR, co-chaired a one-day symposium on February 24, 2004 hosted by NIDA entitled Virtual Reality: Opportunities for the NIH. Multidisciplinary experts highlighted the latest scientific findings on the current and potential roles for virtual reality technologies in medicine. Discussion included description of the theory and applications of virtual reality, emphasizing how this technology is being used in prevention and treatment therapies for drug abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, phobias, and pain.

Jacques Normand, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Lambert, M.Sc., of the Population-Based Health Intervention Unit of NIDA's CAMCODA organized a Workshop on New Dynamics of HIV Risk Among Drug-Using Men Who Have Sex With Men on March 1-2, 2004 in Bethesda, MD. The workshop brought together 15 NIDA researchers and experts to review information and findings from their currently-funded NIDA grants on HIV/AIDS and drug-using men who have sex with other men (MSM). Discussion sessions, led by Ron Stall, Ph.D. and Sevgi Aral, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, focused on the research findings and on public health surveillance data that show the incidence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is increasing among drug-using MSM. The meeting concluded with recommendations to help NIDA facilitate a program of research on new dynamics of HIV risks among drug using MSM and prevention strategies to address them. The presentations and discussions of the participants are now being prepared as manuscripts for publication in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal, expected to be available in the spring/summer of 2005.

On March 5, 2004, NIDA invited several speakers to inform Staff on the state of knowledge about dextromethorphan (DXM) abuse, which has recently been highlighted by the media. Dr. Edward Boyer, University of Massachusetts Medical School of Emergency Medicine, and Bob D'Alessandro, Center for Prevention Research and Resource Development presented information on the extent of reported use based on data from poison control centers and emergency rooms. Dr. Jerry Frankenheim discussed the mechanisms of action of DXM in the brain.

On February, 11, 2004, the Bioethics Task Force, a subcommittee of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, met to discuss the development of guidelines for drug abuse research in children and adolescents. Drs. Ken Winters, University of Minnesota, Thomas Kelley, University of Kentucky, and Kathleen Merikangas and Daniel Pine of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Intramural Program were invited to the meeting to discuss their experiences and views regarding research with children and adolescents. General issues that were discussed included the implementation of the federal regulations on research with children, consent/assent, confidentiality, compensation and coercion. Unique issues related to specific types of studies including surveys, genetics, and treatment research were also discussed. As a follow-up to this meeting, Drs. Dorothy Hatsukami, chairperson of the Bioethics Taskforce, Susan Weiss, and Gayathri Jeyarasasingam, OSPC, met with Dr. David Wendler, Department of Clinical Bioethics NIH, to further discuss these issues and with Dr. Monique Ernst of the NIMH Intramural Program who provided an overview of the specific issues related to neuroimaging research in children. As a result of these meetings, the Bioethics Task Force is in the process of drafting preliminary guidelines for drug abuse research in children.

In the recent Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting in Baltimore, MD, March 11 - 14, 2004, NIDA participated in two sessions and a NIDA exhibit booth was on site. The sessions included a poster and a discussion hour focusing on child and adolescent research support at NIDA. Drs. Jessica Campbell, Kathy Etz, and Kevin Conway participated in the planning of the events and represented NIDA at the meeting, along with a number of members from the Child and Adolescent Workgroup.

NIDA co-sponsored-in collaboration with AHRQ, NIMH, NIAAA, and NCI-a day-long workshop entitled, Participation in Government Health Services Research Grants, Washington, DC, April 21, 2004.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Deputy Director, NIDA, discussed NIDA's research priorities with the Drug Strategies Board of Directors at The Americas Society in Manhattan, New York on November 13, 2003.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "NIDA/ATTC Collaboration" at the CTN External Affairs Coordinating Committee in Tucson, Arizona on January 27, 2004.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon gave the opening remarks at a workshop on Identifying Mechanisms of Actions of Behavioral Treatments for Substance Abuse: Setting the Stages for Dissemination on February 26, 2004 in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon gave the opening remarks at the Targeted Lipidomics: Signaling Lipids & Drugs of Abuse workshop on April 15, 2004 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Addiction as a Brain Disease: Implications for Blending Research and Practice" at the Second Annual Andrew C. McInvale Memorial Symposium: Dealing with Drug Abuse: Addiction, Relapse, and Remediation at Tulane University on April 16, 2004 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon participated in the 13th World Conference on Tobacco or Health Stakeholders Caucus on April 27, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented "Crystal Meth Usage in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Community" as part of LGBT Health Awareness Week on March 18, 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, participated in the APA Research Colloquium for Junior Investigators at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting on May 2, 2004 in New York, NY.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, chaired a workshop entitled "Obtaining Research Funding From NIH: Keys to Successful Grant Writing" at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting on May 3, 2004 in New York, NY.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented "Abuse for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse" at the National Institute of Health's 5th Annual Share the Health Exposition on April 24, 2004 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented the Keynote Address at the Chief Resident Immersion Training Program (CRIT) on May 20, 2004 in Chatham, Massachusetts.

On January 20, 2004 David Anderson, OSPC, Jackie Kaftarian, DESPR, and Caryn Blitz of the Community Antidrug Coalitions of America, presented a four-hour panel at CADCA's annual Leadership Council. The panel sought to clarify and expand dialogue between researchers and community prevention practitioners by focusing on very practical questions in the nexus between research and practice. According to the format, community coalition leaders from three cities (Deacon Dzerziewski, Gwen Wilson, Harry Kressler) presented questions, concerns, challenges and suggestions to three leading prevention researchers (David Hawkins, Harold Holder, Paul Florin). After the researchers' responses and a round of follow-up discussion, the audience was invited to participate. The topics discussed included the usefulness of research-based practices both for improving program effectiveness and for its persuasive value with communities and funders, and recognition that coalitions' dedication and ingenuity are vital both for adapting research to their communities' needs and for acting in areas where research has not yet provided clear guidance. The panel will be the basis for an article in an upcoming issue of Science & Practice Perspectives.

Sheryl Massaro, PILB, OSPC, coordinated NIDA's participation in the National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week event with SAMHSA and the National Inhalants Prevention Coalition (NIPC). NIDA helped to distribute NIPC's Community Action Kits nationwide, updated the English and Spanish NIDA InfoFacts fact sheets on Inhalants, revised NIDA's Research Report Series on Inhalants, and coordinated the participation of Dr. Nora D. Volkow in the press conference held on March 18, 2004 at the National Press Club.

Sheryl Massaro coordinated the participation of Dr. Nora D. Volkow in the webcast entitled "Addiction by Prescription". This was the first of a series of webcasts produced by SAMHSA as part of National Recovery Month, which is in September. However these webcasts will air throughout the year. "Addiction by Prescription" aired on March 3, 2004.

On February 5, 2004, Drs. David Shurtleff and Paul Schnur, DNBR, met with representatives of the Association for the American Veterinary Medical Colleges to discuss research and research training opportunities available to veterinarians and students of veterinary medicine at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dr. David Shurtleff, Director, DNBR, presented "How To Write a Fundable Grant" with Dr. Abraham Bautista (NIDA) and Dr. Barbara Bayer (Georgetown University) at the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology (SNIP) in Santa Fe, NM on March 26, 2005.

Dr. William Corrigall, DNBR, gave the opening plenary titled Tobacco Addiction Research at NIDA: A Brain Research Perspective at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Europe meeting in Scottsdale AZ, February 2004.

Dr. William Corrigall gave a presentation titled NIDA's Agenda for Nicotine Research at the Bluegrass Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience Spring Neuroscience Day in Lexington KY, March 2004.

Dr. Dave Thomas, DNBR, chaired a session titled, "Virtual Reality and Addictions," at the Cybertherapy, 2004 meeting in San Diego, CA, January 2004.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, NIDA's Women's Health Issues Coordinator and DNBR, gave a talk, "NIH Grant-Writing Strategies," at the workshop, Funding Your Research: Tips from the Experts, at the University of Michigan on March 12, 2004. The workshop was sponsored by the University of Michigan's Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington gave the keynote address, "Gender-Based Approaches to Drug Abuse," at the Third Annual Conference on Women and Mental Health, Baltimore, MD, May 17, 2004.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington served on the organizing meeting for the 2nd World Congress on Women's Mental Health held March 17-20, 2004 in Washington, DC, and represented NIDA at the meeting.

Dr. Minda Lynch, BCSRB, DNBR, co-chaired a workshop at the Winter Brain Research Conference, Copper Mountain, Colorado, in January 2004 on "Nucleus Accumbens, Glutamate and Addiction". Drs. Christopher Pierce, David Self, Krista McFarland and Patricia DiCiano discussed their recent research on the role of central glutamatergic systems, receptors and cellular mechanisms in an animal model of relapse to addiction.

Dr. Susan Volman, DNBR, gave a talk on "Funding Opportunities at NIDA" for a workshop on the NIH grants process at the Spring Brain meeting in Sedona, AZ, on March 13, 2004.

Dr. Joni Rutter, DNBR, represented NIDA at the Society for Women's Health Research (SAGE Conference 2004), held in North Carolina, March 25-28, 2004.

Dr. Rutter and Dr. Riddle, DNBR, represented the Genetics and Molecular Neurobiology Branch and Dr. Rutter presented at the Long-Term Follow-Up of Prenatal Drug Exposure Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities, Bethesda, March 23-25, 2004.

Dr. Christine Colvis, DNBR, represented NIDA at the 2004 Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities meeting in Portland, OR.

Dr. Lula Beatty, Chief, Special Populations Office, participated as a distinguished lecturer at the 61st Annual Meeting of the National Institute of Science on March 25, 2004 in Houston, Texas. Her presentation was entitled "Improving Health Through Addiction Research."

Dr. Lula Beatty organized a professional development workshop on women psychologists in research for the mid-winter meeting of the Society for the Psychology of Women, American Psychological Association on February 5, 2004 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a talk entitled "Lost in the System: Meeting the Drug Abuse Needs of Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations" on March 17, 2004 for NIDA's Science for the Layman Series.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a lecture entitled "Eliminating Discrimination Against Marginalized Populations in Health Research" on February 25, 2004 for the Ethics Seminar Program at Washington University, St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in a planning meeting of the Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network at the University of Pennsylvania, April 2-4, 2004 in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in the Lonnie E. Mitchell HBCU Substance Abuse conference held March 31-April 2, 2004 in Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented a session on research opportunities at NIDA for the NIH Extramural Associates Program on February 9, 2004 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ana Anders, Senior Advisor on Special Populations, SPO, co-chaired a meeting of the Steering Committee of the National Hispanic Science Network in Miami, on April 18-20, 2004.

Ana Anders participated in a meeting of the Federal Employee Coalition of Hispanic Association held in Washington D.C. April 6, 2004.

Ana Anders participated in NIDA's MIDARP meeting April 13 and 14, 2004 in Rockville, MD.

Flair Lindsey, Special Populations Office, presented information on the Summer Research with NIDA program and other research opportunities to students during the Department of Psychology's 10th Annual Career Day at Southern University on February 17, 2004 in Baton Rouge, LA.

Flair Lindsey presented information on the Summer Research with NIDA program to students at the Science, Technology, and Research Training Conference at Prince George's Community College on March 18, 2004 in Largo, MD.

Flair Lindsey presented information on the Summer Research with NIDA program to the Psychology Collegian Members of the Prince George's Community College on March 25, 2004 in Largo, MD.

Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DTR&D, attended the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco in Phoenix, February 18-20, 2004. At the meeting he met with grantees and pharmaceutical groups.

Dr. Frank Vocci attended the Methods and Biomarkers to Assess Reduction of Tobacco Toxin Exposure on February 26-27, 2004 in Washington, DC. The meeting was co-sponsored by NIDA, NCI, NIAAA, and CDC.

Drs. Frank Vocci, Jane Acri, and David McCann, all of DTR&D, traveled to Horsham, England on March 4-5, 2004 to meet with Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Drs. Frank Vocci, Ahmed Elkashef, Ann Anderson, Richard Hawks and Ms. Liza Gorgon and Robert Walsh, all of DTR&D, met with Somerset Pharmaceuticals on March 17, 2004. On March 18-19, 2004 the same DTR&D group attended a protocol development meeting, co-chaired by Drs. Gerry Friedland and Walter Ling. The objective of that meeting was to discuss issues relating to the concurrent treatment of HIV+ opiate dependent patients for both opiate dependence (with buprenorphine) and HIV disease with Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART).

Drs. Frank Vocci, Ahmed Elkashef, Roberta Kahn, and Ivan Montoya and Mr. Jurij Mojsiak site visited UCLA on April 14, 2004. On April 15-16, 2004 the DTR&D group met with UCLA Data and Safety Monitoring Board to review multiple study results.

Dr. Frank Vocci spoke at the Buprenorphine Mentors meeting in New Orleans on April 17, 2004.

Drs. Ivan Montoya, and Frank Vocci co-chaired and other DTR&D personnel attended the Medications Development for Cannabis Dependence meeting in Rockville on April 18-19, 2004.

Drs. Jamie Biswas, Ann Anderson, and Ahmed Elkashef were session chairs. The purpose of the meeting was to get advice on strategies to develop medications for the treatment of cannabis dependence and scientifically sound implementation methodologies.

Dr. Frank Vocci attended the American Psychiatric Association meeting on May 1-4, 2004. He organized and co-chaired a workshop on development of medications for the treatment of stimulant dependence.

Dr. Frank Vocci and DTR&D branch chiefs spoke at a Medications Program Review held at the NSC on May 17-18, 2004. Dr Peter Kalivas chaired the NIDA Council sub-committee that is reviewing the program.

Dr. Joseph Frascella, DTR&D, participated in a Special Populations Research Development Series Workshop on the Minority Institutions Drug Abuse Research Program (MIDARP) April 13-14, 2004 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Steven Grant chaired a symposium titled Substance Abuse: A Disorder of Cognition and Brain at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, April 19 - 22, 2004 in San Francisco, California. The symposium addressed the emerging view that dysfunction of brain circuits involved in fundamental cognitive processes make critical contributions to the clinical features of substance abuse disorders. Four young investigators funded through a NIDA RFA on Cognitive Aspects of Substance Abuse presented: Dr. Hugh Garavan, Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Julie Fiez, University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Kevin LaBar, Duke University and Dr. Julie Stout, Indiana University.

Dr. Steven Grant chaired a symposium entitled Drugs and Other Addictions: Does One Size Fit All? at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, May 1-6, 2004 in New York, NY. The symposium focused on similarities and differences in the diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment, and brain function across these disorders, with an emphasis on co-morbidity with both other addictive disorders and other psychiatric illnesses by. The participants in the symposium were: Dr. Marc Potenza, Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Nathan Shipira, University of Florida, Dr. Nancy Petry, University of Connecticut, and Dr. Linda Cottler, Washington University.

Dr. Steven Grant presented a talk on April 22, 2004 entitled Decisions & Addictions: A Cognitive Approach to Substance Abuse at the "Exploring the Mind: Multiple Perspectives on Decision-Making" Conference held at the Center for Mind and Brain, at the University of California, Davis, Davis, CA.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the annual meeting of the Society for Biological Psychiatry, April 29-May, 2004 in New York, NY.

Dr. Laurence Stanford served as the chair of a session on the application of neuroimaging techniques in the Long-Term Follow-Up of Prenatal Drug Exposure: Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities Meeting held in March of 2004 in Bethesda, MD.

Drs. Laurence Stanford and Joseph Frascella participated in the 11th Annual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium at Morgan State University on April 15, 2004 in Baltimore, MD.

Drs. Laurence Stanford and Joseph Frascella participated in a planning meeting to develop science exhibits on drug abuse and development to be displayed at the Arizona Science Center. The planning meeting was held April 26-27, 2004 in Boston, MA.

Dr. Joseph Frascella chaired a symposium entitled Obesity: Lessons Learned from Addiction at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New York City, May 1-6, 2004.

Dr. Wilson Compton, DESPR Director, attended and participated in workgroup discussions at the NIH/American Psychiatric Association Cooperative Agreement meeting: The Future of Psychiatric Diagnosis, Refining the Research Agenda: Launch and Methods Conference, February 19-20, 2004, Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented on Epidemiology of Substance Use Disorders as part of the Wisconsin Bureau of Substance Abuse Services Teleconference Series, February 26, 2004.

Drs. Wilson Compton, Timothy Condon and Nora Volkow conducted a site visit to the Chicago Cook County Jail and criminal courts on March 2-3, 2004. The visit was coordinated by Illinois TASC and included visits with all major components of the criminal justice system in Cook County, including a women's treatment program in the jail. Following the visit to the Cook County facilities, the team also site visited the Haymarket Center in Chicago and the NIDA-funded Chestnut Health Systems/Lighthouse Institute research programs conducted in that facility.

Dr. Wilson Compton presented Research Efforts to Improve Addiction Services, at the NIMH Outreach Partnership conference, March 8, 2004.

Dr. Wilson Compton conducted a site visit to the College of Health and Urban Affairs of the Florida International University, Miami, Florida, March 15, 2004. This visit was hosted by Dean Ronald Berkman and included a formal presentation to provide an Update from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as well as informal consultation/discussion sessions regarding development of research programs.

Dr. Bennett Fletcher, DESPR, chaired the Meeting on Treatment and Recovery Processes, January 15 -16, 2004 in Bethesda, Maryland. The meeting reviewed the state of the science on treatment processes to provide suggestions for future developments in the field.

On January 21, 2004, Drs. Elizabeth Robertson and Wilson Compton chaired a symposium titled "Science-Based Community Friendly Prevention Tools" at the CADCA Leadership Forum XIV. Presenters included: Drs. Linda Dusenbury, Susanna Nemes, and Christopher Williams.

Dr. Jack Stein, Chief, Services Research Branch (SRB), DESPR, chaired a half-day symposium at the TCA Winter Meeting about the Updates on Therapeutic Communities Research, featuring several NIDA grantees, Tucson, Arizona, January 10-13, 2004.

Dr. Eve Reider, DESPR, represented NIDA at an NIMH roundtable held February 25, 2004 at the Neuroscience Center, Bethesda, Maryland. The roundtable was: Preventing Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders: Research Roundtable on Economic Burden and Cost Effectiveness.

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, DESPR, is serving on the NIH interagency to address the House Appropriations Committee's request for a 2005 appropriations report on "Underage Rural Drinking and Other Risky Behaviors Such As Illegal Drug Use Among 9 to 15 Year Old Children."

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson is serving on the Complex Interventions Planning Group, being coordinated by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research. The first of two meetings, From Clinical Trials to the Community, was held in January 2004; the second planned for May 2004 will address alternate methodologies for conducting research in community settings.

On March 11, 2004, Elizabeth Robertson, Ph.D. made a presentation to the CSAP Staff College titled "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: An Update."

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson presented a poster symposium at the Society for Research on Adolescence in Baltimore, MD on March 13, 2004. The title of her presentation was "Multi-problem Adolescents: A Research Priority."

Drs. Redonna Chandler and Jack Stein, both of SRB, DESPR, presented Community: The Vital Link Between Public Health and Public Safety at the CADCA National Leadership Forum, Washington, DC, January 23, 2004.

Dr. Jerry Flanzer, SRB, DESPR, gave discussant comments for Drug Abuse, HIV and Medical and Social Consequences, a symposium at the Society for Social Work Conference, New Orleans, LA, January 16, 2004.

Dr. Jerry Flanzer presented at Advancing Social Work Research in Addictions and HIV, a conference sponsored by the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, April 15-16, 2004.

Dr. Thomas Hilton, SRB, DESPR, presented The Nuts and Bolts of Obtaining External Research Funding, at the Annual Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, IL, April 2, 2004.

Dr. Thomas Hilton chaired a symposium entitled, Lessons Learned: Strategies and Pitfalls in Workplace Intervention Studies, at the conference on Workplace Strategies and Interventions for Improving Health and Well-Being, Washington, DC, April 12-15, 2004.

Dr. Leslie Cooper, ERB, DESPR, attended and served as a moderator for the trans-NIH initiative, "NIH Extramural Associates Program 25th Anniversary and Biennial Update Conference", held in Rockville, MD, February 23 - 24, 2004.

Jag Khalsa, Ph.D., of CAMCODA presented a Symposium on Issues in the Medical Management of HIV/HCV co-infection in IVDUs, April 22, 2004, Washington, DC, at the 35th Annual Conference of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. At this symposium, an international panel of clinicians and scientists discussed current issues and medical management practices for patients with HIV/HCV co-infection and drug abuse. The proceedings will be published as a supplement in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Nicolette Borek, Ph.D., CAMCODA, participated as a scientific staff collaborator in the Network Meeting of the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions in Washington, DC, April 14-16, 2004. The ATN is a collaborative network cosponsored by NICHD, NIDA, NIMH, and NIAAA.

Nicolette Borek, Ph.D., CAMCODA, was a participant in the Invited Discussion Hour "Support for Research on Adolescence at the National Institute on Drug Abuse" at the Society for Research on Adolescence Biennial Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, March 11-14, 2004.

Peter Hartsock, Ph.D., CAMCODA, participated in the conference, "Leveraging the Power of Industry: Strategies to Fight HIV/AIDS," March 12, 2004, Washington, D.C. The conference was sponsored and co-chaired by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, DHHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, U.S. Department of State Global AIDS Coordinator and Ambassador Randall Tobias, and Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS President Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Dr. Hartsock presented on NIDA's program of advanced mathematical applications to studying the transmission dynamics of HIV/AIDS and assessing the public health impact and cost effectiveness of AIDS interventions.

Peter Hartsock, Ph.D., participated in a meeting of the Health and Security Senior Working Group of the Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute dealing with responding to the challenge of biological weapons (January 29, 2004, Washington, D.C.). Dr. Hartsock presented on NIDA's program of advanced mathematical applications to studying the transmission dynamics of HIV/AIDS and assessing the public health impact and cost effectiveness of AIDS interventions. This program is already contributing to national security, both in dealing with HIV/AIDS and applications of the program's methodologies to understanding the transmission dynamics of and intervention in, smallpox and anthrax.

Jag Khalsa, Ph.D., CAMCODA, and Phillip Peterson of University of Minnesota presented a mini-symposium on "Tuberculosis and Drug Abuse" at the Annual Meeting of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology, Santa Fe, NM, March 27, 2004. Dr. Keith McAdams, Professor of Tropical and Infectious Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine gave an excellent global overview of TB; Dr. Andrea Howard of Montefiore presented the impact of drug abuse on TB; Dr. Molitor of the University of Minnesota described the pig model of TB; and Dr. Vivek Kapur of the University of Minnesota discussed the current proteomics/genetic techniques used in the study of infections. A white paper is planned for publication in Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Jean Lud Cadet, IRP, gave a talk at NIH to Outreach Partners on March 9, 2004 entitled, "Molecular Neuropsychiatry Research Section: Basic and Clinical Research Updates."

Dr. Jean Lud Cadet, IRP, gave a talk at the Lonnie Mitchell Conference on April 1, 2004 entitled, "Neuropsychiatric and Neurovascular Effects of Drugs of Abuse: Cocaine and Marijuana in Focus."

Dr. Amy Newman, IRP, was invited to present a seminar to the HHMI-NIH Research Scholars and the NIH Clinical Research Training Program, Bethesda, MD, February 2004.

Dr. Amy Newman was invited to present a seminar to the Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, February 2004.