Meetings/Conferences

The Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse hosted its eleventh congressional briefing titled Developing New Tools to Prevent and Treat Addiction: Vaccine Development on the Horizon on July 29, 2008. NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow opened the briefing with an overview of the Institute's research portfolio as it relates to medications development and vaccine treatments for addiction. Other panelists addressed the potential use of vaccines for methamphetamine, cocaine and nicotine addiction. The event drew a crowd of 125, at least half of whom were congressional staff representing over 52 House and Senate Member offices. The incredible attendance and depth of questions from the audience during the panel discussion following the presentations demonstrated a strong interest in the topic.

For the first time ever, three award winning high school students were recognized at the NIH for their exemplary projects in addiction science. The awardees presented their science projects to Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Dr. Nora Volkow and a roomful of NIDA staff members in Bethesda, MD on August 11, 2008. The students were selected at the world's largest science competition for high school students - the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Atlanta, Georgia last May. The new Addiction Science award is co-sponsored by NIDA and Scholastic, and is the first series of Intel awards given exclusively for projects that advance addiction science.

NIDA Deputy Director, Dr. Timothy Condon was featured as a panelist for SAMHSA's 2008 Recovery Month webcast held on September 3, 2008 entitled Recovery in the United States: Past, Present, and Future together with other federal officials and representatives from recovery organizations. The program will look back at some of the successes the recovery movement has enjoyed as well as current policy initiatives to increase and enhance treatment services. It will also look forward, focusing on what remains to be done to ensure that all persons with a substance abuse and/or mental health condition get the sustained, comprehensive treatment they need. The taped webcast was posted at recoverymonth.gov.

NIDA's Dr. Steve Gust and David Anderson attended the annual meeting of the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) in Bar Harbor, Maine, September 4-6, 2008. Dr. Gust spoke to attendees about NIDA's international program, which has collaborated with ISAJE on numerous projects, including a manual aimed at helping researchers worldwide, especially young researchers, navigate the publishing process. Mr. Anderson, editor of NIDA Notes and NIDA's Journal, Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, chaired a panel discussion on PubMed Central, the free-to-the-public literature database into which all publications based on NIH research are now deposited. According to meeting participants representing Elsevier Press, the journal Addiction, and the organization Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists, the public is taking great advantage of the database.

The Eighth Annual Meeting of the National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) on Drug Abuse was held in Bethesda, Maryland, October 1-3, 2008. The conference addressed vital issues of Latino drug use research, and included participants from 10 countries. Two international initiatives of the NHSN, in partnership with NIDA, were brought together at the conference. The first, the RED Latino Americana de Investigadores en Drogas (REDLA), is an epidemiology network of eight countries conducting coordinated epidemiological research on drug abuse, and bringing governments and scientists together. The second, the Central American Research Network on Addictions, known as RECIA for its initials in Spanish, was created to help Central American countries develop a research infrastructure to improve their drug abuse treatment programs.

The Buprenorphine Treatment for Young Adults Blending Team met in Gaithersburg, Maryland on November 5, 2008 to discuss the results of the CTN protocol: Buprenorphine/ Naloxone-Facilitated Rehabilitation for Heroin Addicted Adolescents/Young Adults. This Blending Team is part of the NIDA/SAMHSA Blending Initiative which promotes the use of evidence-based treatment by professionals in the drug abuse treatment field. "Blending Teams" are composed of staff from the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network and NIDA/CTN researchers, who work together to develop innovative "products" that will be disseminated to the field at nearly the same time that the research results are published in peer-reviewed journals. This Blending Team is being coordinated by Dr. Denise Pintello (NIDA) and is led by Dr. Tom Freese (Pacific Southwest ATTC). Team members include: NIDA/CTN: Drs. Michael Bogenschutz Laura McNicholas, and Geetha Subramanian; ATTC: Thomas Durham, Beth Rutkowski and Pamela Waters. Future efforts will focus on updating current Buprenorphine products and developing new training and dissemination products in 2009.

On November 6-7, 2008, Dr. Nora Volkow, Dr. Timothy P. Condon and Dr. Frank Vocci helped educate nearly 75 judges on the neuroscience of substance abuse. Their presentations were part of a seminar on "Addiction Treatment Technologies" offered by the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource (ASTAR) Program - a national program designed to prepare judges to preside over cases involving complex scientific issues. After Dr. Condon's talk, which touched on addiction as a brain disease and recommended treatment principles for drug addicts within the criminal justice system, he was presented with ASTAR's "Distinguished Science and Technology Fellow" Award.

NIDA convened a one-day mini-convention on November 16, 2008, at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. NIDA scientists, including Director, Dr. Nora Volkow, presented recent findings and discussed future directions in neuroscience.

NIDA participated in a Methamphetamine Summit: The National Summit to Promote Health, Partnerships, and Safety for Critically Affected Populations, hosted by SAMHSA in Washington, D.C. on November 16-19, 2008. The Summit brought together representatives from states and territories with the goal of strengthening partnerships, and developing strategies to address the methamphetamine problems in their localities, especially those affecting women, GLBT, and justice-involved populations. Dr. Lucinda Miner spoke at the welcoming event and Dr. Susan Weiss was part of a Federal panel to provide information on future funding opportunities.

On December 11, 2008, NIDA convened an advanced press briefing for NIDA constituent representatives as well as a press conference in Washington, D.C. to announce the 2008 Monitoring the Future survey results. The results received national, local and trade press coverage.

The Prevention Research Branch (DESPR, NIDA) in collaboration with the Behavioral Integrative Treatment Branch, (DCNBR, NIDA), the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the Department of Defense Health Affairs, the Army Center for Substance Abuse Programs, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Cancer Institute, sponsored a meeting on January 6-7, 2009, at the Bethesda Hyatt, Bethesda, Maryland entitled Addressing Substance Abuse and Comorbidities Among Military Personnel, Veterans and Their Families: A Research Agenda. The goals of this 2-day meeting were to: 1) gain an understanding of the intervention needs of military personnel, veterans, and their families regarding substance abuse and associated difficulties; 2) discuss current prevention and treatment approaches being used with these populations and their evidence base; 3) review existing efficacious prevention interventions and drug abuse treatments that may be appropriate for adapting and testing within military and veteran populations and their families; 4) understand how to successfully conduct research in military and veteran settings; and 5) formulate a research agenda for conducting addictions prevention and treatment research with military and veteran populations and their families.

Dr. Allison Hoffman, DBNBR, co-organized a workshop on Drug Abuse Vulnerability and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke: Methodological Issues and Research Priorities, held in the Neuroscience Center on January 13, 2009. The meeting's organizing committee also included Nicolette Borek (DCNBR), Cora Lee Wetherington (DBNBR), Michele Block (NCI) and Cathy Backinger (NCI).

Dr. Nicolette Borek organized a meeting on Adolescent Development Following Prenatal Drug Exposure: Research Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities which was held November 20 & 21, 2008 in Bethesda, MD. The meeting was sponsored by the Office of Science Policy and Communications (OSPC) and received co-funding from NIAAA. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together prenatal substance exposure researchers with researchers and NIH program staff from various areas including adolescent development and substance abuse in order to facilitate research advances. Session topics included adolescent brain development, neuroimaging, substance abuse, mental health, HIV risk behavior, sex/gender differences, and genetics. Several NIDA staff served as scientific experts at the meeting including Drs. Kevin Conway and Kathy Etz (DESPR), Drs. Joni Rutter and Cora Lee Wetherington (DBNBR), Pamela Goodlow (SPO/OD), Dr. Marilyn Huestis (IRP) and Drs. Jim Bjork, Joseph Frascella, Larry Stanford, Steven Grant, and Karen Sirocco (DCNBR). In addition, Dr. Vincent Smeriglio served as expert consultant. Drs. Jay Giedd, Judy Rumsey and Shelli Avenevoli (NIMH) and Dr. Ellen Witt (NIAAA) also contributed their scientific expertise to the meeting.

The Special Populations Office, NIDA, supported the members of the "Native to Native" mentoring program to attend the Annual Native Health Research Conference, in Portland Oregon, on August 25-28, 2008. The "Native to Native" mentoring program was developed by members of NIDA's American Indian/Alaskan Native external workgroup to provide career development support to American Indian/Alaskan Native post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate students interested in pursuing research careers in the field of substance abuse and addiction. Kathy Etz, Ph.D. of DESPR attended the meeting to support NIDA's interest in American Indian/Alaska Native research and researchers.

The Special Populations Office held the NIDA Researchers and Scholars Joint Workgroup Meeting on September 29-30, 2008 in Bethesda, MD. The meeting convened members of the African American, American Indian-Alaskan Native, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and National Hispanic Science Network workgroups, and NIDA staff. Individual workgroups provided updates on their initiatives that focused on training and mentoring early/new investigators pursuing research careers in the field of substance abuse and addiction. Recent activities included research and technical assistance training workshops, a mentoring program, and a mini medical school. NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow, provided an opening address and discussed NIDA's research priorities. NIDA Division Directors and representatives provided updates on their research portfolios and current funding opportunities.

The Special Populations Office, NIDA, chaired a two-day Research Development Seminar Series workshop in Bethesda, Maryland on October 27-28, 2008. The workshop convened new underrepresented investigators seeking independent research careers through NIDA and the NIH. Topics included: overviews of the NIH grant application process and the NIH peer review system, one-on-one and small group mentoring sessions, and research presentations by NIDA-funded investigators. Members of the Special Populations Office and other NIDA staff participated.

The National CTN Steering Committee Meetings were held October 21-23, 2008 in Rockville, MD. The following meetings/committees convened:
CTP and PI Caucuses
Steering Committee
Executive Committee
Research Utilization Committee
Research Development Committee
Node Coordinator Workgroup
Pharmacotherapy Special Interest Group
CTN 0031 - STAGE-12 Study Team
CTN 0033 - Meth Use among American Indians Study Team
CTN 0044 - Web-based Study Team

Two workshops were held during the CTN Steering Committee Meetings:
Applying New Technology in Drug Treatments: Present and Future
This CTN workshop addressed a number of issues related to the present status and future prospects for adoption of e-technology innovations in substance use treatment. The major topics included: 1) current use of e-technology in community-based substance use treatment programs, 2) implementing a web-based Therapeutic Education System in the CTN, 3) evaluating readiness of substance use treatment programs to adopt e-technology innovations, 4) what does the future hold? Opportunities in the substance use treatment field for adoption of e-technology innovations and policy issues for implementation. The addiction treatment system in the United States is composed of about 12,000 treatment centers, most of which are small, free-standing, non-profits with few resources for building effective electronic information systems. The addiction treatment field needs to catch up with regard to adoption of e-technology innovations - there are many examples of e-technology that have not been adopted.

E-technology treatment strategies may be especially appealing to adolescents and young adults. Health care reform in states can change the role of the state as a payer of health care, and change the state's influence on control of addiction treatment services. The alcohol and drug confidentiality regulations (42 CFR Part 2) remain a substantial barrier to the implementation of electronic medical record systems (EMRs). State systems of care are changing. There is increasing emphasis on continuing care, which requires long-term periodic contact with clients. There is an evolution of payment and regulatory systems away from the acute care system of periodic admission and discharge. E-technology is an important facet of the evolving health care systems in the United States, but most addiction treatment programs fail to exploit relatively accessible and easy to use e-technology to manage these administrative tasks. Drug abuse treatment programs and clinicians need to begin to embrace the available technology and to explore the potential in emerging technologies. Application of these technologies can enhance the quality and effectiveness of care and may contribute to reductions in the cost of care.

Conducting Research with American Indian/Alaska Native Communities in the CTN: Challenges, Opportunities and Collaborations
This workshop was designed to address a number of issues related to conducting community-based participatory research in American Indian/Alaska Native communities. The major topics included: 1) health disparities/substance abuse issues; 2) history of research in American Indian communities; 3) building relationships within the community; 4) ethical and regulatory issues; 5) study implementation issues; 6) publication and dissemination of the research; and 7) future research directions and funding opportunities. Almost 100 individuals from American Indian tribes and Alaska Native communities, the Clinical Trials Network, NIH Institutes and Centers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Minority Health and the Indian Health Service attended the workshop and participated in the discussion.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Deputy Director, NIDA, presented "Neurobiology of Addiction: What Difference Does It Make?" at the 16th Annual International Community Corrections Association's Research Conference on What Works in Community Corrections: "Risk, Resilience and Reentry" on October 20, 2008, in Saint Louis Missouri.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "The Science of Addiction: Implications for Prevention and Treatment" at the Hazelden Foundation's Meeting the Challenge: Treating Addiction in the 21st Century Conference on October 24, 2008, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "The State of Addiction Treatment Technologies" at the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource (ASTAR) Program Judge's Science School on November 7, 2008, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Addiction Medicine - From Research to Practice" at the International Society of Addiction Medicine's 10th Annual Scientific Meeting on November 17, 2008, in Cape Town, South Africa. He also co-chaired the pre-congress workshop on "Methamphetamine - New Knowledge from Research Findings" on November 16, 2008.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "The Neurobiology of Nicotine Addiction: An Overview" at the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health on December 8, 2008, in Washington D.C.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, participated in a Grantwriting Workshop and Mock IRG Panel at the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry on October 30, 2008. in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, presented "The Science of Addiction" at the 2008 ASAP Statewide Prevention Conference on November 18, 2008, in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Dr. Ruben Baler, OSPC, delivered a lecture on the "Neuroscience of Drug Addiction" at the George Washington University's School of Public Health Drug Awareness course, Mount Vernon Campus on September 23, 2008.

Dr. Ruben Baler, OSPC, delivered the Keynote address entitled "How Can Science Help Us Navigate Around the Dangers of Abuse and Addiction?" and presented three youth and adult workshops at the 2008 Washington State Prevention Summit on Oct 16-18, 2008, in Yakima, Washington.

Dr. Lula Beatty, Chief, Special Populations Office (SPO), attended the meeting of the Committee on Women in Psychology, American Psychological Association, September 19-20, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Lula Beatty was a member of the planning committee for the NIH Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities, December 15-18, 2008, in National Harbor, MD. In addition, she served as a review team leader and session moderator.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented opening remarks at the annual conference of the Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse, October 1, 2008, in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented an overview of NIDA and the Special Populations Office and served as a faculty advisor at the SPO sponsored technical assistance workshop held for early career researchers, October 27-28, 2008, in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Lula Beatty served as a moderator and presenter at the SPO sponsored Joint Expert Work Groups on Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations meeting, September 29-30, 2008, in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Lula Beatty chaired two sessions at the annual meeting of the International Society of Addiction Medicine, November 17-20, 2008 in Capetown, South Africa. The sessions were titled "Lessons Learned from U. S. Health Disparity Research: Improving Addiction and HIV Interventions and Services for Underserved Populations" and "Lessons Learned from U. S. Health Disparity Research: Improving Drug Abuse and HIV Treatment for Underserved Populations."

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in a consultation meeting for the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), CDC, December 8 -10, 2008 in Atlanta, GA.

Ana Anders, M.S.W., SPO, participated and represented NIDA in a leadership program to train Latino women at an international meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in September 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Ana Anders represented NIDA at the Latino Behavioral Health Institute annual conference in Los Angeles, September 15-17, 2008.

Ana Anders participated in the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse annual conference in Washington, D.C. September 1-3, 2008.

Ana Anders, current president of the NIH Hispanic Employee Organization, along with the EEODM Office, planned the Hispanic Heritage Month Observance for NIH, which took place at the Lister Hill Auditorium at NIH on October 8, 2008.

Ana Anders was appointed to the NIH Hispanic Employment Committee, which advises the NIH Director on health issues relevant to Hispanics.

Pamela Goodlow, SPO, presented a talk on "Research Training Opportunities at the National Institute on Drug Abuse," in a topic workshop at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention in Boston, MA on August 15, 2008.

Pamela Goodlow gave a brief overview of the NIDA Diversity Supplements program to investigators at the NIDA sponsored "Adolescent Development Following Prenatal Drug Exposure Meeting" at NSC in Bethesda, MD on November 20, 2008.

Flair Lindsey, SPO, and Pamela Goodlow provided an overview and update of the "DIDARP" and "Diversity Supplements" programs to NIDA staff in Bethesda, MD on December 2, 2008.

Dr. Betty Tai, Director, Director, CCTN, co-chaired with Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, professor from the University of California at Davis a symposium titled: "Translational Research and How to Accelerate it by Engaging Communities: Goals and Milestones of the NIH CTSA Consortium" at the 8th annual conference of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse, October 1, 2008 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Betty Tai, a voting member from NIH attended the NIH CTSA Consortium Oversight meeting on October 6-7, 2008 in Rockville, Maryland. The meeting was on strategic planning for the Consortium together with the milestones that will allow for programs to be evaluated.

Dr. Betty Tai was an invited speaker at the 14th Regional Occupational Health Conference (ROHC) in the Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland area, the Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing (IJHN), The Johns Hopkins Center for Occupational Safety and Health. Her presentation was titled: "Treatment for Prescription Opioid Analgesic Abuse." The conference was held on October 25, 2008 in INOVA, Alexandria, Virginia.

Dr. Betty Tai represented NIDA at the National Methamphetamine Summit meeting on November 18, 2008 and served as one of three panel members on the panel titled: "Considerations in Identifying and Replicating Best Practices: Mechanics or Science of Evidence-Based Practices." The meeting was held in Washington DC.

Dr. Harold Perl, CCTN, gave a presentation describing opportunities for research career development at the NIDA Special Populations Research Development Seminar Series workshop on October 27-28, 2008 in Bethesda, Maryland. Along with Carmen Rosa, M.S., Dr. Perl met individually with workshop attendees to provide more personalized research development advice.

Dr. Raul Mandler, CCTN, was the keynote speaker in a Web Telecast Program on "Drug Abuse in the Workforce" at the VIII World Congress of Labor Medicine at the National Academy of Medicine in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 30, 2008.

Dr. Paul Wakim, CCTN, co-planned and co-chaired the November 2008 face-to-face meeting of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Key Function Committee of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Consortium.

Dr. Petra Jacobs, CCTN, attended the Conference on Co-Ingestion of Alcohol with Prescription Opioids (Opioid Risk Management Program) organized by Tufts Health Care Institute, November 20-21, 2008, in Boston, MA.

On November 19, 2008, Dr. Steve Sparenborg, CCTN, attended the annual AMSUS (Society of the Federal Health Agencies) meeting in San Antonia Texas to establish communication with military and VA personnel regarding PTSD and to learn about their practices in treating PTSD.

Carmen Rosa and Quandra Scudder, CCTN, attended NIH's first Research Summit on "The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities" on December 16-18, 2008 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland.

Carmen Rosa participated as reviewer and moderator for the session titled "Fostering Diversity in Clinical and Community Research Participation to Eliminate Health Disparities."

Dr. David Shurtleff, Director, DBNBR, gave an invited presentation to The University of Minnesota students and faculty at the Fall PharmacoNeuroImmunology Retreat, Minneapolis, MN, October 3, 2008 entitled: "What's Going on at NIDA: Research and Funding Opportunities".

Dr. Minda Lynch, DBNBR, chaired a Scientific Panel at the Winter Conference on Brain Research, January 2009, in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The session, entitled "The Behavioral Genetics of Co-Morbidity: More Than Just Overlapping Phenotypes", included presentations from Alexander B. Niculescu, III, M.D., Ph.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine, Gregory M. Miller, Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School, Edgardo Falcon (from Dr. Colleen McClung's program at UT Southwestern Medical Center) and Elissa J. Chesler, Ph.D. from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Dr. Susan Volman, DBNBR, organized and chaired a panel entitled "VTA Dopamine Neuron Heterogeneity: Can it Help Us Understand Addiction and Other Psychiatric Disorders?" at the 42nd Winter Conference on Brain Research, January 26, 2009, in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Talks were presented by Dr. Stephan Lammel (Stanford University), Dr. Elyssa Margolis (Gallo Research Institute), Dr. Gary Aston-Jones (MUSC), and Dr. Wenlin Sun (University of Tennessee).

Dr. Susan Volman organized the Early Career Investigators Poster Session for the NIDA satellite miniconvention at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, November 14, 2008. The poster session showcased research by NIDA-supported and other young investigators, including international investigators co-sponsored by IUPHAR, IBRO, INRC, CPPD, ICRS, and IDARS.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DBNBR, represented NIDA at the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) annual meeting of the principal investigators and directors of the ORWH-sponsored K-12 program, "Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)," November 18, 2008, Rockville, MD. Dr. Wetherington serves on the ORWH oversight committee for this program.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington served as moderator for the session on sex/gender differences in substance abuse at the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health meeting, Fifth Annual Interdisciplinary Women's Health Research Symposium, November 19, 2008, Bethesda, MD. Several NIDA grantees made either oral or poster presentations.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington represented NIDA at the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health annual meeting of the principal investigators of the ORWH-sponsored program, "Specialized Centers of Research (SCOR) on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health," held November 20, 2008. The program consists of 11 center grants of which NIDA co-funds the three that focus on drug abuse: Kathleen Brady, PI (MUSC), Rajita Sinha, PI (Yale), and Emmalee Bandstra, PI (Miami). Dr. Wetherington serves on the ORWH oversight committee for this program.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington gave a talk, "Prenatal Drug-Exposed Cohorts: Gold Mines for Studying Sex/Gender Differences in Drug Abuse," at the NIDA meeting, Adolescent Development Following Prenatal Drug Exposure: Research Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities, November 20-21, 2008, Rockville, MD.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington was a session chair in the "Expert Panel Meeting of Federal Collaboration on Tobacco and Young, Low SES-Women," December 1, 2008 at the DHHS Humphrey Building. Dr. Wetherington and Debbie Grossman, DCNBR, represent NIDA on this DHHS-led collaborative effort to identify mutual interests and opportunities to develop initiatives and collaborations among various federal entities including AHRQ, CMS, CDC, HRSA, ORWH, SAMHSA, Medicare, ACF, etc. to reduce smoking among low SES women.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington represented NIDA at the meeting. "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTDS) in Women Returning from Combat," sponsored by the Society for Women's Health Research, December 8, 2008, Washington, DC.

Dr. Allison Hoffman, DBNBR, and Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, were formally given the responsibilities of Co-coordinators of Nicotine and Tobacco Research and Outreach Activities for NIDA.

Dr. Allison Hoffman served on the planning committee for "Working Group on Smoking Cessation in Hospitalized Patients", held at the Hilton DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center on September 17, 2008. Other members of the planning committee included Drs. Jared Jobe (NHLBI), Gail Weinmann (NHLBI) Michele Bloch (NCI), Xingzhu Liu (FIC), Patricia Mabry (OBSSR), and Ann Malarcher (CDC).

Dr. Allison Hoffman organized the "New Directions in Smoking Cue-Reactivity and Cue Exposure Research" Cutting Edge seminar, held on September 18, 2008 which involved collaboration between the NIDA Neuroscience Consortium and the NIDA Nicotine/Tobacco Interest Group.

Dr. Allison Hoffman served on the planning committee for the Nicotine Addiction Briefing for Acting U.S. Surgeon General, Admiral Steven Galson, December 8, 2008.

Dr. Allison Hoffman served as co-organizer for the "Drug Abuse Vulnerability and Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke: Methodological Issues and Research Priorities" workshop, held in the Neuroscience Center on January 13, 2009. The Organizing Committee included Drs. Nicolette Borek (DCNBR), Cora Lee Wetherington (DBNBR), Jeffrey Schulden (DESPR), Michele Block (NCI) and Cathy Backinger (NCI).

Dr. Samia Noursi, DBNBR, Deputy Coordinator, Women and Sex/Gender Differences Research Program, represented NIDA at the "Connecting Agendas," Think Tank meeting, September 12-13, 2008 in San Diego, CA. The meeting was held prior to the 13th International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, September 14-17, 2008. The Think Tank included representatives from various organizations and academic institutes and was convened to initiate next steps as a follow up on the American Psychological Association Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships: Connecting Agendas and Forging New Directions which occurred February 28-29, 2008, in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Samia Noursi and Dr. Tom Brady, DESPR organized and chaired the symposium "Girls in the Juvenile Justice System: Health Disparities in Substance Abuse and HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk," at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), October 29, 2008 in Chicago Illinois. Panelists were: Linda A. Teplin (Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL), Steven Belenko (Temple University), Angela Bryan (University of New Mexico), Angela A. Robertson (Mississippi State), and Lisa Saladana (Center for Research to Practice, Eugene, OR). The presentations were discussed by Mina K. Dulcan (Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL).

Dr. Roger Sorensen, DBNBR, represented NIDA and the NIH at the NIH Mini-Regional on Program Funding and Grants Administration held at the University at Albany, NY, on October 28, 2008. He gave two presentations; "A Peer into the NIH Review Process & Grant Writing for Success", and "Budget Basics for Investigators."

Dr. Roger Sorensen represented NIDA and the NIH at the US - Ireland R&D Partnership Steering Group Member and Researcher Visit to the NIH, Bethesda, held on November 5, 2008. He presented an overview and helpful suggestions of the NIH grant application process titled: "Grant Writing for Success: Application Tips."

Dr. Roger Sorensen represented NIDA and the NIH during participation with other agencies and institutions at the Decision Sciences Institute Miniconference on Successful Grantsmanship, Baltimore, MD, held on November 23, 2008. The title of his presentation was: "Successful Grant Proposals from the NIH Perspective."

Drs. Da-Yu Wu and Tom Aigner, DBNBR, as workgroup members, organized the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint Workshop: "Challenges and Opportunities in Non-Invasive Human Brain Imaging: From Molecules to Circuits", held September 23, 2008.

Drs. Geraline Lin, DBNBR, Tom Aigner and Da-Yu Wu co-organized and co-chaired NIDA SFN Mini-convention Session on "Multimodal Imaging of Gene Expression, Cells, Neurons and Circuitry", November 14, 2008.

Drs. Da-Yu Wu and Jonathan Pollock, DBNBR, co-chaired and co-organized the NIDA SFN Mini-convention Session on "Cortical Development and Substances of Abuse", November 14, 2008.

Dr. John Satterlee, DBNBR, gave an invited presentation to the International Drug Addiction Research Society, Washington, DC, November 15, 2008 entitled: "Addiction at NIDA: Genetics, Epigenetics, and Innovation".

Dr. John Satterlee and Dr. Christine Colvis, Office of the Director, co-organized and co-chaired a session entitled "Epigenetics, Brain Function, and Addiction" at 2008 NIDA Frontiers in Addiction Research Mini-convention.

Dr. John Satterlee attended miRNA and Epigenetic Regulations of the Immune System, December 11-12, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. John Satterlee attended Dynamic Epigenome and Homeostatic Regulations in Health and Disease, November 13-14, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. John Satterlee attended Operational Planning Meeting: Roadmap Epigenomics Program Mapping Centers November 3-4, 2008.

Dr. John Satterlee attended the Fourth Annual NIH Director's Pioneer Award Symposium September 23, Bethesda, MD, 2008.

Dr. John Satterlee attended the Mammalian Gene Collection Executive Steering Committee Meeting, September 22, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Joni L. Rutter, DBNBR, organized and chaired a symposium entitled, "The Brain Connection: Obesity and Addiction" at the National Hispanic Research Network meeting in Bethesda, MD, October, 2008.

Drs. Joni L. Rutter, NIDA, Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, NIMH, and Robert Riddle, NINDS, co-chaired and Dr. Satterlee co-organized a symposium on "Epigenetics in the Nervous System" at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, November 2008.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock and Beth Babecki co-organized and co-chaired the satellite meeting "Addiction Genetics Workforce Development and Collaboration" at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Human Genetics. November 16, 2008.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock gave two seminars, entitled, "It's the Addiction, Stupid:" one at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City on December 4, 2008 and the other at Rockefeller University in New York on December 5, 2008.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock serves on the NIH Knockout Mouse Project (KOMP) Steering committee and attended the KOMP Annual Research Network Meeting, October 8, 2008 held in Rockville, MD.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock attended the Mammalian Gene Collection Executive Steering Committee Meeting, September 22, 2008 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock conducted a web-based Webex meeting with Dr. Joni Rutter and Mark Caulder on "Rare Genetic Variants in Drug Addiction: Recommendations for Identification and Prioritization". This meeting was convened to assess the new opportunities that have emerged in genetics as a result of new sequencing technologies that permit the identification of copy number variants and rare variants.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock at the NIDA Genetics Consortium Meeting, December 2-3, 2008 at NIDA Headquarters in Rockville, MD presented issues and recommendations from the web-based meeting in a presentation entitled "Rare Genetic Variants in Drug Addiction: Recommendations for Identification and Prioritization."

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock attended the Scientific Advisory Board meeting of Dr. Katze's NIDA Center for Functional Genomics of Hepatitis C and HIV infection, October 5, 2008 at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in San Antonio, TX.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock attended the 15th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses, October 6-7, 2008 at the Marriot Rivercenter Hotel in San Antonio, TX.

Dr. Jonathan Pollock serves on the NIH GTex (Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Resource Roadmap steering committee. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to provide to the scientific community a resource with which to study human gene expression and regulation and its relationship to genetic variation. This project will collect and analyze multiple human tissues from donors who are also densely genotyped, to assess genetic variation within their genomes. By analyzing global RNA expression within individual tissues and treating the expression levels of genes as quantitative traits, variations in gene expression that are highly correlated with genetic variation can be identified as expression quantitative trait loci, or eQTLs.

Dr. Elena Koustova, DBNBR, established the NIDA workgroup "Bridging Science & Business," and co-chairs the workgroup. Two meetings have been conducted since September 2008.

Drs. Elena Koustova and David Shurtleff actively participated in establishing the framework of the Neurodegeneration Blueprint initiative and preparation for its presentation to ICs Directors.

Dr. Elena Koustova attended the NIH Science of Science Management Meeting, October 2-3, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Elena Koustova attended the FNIH Summit, December 16-18, 2008.

Dr. David Shurtleff was as an invited participant to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation meeting on "Impulse Control Disorder in Parkinson-Treated Patients" held on November 7, 2008 in New York, NY.

Drs. David Shurtleff, Rita Liu, OEA, and Cathrine Sasek, OSPC, co-coordinated and co-chaired the 2008 NIDA Frontiers in Addiction Research Mini-convention satellite meeting held on November 14, 2008 as a satellite to the Society for Neuroscience(SfN) Annual meeting in Washington, DC.

Dr. David Shurtleff gave introductory remarks on the challenges and opportunities for data sharing, and participated in the DESPR workshop "Crossroads: Sharing Social Environment and Genetic Data held at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Washington, DC, December 8 - 9, 2008.

Dr. Mary Kautz, DCNBR, served as the NIDA representative for a series of NIH-NASA collaboration meetings to gather information and help gauge NASA's interest in participating in an cross-NIH FOA seeking Investigator-initiated applications for implementation on the International Space Station to benefit human health on Earth, August-November 2008.

Dr. Steven Grant, DCNBR, served as a NIDA representative for the joint Department of Energy Trans-NIH workgroup on radiochemistry.

Dr. Steven Grant served as a NIDA representative for the joint trans-NIH collaboration with the Uniformed Health Sciences University Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine Trans-Federal Conference on Traumatic Brain Injury held at the Marriott Bethesda North Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland on September 17, 2008.

Drs. James Bjork and Woody Lin of DCNBR represented NIDA at the 2008 Annual Conference of the Society for Neuroeconomics, held in Park City, Utah on September 25-27, 2008.

Dr. James Bjork presented a talk entitled: "Rewards, Risk, and the Teenage Brain: Insights from brain imaging research conducted at the NIH Clinical Center" at the NIH main campus on October 27, 2008 as an invited speaker for NIH's "Fall in Love with NIH" presentation series. This series is devoted to new support staff hires at the NIH, to illustrate the end research result of the combined efforts of NIH researchers and the staff who support them.

Dr. Steven Grant presented a seminar titled "Relationships between Addiction and Traumatic Brain Injury" at Wells College in Aurora, NY on October 29, 2008.

Drs. James Bjork and Steven Grant organized and chaired a symposium entitled: "Willpower: What Really Governs our Choices?" which was held as part of the NIDA's Frontiers in Addiction Research, held on November 14, 2008 in Washington D.C. This symposium featured talks by: 1) Patrick Haggard of University College-London, 2) Brian Knutson of Stanford University, 3) Paul Glimcher of NYU, and 4) Alan Sanfey of the University of Arizona. All are renowned experts on the neuroimaging of behavior control in human subjects.

Dr. Steven Grant and Dr. Rita Goldstein (Brookhaven National Laboratory) co-chaired a symposium titled "Functional Neuroimaging Evidence for a Brain Network Underlying Impaired Insight (into illness) in Drug Addiction" at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience held in Washington, DC on November 15-29, 2008. The speakers were AD "Bud" Craig (Barrow Neurological Institute), Antoine Bechara (University of Southern California), Hugh Garavan (Trinity College), and Anna Rose Childress (University of Pennsylvania).

Drs. James Bjork, Harold Gordon, Steven Grant, Mary Kautz, and Woody Lin of DCNBR, represented NIDA in the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington D.C., November 15-19, 2008.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Scottsdale, Arizona, December 6 - 11, 2008.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) conference on "A Roadmap to Define the Neurobiological Mechanisms of Political Conflict" held at the FDIC Seidman Conference Center in Arlington, Virginia on December 16-17, 2008.

Dr. Cecelia Spitznas, DCNBR, moderated a symposium at the Addictions Health Services Research Conference held in Boston, MA, October 21, 2008. The symposium, Developing a Skilled Practitioner Workforce Using Lower-Cost Training Interventions, included findings from the first ever nationwide attempt to train community treatment providers to conduct evidence based behavioral treatment over the internet developed by NIDA grantee Dr. Mary Joe Larson at New England Research Institute and included investigators and supervisor perspectives.

Dr. Lisa Onken led a luncheon roundtable at the NIH Office of Behavioral & Social Sciences (OBSSR) Retreat on November 12, 2008.

Dr. Karen Sirocco, DCNBR, moderated a workshop on October 12, 2008 at the Annual American Academy of Pediatrics Meeting in Boston, MA with presentations by Jay Giedd, MD: "Inside the Teenage Brain"; B.J. Casey, Ph.D: "What Have we Learned about Cognitive Development from Brain Imaging: Risk Taking and the Adolescent Brain"; Krista Medina, Ph.D.: "Neuroimaging Marijuana Use and its Effects on Cognitive Function"; Yasmin Hurd, Ph.D.; "Assessing the Impact of Drug Exposure on Brain Development in Utero"; and Mary Lou Behnke, M.D.: Prenatal Drug Exposure and Brain Development Outcomes from a Prospective longitudinal study of Prenatal Cocaine Exposure."

Drs. Nicolette Borek and Joseph Frascella of DCNBR presented a workshop on "Exposure to Drugs of Abuse During Development: Implications for Adolescent Vulnerability to Substance Abuse" at Healthy Brain Development: Key Impacts & Interventions on October 22, 2008 in Eugene, OR.

Drs. Nicolette Borek and Joseph Frascella served as mentors for Addiction Science Fair Award winner Shelby Raye at the Frontiers in Addiction Research: 2008 NIDA Mini-Convention, November 14, 2008 in Washington, DC. Shelby was one of three winners for her project "What's In and What's Out: High Schoolers' Perceptions of Coolness". Shelby is currently a sophomore at Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida.

Dr. Nicolette Borek chaired the Maternal Lifestyles Study Annual Meeting on November 19, 2008 in Bethesda, MD. MLS is a multisite study of prenatal drug exposure and developmental outcomes. This cooperative agreement is co-sponsored by NICHD and NIMH.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton, Director, DESPR, chaired a plenary session on Drug Abuse and Criminal Justice and presented in a breakout session on Drug Courts at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, Boca Raton, FL, December 4-7, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton participated in a panel called Funders' Response to the Research Agenda at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Substance Abuse Policy Research Program Annual Grantee Meeting, December 16, 2008, Tucson, AZ.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton participated in the NIDA meeting on Sharing Social Environment and Genetic Data, December 8, 2008, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented to the meeting of the Lung Cancer Modeling Group of the NCI Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET), November 19, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on Addiction as a Brain Disease as a plenary speaker at the Federal Judicial Magistrate's Workshop, Washington, D.C., November 13, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton participated in the Joint NIJ-NIDA meeting on Methamphetamine Drug Markets, November 5, 2008, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on Addiction as a Brain Disease as a keynote speaker and as a discussant for a panel on Physical Activity and Drug Abuse at the Clinical Translation Research Conference, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, November 28, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton participated in meetings of the DSM-V Task Force and the Substance Use Disorders Workgroup, Arlington, VA, September 15-16 and October 26-27, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on Prevention Research At NIDA as a plenary at the CSAP Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) meeting, Bethesda, MD, October 23, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on Addiction as a Brain Disease as a grand rounds speaker at Stamford Hospital, October 22, 2008, Stamford, CT.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented in a plenary on A Broader View: Innovation in Delivery of Behavioral Health Services at the Addiction Health Services Research meeting, Boston, MA, October 21, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on Addiction as a Brain Disease as an Invited Speaker at the Institute on Psychiatric Services, October 2, 2008, Chicago, IL.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on behalf of NIDA at the Healthy People 2010 Midcourse Review, Washington, D.C., October 1, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on Screening and Brief Intervention for Illicit Substances at the White House Leadership Summit, Washington, D.C., September 5, 2008.

Dr. Redonna K. Chandler, Chief Services Research Branch, DESPR, presented "Treatment is Key: Addressing Drug Abuse in Criminal Justice Settings" at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals 14th Annual Conference, Saint Louis, MO, May 29, 2008.

Dr. Redonna K. Chandler presented "CJ-DATS: Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies" at the annual meeting for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, Saint Louis, MO, May 28, 2008.

Dr. Redonna K. Chandler co-chaired Academy Health Behavioral Health Services Research Interest Group Meeting entitled "Embedding Services Research Questions into Comparative Effectiveness Studies from the Start," Washington, D.C., June 10, 2008.

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, PRB, DESPR gave a presentation titled: NIDA's HIV Prevention Research: Recent Findings at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention kick-off meeting for their Minority AIDS Initiative held on December 2-4, 2008 at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD.

Drs. Bethany G. Deeds and Yonette F. Thomas, DESPR, convened a meeting of NIDA grantees to discuss their findings on "After Hurricane Katrina: Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research." The meeting was held on October 29, 2008 in Rockville, MD. Participants described their research findings on drug abuse and related risk behaviors among persons living in New Orleans and nearby areas most affected by the hurricane.

Dr. Dionne Jones, DESPR, planned and organized a panel on "Women in Violent Relationships: Trauma and HIV Risk" presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, August 14-17, 2008.

Drs. Tom Brady and Richard Denisco, both of DESPR, coordinated a meeting sponsored by NIDA and the ONDCP titled "Identifying Prescription Drug Abuse in Medical Settings: Challenges and Opportunities", in Bethesda, MD on May 19, 2008.

Dr. Eve E. Reider, PRB, DESPR conducted a workshop on "Emerging Principles of Prevention" at the 21st Annual National Prevention Network Prevention Research Conference on August 25, 2008, in Indianapolis, IN, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

Dr. Dionne Jones planned and organized a Grantsmanship Workshop for New Investigators, and presented on "Grant Writing; The Role of the Program Official; and NIH Funding Mechanisms" at the Addictions Health Services Research (AHSR) Annual Conference, Boston, MA, October 20-22, 2008.

Dr. Belinda Sims and Dr. Eve Reider of PRB/DESPR co-chaired a symposium at the 116th convention of the American Psychological Association on August 14, 2008 entitled "Potential of Universal Childhood Prevention to Reduce Later Criminal Behavior."

On November 13, 2008 Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, PRB, DESPR was the discussant for a panel on The Future of Prevention Science at the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.

Dr. Sarah Q. Duffy of the Services Research Branch, DESPR, chaired a session entitled "Economic Analyses of Substance Abuse Consequences and Treatments" at the 2008 Addiction Health Services Meetings, October 20-22, in Boston, MA.

On November 14, 2008 Drs. Elizabeth Robertson and Aleta Meyer, PRB, DESPR were discussants for a panel on The Future of Prevention Science at the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.

Marsha Lopez, Ph.D., of NIDA's Epidemiology Research Branch, DESPR, organized a field visit to NIDA's DESPR for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees participating in the Johns Hopkins Drug Epidemiology T32 on November 4, 2008. The visit provided an opportunity for the T32 trainees to meet individually with DESPR Program Officials about their research interests and career goals, and to identify grant application mechanisms that might be most appropriate for them.

Dr. Peter Hartsock, DESPR, co-chaired a session on applications of mathematical modeling to real-world problems, including HIV/AIDS, at the national conference of INFORMS (Institute For Operations Research and Management Sciences), October 15, 2008, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Peter Hartsock participated in an Institute of Medicine Consultation on "Addressing the Threat of Drug Resistant TB: A Realistic Assessment of the Challenges," November 5, 2008, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Peter Hartsock participated in the organization and conduct of a PEPFAR (President's Emergency Program for AIDS Assistance) Consultation on Multiple and Concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Generalized HIV Epidemics, October 29-30, 2008, Washington D.C. Concurrent partnerships account for at least 50% of HIV transmissions through sexual contact, regardless of number of partners (which can be very small) and NIDA has led the field in this research.

Dr. Peter Hartsock organized and co-chaired a special invited session at the national conference of the APHA, San Diego, October 27, 2008. The session dealt with NIDA-supported research on the U.S.-Mexico border on drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, TB, STIs, and related problems.

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson presided over a Research Priorities and Funding Opportunities Breakout Session on prevention research at the National Hispanic Science Meeting on October 1, 2008 at the Hyatt Hotel in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Tom Hilton, DESPR, presented a lecture at the NIDDK career development workshop: "Career Development Symposium: Life After K" entitled "Leading from Behind: The Role of Leadership as a Researcher," in San Diego, CA, June 18-20, 2008.

Dr. Dionne Jones served as a mentor in "Speed Mentoring" sessions at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, October 25-29 2008.

Dr. Augie Diana, PRB, DESPR, served as a Panelist in the session, "Careers in Medical Sociology Role" at the American Sociological Association Annual Meetings in Boston, MA on August 2, 2008. Dr. Diana presided over 2 additional sessions at the conference, focused on the application of sociology in applied settings, including federal employment.

Dr. Richard Jenkins, PRB, DESPR presented a colloquium titled "Funding Opportunities & the Role of the NIDA Program Staff" at the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY on September 12, 2008.

Dr. Augie Diana presented "Federal Funding Opportunities NIDA's Physical Activity Initiative" at the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology Annual Meetings in Jacksonville, FL on October 12, 2008.

On October 14, 2008, Dr. Aleta Meyer gave a presentation at the Society for Prevention Research's workshop, Advancing Translation of Prevention Science into Practice: The Next Generation, on "Funding for Type II Translation Research at NIH" in Aurora, CO.

Drs. Aria Crump, Aleta Meyer and Belinda Sims of PRB, DESPR presented a NIH/NIDA Grant Writing Session at the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant National Grantees' Meeting, on October 22, 2008 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Elizabeth Ginexi, PRB, DESPR participated in a Workshop on Statistical Methods in Drug Abuse and Health-Related Research on October 29, 2008 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington KY. Dr. Ginexi provided an "Overview from a NIDA Perspective."

Drs. Aria Crump and Belinda Sims presented on NIDA training opportunities for physician scientists at a W.T. Grant Foundation meeting entitled "Improving Adolescent Health and Well-being - Training the Next Generation of Physician Scientists in Transdisciplinary Research," on November 18, 2008 in New York, NY.

Dr. Aria Crump presented on DESPR Research Priorities at the NIDA Special Populations Office Research Development Seminar Series Meeting held on October 27-28, 2008 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Eve Reider is representing NIDA on a Joint Program Review Panel responsible for providing programmatic reviews of proposals for Psychological Health, Concussion, and/or Suicide Research, through the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

Dr. Eve Reider, PRB, DESPR became a member of the Federal Interagency TBI Research (FITBIR) working group.

Dr. Jag Khalsa, DPMCDA, participated in the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), November 1-3, 2008, San Francisco, CA.

Dr. Ivan Montoya, DPMCDA, participated in the "Working Group on Smoking Cessation in Hospitalized Patients" meeting in Rockville, MD on September, 17th 2008. This meeting was sponsored by NHLBI, NCI and NIDA.

Dr. Ivan Montoya presented the topic entitled "Cancer Research at NIDA" at the Trans-NCI Extramural Awareness Group (TEAG) forum on September 16, 2008.

Dr. Ivan Montoya presented the areas of research priority in DPMCDA to the NIDA Researchers and Scholars Joint Workgroup meeting, on September 29, 2008 in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Ivan Montoya attended the annual meeting of the National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) on Drug Abuse. He also co-chaired a symposium with Ana Anders and Yonette Thomas to discuss the research priorities of NIDA and a led a session to discuss opportunities for clinical research in drug abuse. The meeting took place in Bethesda, MD on October 1-3, 2008.

Dr. Ivan Montoya participated in the Fall meeting of the TTURC grantees, in Bethesda, MD, on October 22-23, 2008.

Dr. Ivan Montoya attended and chaired a symposium at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The title of the symposium was "Advances in the Treatment of Marijuana Dependence in Adolescents". It included presentations by Drs. Alan Budney, Jack Cornelius, Meg Haney, Frances Levin, and Danielle Piomelli. The meeting took place in Chicago, on October 28-31, 2008.

Mr. Lyle Furr, OEA, attended the 59th National Meeting of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, November 9-13, 2008 in Indianapolis, IN.

Dr. Teri Levitin, OEA, spoke at the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse 8th annual conference held in Bethesda, MD on October 3, 2008. She participated in a workshop on grant writing and described recent recommendations to enhance peer review at NIH.

Dr. Teri Levitin, OEA, served as a co-facilitator for one of the breakout sessions at the NIH-wide retreat for behavioral and social sciences on November 12, 2008.

Dr. Gerald McLaughlin, OEA, co-organized the 4th International Mitochondria Minisymposium 2008, The Interaction and Independence of Sirtuins and Mitochondria: A Few NIH Perspectives, November 19, 2008, with 9 NIH intramural scientist presentations dealing with diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, and neurological conditions related to Sirtuins.

Dr. Gerald McLaughlin, OEA, co-organized the NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lectures Series (NIH WALS) presentation of Sirtuins, Aging and Disease, by Leonard Guarente, November 19, 2008.

Dr. Gerald McLaughlin, OEA, co-organized and moderated the Scientific Program and Review Interest Group innovative transformative research series, including "FOA Development for Innovative Transformative Research" session November 21, 2008.

Dr. Meena Hiremath, OEA, attended the Addiction Health Services Research Conference in Boston, MA and presented a session on peer review to junior investigators, October 20-23, 2008.

Dr. Meena Hiremath, OEA, participated in the review of abstracts for the NIH Research Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities and attended the meeting in Gaylord, MD on December 16-18, 2008.

Dr. Nadine Rogers, OEA, participated as Adjunct Faculty, Morgan State University, School of Community Health & Policy teaching a graduate course, "Strategies for Health Promotion, Planning, and Program Development."

Dr. Nadine Rogers, OEA, presented "The Top 10 Things You Should Know About NIDA Review" at the NIDA Research Development Seminar Series, October 27-28, 2008 Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Nadine Rogers, OEA, presented, "NIH Submission and Review Process" at the NIDA Researchers and Scholars Joint Workgroup Meeting, September 29-30, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Amy Newman, IRP, was a featured speaker at the NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival in Bethesda, in September 2008. The title of her talk was Molecular Tools to Study Drug Addiction.

Dr. Amy Newman was invited to give a seminar at the St. John's University, in Queens, NY, entitled Dopamine D3 Receptor Antagonists as Potential Therapeutic Agents for Addiction in October 2008.

Dr. Noel Paul, IRP, was invited to give a NIDA-IRP Seminar entitled Exploring Dopamine D2/D3 Receptor Selectivity With Novel Tropine-Based Ligands in October 2008.

Dr. Jean Lud Cadet, IRP, presented Methamphetamine Self-administration Causes Dose-dependent Dopamine Depletion in Rat Striatum at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. on November 17, 2008.

Irina Krasnova, IRP, presented Methamphetamine Self-administration-Induced Transcriptional Profiles in the Rat Striatum at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. on November 17, 2008.

Subramaniam Jayanthi, IRP, presented The Dopamine D1 Receptor Antagonist, SCH23390, Causes Suppression of the Methamphetamine-induced Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Stress Response at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. on November 18, 2008.

Ning Cai, IRP, presented Methamphetamine Administration Causes Significant Increases in the Expression of the Morphogenesis Gene, Involucrin, in the Rat Hippocampus at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. on November 18, 2008.

Fidelis Atianjoh, IRP, presented Analysis of Superoxide-mediated Transcriptional Changes Underlying Amphetamine Toxicity in the Cortex at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. on November 15, 2008.

Mike McCoy, IRP, presented Attenuation of Methamphetamine-induce Toxicity by the Dopamine D1 Receptor Antagonist, SCH23390, Involves Inhibition of Multiple Transcription Factors at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington D.C. on November 19, 2008.