International Activities

Funding Initiatives

Supplements Support US-Netherlands Binational Collaborative Research
NIDA will provide up to $300,000 to support up to three 1-year administrative supplements to ongoing NIDA grants for U.S. researchers working with Dutch partners. The Dutch Addiction Program (DAP) will provide matching funds to support the Dutch researchers. Dutch applicants needed to submit a letter of intent by December 9, 2008. U.S. applications are due on or before April 7, 2009.

NIDA, CDRF Support Two HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse Research Teams
With funding provided by NIDA and administered by the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF), two teams of U.S. and Eurasian scientists have earned support for innovative projects in HIV/AIDS and drug abuse research. The grant competition was a follow-up activity to the joint NIDA/CRDF April 2008 proposal development workshop in Kiev, Ukraine, which focused on identifying a research agenda and developing regional collaborative research proposals. The first team will investigate HIV transmission among injecting and non-injecting drug users in Tallinn, Estonia. Dr. Anneli Uuskula, University of Tartu, Estonia, is the Eurasian primary investigator (PI); Dr. Don des Jarlais, Beth Israel Medical Center, is the U.S. PI. The investigators will examine the linkages between these two groups that might explain transmission and provide insight into observed increases in HIV infections among heterosexuals and women in Estonia. The second team will assess new trends in HIV-related risk patterns of injecting drug use and drug distribution in four Eurasian countries with substantial presence of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use. Former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Dr. Tomas Zabransky, Charles University, Czech Republic, is the Eurasian PI; Dr. Robert Booth, University of Colorado, is the U.S. PI. Other members of the five-country team include Dr. Zaruhi Beglaryan, United Nations Development Programme, Armenia; former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Dr. David Otiashvili, Union Alternative, Georgia; Dr. Oleksander Zeziulin, Vinnitsya Regional Narcological Dispensary, Ukraine; former WHO/NIDA/CPDD International Traveling Fellow Dr. Konstantyn Dumchev, Vinnitsya Regional Narcological Dispensary, Ukraine; former NIDA Humphrey Fellow Dr. Sergiy Dvoryak, Ukrainian Institute on Public Health Policy; Dr. Joseph E. Schumacher, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States; and Dr. Shruti Mehta, Johns Hopkins University, United States. The multinational team will combine qualitative and quantitative techniques to develop data about HIV among drug users, recent developments in drug scenes that are associated with the transmission of blood-borne diseases, and the individual and social dynamics of HIV risks.

Binational Agreements

US and Spain Sign Letter of Intent for Scientific Collaboration and Exchange
On October 18, 2008, NIDA and the National Plan on Drugs (PNSD), the government agency responsible for drug policy and programs in Spain, signed an agreement to pursue a program of scientific collaboration and exchange in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research related to drug abuse. Cooperation may include activities designed to further scientific and academic interactions between NIDA and PNSD's National Institute of Drug Research and Training (INIFD); to complement their respective areas of expertise; and to enhance their missions, particularly as they relate to the advancement of drug abuse research. The program for cooperation in research between NIDA-identified scientists and scientists identified by INIFD will include the exchange of scientists, information (including joint workshops), and research materials as well as other forms of research cooperation agreed upon and encouraged by both Institutes. The agreement has its roots in more than a decade of cooperation between NIDA and PNSD. The relationship began when the agencies cosponsored binational scientific meetings on drug abuse in 1997 and 1999 and has included additional workshops, scientific exchanges, and research training and exchanges since that time. A new INVEST Fellow, Marta Concheiro Guisan, is from Spain.

NIDA Supports Multinational Inhalant Abuse Research Efforts
NIDA is supporting a multinational working group of inhalant abuse researchers funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada. The SSHRC grant was designed to bring together experts from Canada, the United States, Australia, and Mexico to develop an international research agenda on treating inhalant abuse among indigenous youth, and to share the success of Canadian Youth Solvent Addiction Committee (YSAC) models. The NIDA International Program is providing staff support, assistance in using the NIDA International Virtual Collaboratory (NIVC), and helping to coordinate a meeting in conjunction with the 2009 NIDA International Forum. To disseminate information about YSAC programs, the multinational team will hold a series of virtual seminars on NIVC. The first seminar, held December 11, 2008, featured a recorded presentation on treatment by YSAC Coordinator Debra Dell, and an online discussion forum question-and-answer session. The next seminar, tentatively scheduled for late February 2009, will focus on prevention programs in Canada and England. To develop a review paper for publication, the working group members are completing environmental scans about inhalant abuse in their own countries. The group will meet prior to the 2009 NIDA International Forum to finalize the paper and identify a research agenda. Principal Investigator Dr. Colleen Anne Dell, University of Saskatchewan, coordinates the team, which also includes NIDA grantee Dr. Matthew O. Howard, University of North Carolina; former NIDA INVEST Fellow Dr. Silvia Cruz, Cinestav, Mexico; and Dr. Sarah MacLean, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Australia.

NIDA-Supported Meetings

Sino-US Symposium on Substance Abuse and HIV/HCV Co-morbidity
A NIDA and NIAAA jointly sponsored symposium was held in Xi'an, China during October 21-25, 2008. Dr. Jacques Normand, Director of NIDA AIDS Office and Dr. Max Goo, Deputy Director of Division of Metabolism and Health Effects/NIAAA co-chaired the roundtable discussion of this meeting. In addition, Dr. Yu (Woody) Lin, the NIDA program official of the symposium project coordinated interactive discussions throughout the conference among several top Chinese psychiatrists, practitioners in disease clinics, and basic HIV/HCV scientists from five prominent Chinese institutions. The goal of these discussions was to promote collaborative basic, clinical, and clinical trial research on, and prevention and treatment of HIV/HCV-substance abuse co-morbidity in China. As result of these discussions, a collaborative network has been initiated and several potentially collaborative research projects are actively under discussion. Dr. Johnny He, Professor and Director of Center for AIDS Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, will lead this consortium with assistance of Dr. Min Zhao of Shanghai Jiao tong University, Shanghai, China as the local coordinator in China. This consortium will primarily focus on western China and neighboring provinces, a geographical region where drug abuse is highly prevalent and has become the major contributing factor for new HIV/HCV infection.

NIDA Poster Session at SfN Features International Neuroscientists
NIDA organized an Early Career Investigators Poster Session on Friday, November 14, 2998 as part of NIDA's mini-convention on Frontiers in Addiction Research at the Society for Neuroscience Research meeting in Washington, D.C. The invited poster session showcased drug abuse and drug-related neuroscience research by:

• Brazil: Alline Cristina de Campos, Daniel Fraga, Sabrina F. deS. Lisboa, Leonardo Resstel Barbosa Moraes, and Ana Luisa Bernardes Terzian
• Canada: Stephanie L. Borgland
• China: Wenhua Zhou
• France: Amynah Pradhan
• India: Sharad Shashwat
• Iran: Pouya Tahsili Fahadan
• Italy: Michela Ferrucci
• Japan: Keiichi Niikura and Hideko Yamamoto
• Poland: Anna Golda
• Portugal: Frederico Pereira
• Spain: Alejandro Higuera Matas
• Thailand: Rasmon Kalayasiri
• United Kingdom: Tomasz Schneider

The international poster presenters were supported, in part, by NIDA and the International Union of Pharmacology, International Brain Research Organization, International Narcotics Research Conference, College on Problems of Drug Dependence, International Cannabinoid Research Society, and International Drug Abuse Research Society.

NIDA Shares Research Priorities and Funding Mechanisms with United Kingdom
The Medical Research Council (MRC), a publicly funded organization charged with coordinating addiction research throughout the United Kingdom, is developing a strategy to make better use of existing expertise and infrastructure, build U.K. research capacity, increase coordination among stakeholders, and conduct interdisciplinary studies on addiction to alcohol, nicotine, illicit drugs, and gambling. At the request of MRC officials, NIDA IP Director Dr. Steven W. Gust participated in a workshop in London on November 4, 2008, to identify thematic priorities for new addiction research clusters. Dr. Gust summarized NIDA research priorities in prevention among children and adolescents, new targets and strategies for treatment interventions, and HIV/AIDS and mechanisms the Institute uses to support research and develop research infrastructure at the individual, institutional, and inter-institutional levels.

International Scientists Explore Role of Neuroimmunomodulation in Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS
NIDA supported the International Symposium on Biotechnological Approaches to Neuroimmunomodulation and Infectious Diseases, held December 11-13, 2008, in Nagar, India. The meeting featured speakers from India, Germany, and the United States, including NIDA grantee Dr. Robert Donahoe, an expert in how abused drugs affect the progression of AIDS. The National Institute on Pharmaceuticals and Educational Research of India sponsored the conference, with support from NIDA, Roche Pharmaceuticals of India, and the University of Utah.

REDLA Identifies Worrisome Trends in Latin American Drug Use
Fourteen members of REDLA (the Latin American Epidemiological Network known more commonly by its Spanish name, la Red Latinoamericana de Investigadores en Drogas) met prior to the June 2008 NIDA International Forum to analyze the drug situation in each country, identify knowledge gaps that could be closed through secondary analysis of existing databases, and create a work plan to analyze cross-national databases in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, including Puerto Rico. REDLA is a network of academic researchers coordinated by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) and supported by NIDA. Participants noted increased drug use in almost all countries, particularly regarding the use of marijuana and cocaine. Perception of risk appeared to be decreasing in all countries. Attendees reported that prescription drug use without a prescription or medical supervision is now widespread across Latin America and culturally accepted, as with the use of benzodiazepines among Brazilian women. REDLA members noted that national and multinational surveys do not clearly identify which pharmaceuticals are most commonly misused and suggested that future CICAD surveys include a more precise breakdown of pharmaceuticals misused and better classification of abused inhalants. In addition, discussion revealed a series of patterns of substance use that were previously unknown or rarely observed in Latin America:

• Binge drinking.
• Jarra Loca--mixing strong liquor with pharmaceuticals, which had been previously reported in Paraguay, has recently been reported in Argentina, Peru, and Brazil.
• Merla--the combination of cocaine or crack with cannabis is growing in popularity among Brazilians.
• Heroin mixed with Xylazine--Puerto Rican injection drug users have been reported to add Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, to heroin, believing that the mixture mimics or extends the effects of heroin.

Fellowships

NIDA Welcomes Humphrey Fellows
Ms. Dale Weiss, program analyst from the NIDA IP, met with Hubert H. Humphrey (HHH) Fellows at two fall meetings to introduce NIDA opportunities available during their fellowships. Ms. Weiss met with NIDA-supported Humphrey Fellows in Substance Abuse Education, Treatment, and Prevention at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on September 19, 2008. Ms. Weiss introduced NIDA resources, including the NIDA International Virtual Collaboratory (NIVC), a password-protected tool to support geographically distant partners in collaborative research, discussion, and education, and met individually with the fellows to discuss their research affiliations. During a 4-day Global Leadership Forum sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education, Ms. Weiss met October 20 and 21, 2008, with HHH Fellows in Drug Abuse and Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, HHH Fellows in HIV/AIDS Policy and Prevention from Emory University, and HHH Fellows in Public Health Policy and Management from Tulane University. She discussed NIH opportunities open to the fellows, the international research priorities of NIDA Divisions, and the NIDA IP's role in strengthening research networks outside the United States by creating opportunities for global research collaboration, training, and scientific exchange. The NIDA-supported Humphrey Fellows at VCU include:

• Mr. Daniel Akwasi Amankwaah, Ghana, obtained his bachelor's degree in political science and French in 1994 and his LL.B. degree in 2007 from the University of Ghana. He is currently the head of the Legal Liaison Unit of the Ghana Narcotics Control Board. Prior to that, he was the head of the Demand Reduction Department and was responsible for United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime demand reduction activities in Ghana. He has worked extensively with nongovernmental organizations in substance abuse prevention and education. During his fellowship, Mr. Amankwaah will focus on substance abuse policy, criminal justice, and designing substance abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs.
• Dr. Muna H. Sawwaf, Saudi Arabia, obtained her medical degree with honors from King Saud University in 1989 and completed her fellowship in general psychiatry in 1994. Dr. Sawwaf's postgraduate training includes studies at the University of London in women's mental health and drug addiction, and a postgraduate diploma in psychological medicine from University College Dublin. She is a consultant psychiatrist and head of the Department of Psychiatry at King Fahd General Hospital in Jeddah, and a member of the scientific advisory board of Mentor Arabia and Mentor International, a nongovernmental organization that deals with drug abuse prevention programs. In 2007, she was awarded an International Fellowship from the American Psychiatric Association. Her fellowship goals are to learn more about managing drug addiction in women, behavioral and pharmacological drug treatments, and prevention programs.
• Dr. Munir Ahmed, Bangladesh, obtained his medical degree in 1989, a master's degree in public health in 2003, and a diploma in health economics degree in 2004 from Dhaka University. From 1991-2002, he worked in the tribal tea plantation area of Bangladesh where malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, and alcohol addiction are endemic. In 2004, he joined CARE's harm reduction program for injection drug users and heroin smokers. Since early 2006, he has led operations for CARE's HIV program. During his fellowship year, Dr. Ahmed will focus on drug treatment modalities, including self-help groups and treatment for drug overdoses, prevention programs, and drug control policy and legislation.
• Mr. Oleksii Smirnov, Ukraine, is a senior program officer for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, coordinating HIV prevention projects in southern Ukraine. He has master's degrees from Warsaw University and the Central European University in Budapest. Mr. Smirnov organized three waves of Participatory Site Assessments (PSA) that identified subgroups of injecting drug users (IDUs), locations where they congregate, and their migration. As a result of the PSAs, local nongovernmental organizations have implemented evidence-based practices in different regions of Ukraine. Since HIV/AIDS is spread mostly among IDUs in Ukraine, during his fellowship, Mr. Smirnov wants to learn new strategies for harm reduction, rehabilitation, and substitution therapy for this vulnerable group. He is also interested in substance abuse policy and drug control legislation.
• Dr. Petr Popov, Czech Republic, received his medical degree from Charles University Prague in 1987, where he also completed his specialty in psychiatry in 1991 and his postgraduate specialty in drug abuse in 1997. He is head of the Division of Substance Abuse Services of the General Faculty Hospital Prague and head of the Department of Addictive Disorders at the Czech Institute of Postgraduate Study in Medicine. Dr. Popov is chairman of the Czech Society of Addictive Medicine and has attended psychiatry and addictions conferences and training workshops throughout Europe and the United States. During his fellowship year, Dr. Popov will study drug treatment modalities, policies, prevention, drug control legislation, and professional training programs.
• Dr. Tekendra Kumar Rai, India, obtained his bachelor of medicine and surgery from Marathwada University in 1990. After completing his doctoral degree in pharmacology in 1996, he joined the Drugs Cell in the Indian State of Sikkim Department of Health, where he was responsible for the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Currently, he oversees the Sikkim State Anti-Drugs Unit, where he framed legislation to control abuse and trafficking of prescription drugs. During his fellowship, Dr. Rai will focus on policy, prevention, and drug control legislation regarding prescription drug abuse and the relationship between HIV/AIDS and injection drug use, particularly among adolescents and women.
• Dr. Adrian Octavian Abagiu, Romania, graduated from the Bucharest University of Medicine in 1987 and earned a Ph.D. in medical science in 2000. He has been a senior doctor in infectious diseases since 1994 and was head of the Infectious Diseases Department of the Bucharest Prison Hospital until 2000. Currently, he is working as senior doctor in infectious diseases at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Bucharest and as medical coordinator for the ARENA Center, the first Romanian low-threshold center for methadone maintenance treatment. During his fellowship, Dr. Abagiu hopes to learn more about substance abuse prevention and treatment, especially for multidrug use, and about program development and evaluation of direct clinical services for patients with co-occurring disorders.

INVEST Fellow Ends Year with Scientific Presentations
Dr. Adhi Nurhidayat, Indonesia, chaired one session at the Pre-Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP) meeting and presented on Indonesia's mental health policy during the meeting, which was held in Tokyo, Japan, October 29- November 2, 2008. A 2007-2008 NIDA INVEST Fellow, Dr. Nurhidayat was awarded a travel scholarship from PRCP to participate in the meeting. He also received a travel scholarship from the World Health Organization and the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) to present on addiction medicine in Indonesia during the ISAM Annual Scientific Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, November 17-20, 2008. Earlier, Dr. Nurhidayat was awarded a travel scholarship to the Society for Prevention Research conference held in San Francisco, May 27-31, 2008, where he presented a poster on evaluation of HIV prevention programs in Indonesia. With his mentors, Dr. David Metzger and Dr. George Woody of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Nurhidayat has submitted one research grant proposal that is under review, and he is preparing a second grant application and two articles.

NIDA Selects New INVEST Fellows
Dr. Marta Concheiro Guisan, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, has been selected as a NIDA INVEST Fellow. Working with Dr. Marilyn Heustis, NIDA IRP, Dr. Concheiro aims to develop and validate an analytical method to quantify the level of buprenorphine in the oral fluid and sweat of pregnant, opioid-dependent women receiving buprenorphine maintenance treatment. Although maternal plasma concentrations provide actual levels of free buprenorphine and metabolites that can cross the placenta and reach the fetus, plasma is rarely collected for monitoring purposes. Oral fluid and sweat testing both offer promising, noninvasive alternatives to plasma collection. Drs. Concheiro and Heustis will develop and validate a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method to measure the concentration of buprenorphine and its metabolites, and then correlate that data with administered dose; maternal and neonatal outcomes; and data from maternal urine and plasma specimens and infant placenta, umbilical cord, and meconium specimens. A pharmacist and forensic toxicologist, Dr. Concheiro has been a researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela, CIENTISOL S.L., and Cienytech. Her postdoctoral fellowship at the NIDA IRP was supported by the Spanish Fundacion Espanola de Ciencia y Tecnologia.

Dr. Albeart Moriggia, University of Pavia, Italy, is a new INVEST Fellow who will work with Dr. David L. Thomas of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to investigate the role of HIV in the progression of HCV-related liver diseases among injection drug users (IDUs). His work will focus on defining the role of injection drug use in liver damage as well as clinical and biological markers for liver disease among IDUs. In the United States and Europe, HCV-related liver disease is one of the leading causes of death among IDUs who are infected with HIV. Yet the degree to which HIV increases HCV-related liver disease among this group and the mechanisms of how HIV and injection drug use affect liver disease are largely unknown. The major limitation of liver disease research and therapy among IDUs today is the measurement of liver disease stage and prediction of liver disease progression. Dr. Moriggia and Dr. Thomas will investigate the accuracy of elastography and surrogate markers in different situations of immunosuppression, liver damage, HCV-RNA values, biochemical parameters, and drug use. They also will study the role of microbial translocation in the progression of liver disease. Results from this study should contribute to an increase in the number of HCV-infected IDU candidates for HCV therapy, thus prolonging their lives and reducing the reservoir of HCV infection the United States and Europe. After receiving his degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Milan, Dr. Moriggia began his current residency in Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the University of Pavia. He also served internships in pediatrics at the University of Milan and in tropical medicine and pediatrics at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

International Visitors

On October 15, 2008 Mr. Piotr Jablo ski, Director of the National Bureau for Drug Prevention Poland and Mr. Krzysztof Brzozka Director of the State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems in Poland visited NIDA. This visiting scholars tour was organized by Dr. Robert Zucker under the auspices of the International Clinical, Operational and Health Services Research and Training Award (ICOHRTA). While at NIDA the visitors met with Dr. Liz Ginexi, DESPR, Dr. Larry Stanford and Ms. Debbie Grossman, DCNBR and Ms. Dale Weiss, IP.

As part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program three visitors from Venezuela came to NIDA on November 4, 2008. Objectives of the visit included providing an overview of U.S. policy regarding drug demand reduction efforts in general, presenting a substantive view of drug education and prevention programs, strategies and methodologies in the U.S. and familiarizing the group with the latest trends in treatment of drug addiction. While at NIDA the visitors met with Drs. Liz Ginexi and Dionne Jones, DESPR, Dr. Ivan Montoya DPMCDA and Ms. Ana Anders, SPO.

Mrs. Gayle Hamilton an Information Specialist from the Bahamas National Drug Council visited NIDA December 4, 2008. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about NIDA's information dissemination efforts. Mrs. Hamilton met with Mr. Brian Marquis, OSPC during her visit.

Other International Activities

Wilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E., Director, DESPR, participated in the Joint World Health Organization-American Psychiatric Association DSM-ICD Harmonization Committee Meeting, Geneva, Switzerland, December 3, 2008.

Wilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E. presented on Epidemiology of Methamphetamine in a panel at the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists Scientific Meeting, Tokyo, Japan, October 31, 2008.

Dr. Steven Grant, DCNBR, gave the opening address entitled "Dopamine and Glutamate Dysfunction in Addiction" at the 7th Charity Conference on Psychiatric Research: Emotional Neuroscience held at Charity - Universitaetsmedizin in Berlin, Germany on August 28-31, 2008.

Dr. Rao S. Rapaka, DBNBR, co-organized an "International Symposium on Organic Synthesis and Drug Development 2008" (ISODD) at Nanjing University, Nanjing, October 14-17, 2008.

Dr. Rapaka's co-organizers were Dr. Yi Pan (Nanjing University) and Dr. Guo-Qiang Lin (Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry).

Dr. Yu (Woody) Lin, represented DCNBR at the NIDA-NIAAA jointly sponsored symposium entitled "Sino-US Symposium on Substance Abuse and HIV/HCV Co-morbidity", which was held in conjunction with the 10th Chinese National Biennial Conference on Drug Dependence at Xi'an, China on October 21-25, 2008.

Dr. Ivan Montoya, DPMCDA, co-chaired with Francisco Cumsille from the Organization of American States (OAS) a 1-day meeting of the Latin American Network of Drug Abuse Epidemiology (REDLA). The meeting took place at the OAS headquarters in Washington DC, on September 30, 2008. The panel included drug abuse epidemiology experts from 10 countries of the Americas and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Ivan Montoya was invited to chair a symposium and present at the annual meeting of the Colombian Psychiatric Association in Bogota, Colombia, on October 8-12, 2008. The topic of the symposium was "Advances in the Treatment of Drug Abuse". It included presentations by Dr. Ricardo Restrepo from Columbia University in New York, Dr. Ximena Sanchez from Harvard University, and Dr. Sergi Ferre from the NIDA IRP.

Dr. Ivan Montoya attended and chaired a symposium at the annual meeting of the International Society of Addiction Medicine in Cape Town, South Africa. The title of the symposium was "Addiction and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)". It included presentations by Dr. Carlos Blanco and Dr. Nathilee Caldeira from Columbia University, Dr. Sudie Back from Medical University of South Carolina, and Dr. R. Kjosnes from the Addiction Research Center of Norway.

Dr. Ahmed Elkashef, DPMCDA, organized a one-day pre-congress workshop at the annual meeting of the International Society of Addiction Medicine in Cape Town, South Africa. The title was: Methamphetamine - New Knowledge from Research Findings. The co-chairs were Dr. Salomon Rataemane from South Africa and Dr. Tim Condon from NIDA. There were presentations by Drs. W. Ling, C. Grella, R. Rawson, B.Myers, N. Ntlhe, M. Brecht, C.J. Reback, R. Sodano and A. Elkashef.

Dr. Jag Khalsa, DPMCDA, has been invited by Laila Pharmaceutical Ltd., Chennai, India, Jan 18-20, 2009, to give a special lecture on medical consequences of drug abuse and infections (HIV/AIDS, HCV, TB, and others) at the International Conference on Molecular Medicine. The conference is planned to be inaugurated by the former President of India. Dr. Khalsa will receive an award from the President for his contributions in the field of substance abuse and infections.

David A. Gorelick, M.D., Ph.D., IRP, visited the Israel Anti-Drug Authority in Jerusalem, Israel on October 26, 2008, where he gave a presentation on pharmacological treatment of substance dependence.