Meetings/Conferences

The Blending Hand-Off Meeting for the CTN Protocol that examined Young Adult Buprenorphine Treatment met in Bethesda, Maryland on February 28, 2008. Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Deputy Director, NIDA, chaired this meeting which was coordinated by Dr. Denise Pintello. The objective of the meeting was to discuss study results from three community treatment programs (CTPs) and determine if a new Blending Team product should be developed. Participants included ATTC directors, NIDA researchers, NIDA and SAMHSA staff and CTP members. It is anticipated that a Blending Team will be created to develop a new module to highlight these study results.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) organized a highly successful program at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., May 3-8, 2008. A number of NIDA staff and NIDA researchers participated in several symposia and workshops on a wide range of topics such as, Drug Abuse, HIV, and the Brain; Gene-Environment-Development Interactions: Implications for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Disorders; and Diagnosis and Treatment of Adolescents/Young Adults with Substance Use Disorders. This program builds on previous tracks NIDA has conducted at the APA Annual meeting since 1998.

The National CTN Steering Committee Meetings were held February 25-28, 2008 in Rockville, Maryland. The following meetings/committees convened:
CTP and PI Caucuses
Exercise Concept Team
Members of the STAGE-12 (CTN 0031) study team
Special Groups: Pharmacotherapy, Exercise, and CTP Authorship
Executive Committee
Research Utilization Committee
Research Development Committee
Node Coordinator Workgroup
Steering Committee
Design & Analysis Workshop

The Special Populations Office, OD, NIDA convened a two-day Special Populations Research Development Seminar workshop on October 25-27, 2007, in Bethesda, MD. The seminar brought back new investigators, who attended an initial two-day workshop, to present draft research applications for review and discussion in a "mock review" session chaired by NIDA staff. In addition, participants met with NIDA-funded investigators and senior NIDA program staff to discuss research opportunities at NIH.

The Special Populations Office, OD, NIDA and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hosted the Substance Abuse, Criminal Justice, and HIV in African Americans: Technical Assistance workshop on October 15-16, 2007 in Silver Spring, MD. The workshop convened NIDA/SAMHSA staff and NIDA grantees to serve as speakers and mentors to early/new investigators who plan to prepare grant applications for NIDA program announcements related to substance abuse, criminal justice and HIV/AIDS.

The Special Populations Office, OD, NIDA, convened a meeting of NIDA's Minority/Ethnic Researchers and Scholars Workgroups on October 31 - November 1, 2007 at the Bethesda Marriott Conference Center in Bethesda, MD. The meeting was centered on discussion and plans for future activities geared towards increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and women in substance abuse research and training these respective populations. During the meeting, NIDA Director, Dr. Nora Volkow provided an overview of the Institute's mission and research priorities and NIDA's Division Directors discussed their particular division's priorities.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon, Deputy Director, NIDA, presented "Advances in Drug Abuse and Addiction Research: Implications for Treatment" at the Demand Reduction Conference: What Works to Reduce Drug Use, on January 24, 2008, in Budapest, Hungary.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Emerging Trends in Drug Abuse: Monitoring to Stay Ahead of the Curve" at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) National Leadership Forum XVIII on February 14, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon provided opening remarks and presented "Buprenorphine in the Treatment of Opioid Addiction: Balancing Medication Access with Quality Care" at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health 2008 Summit on Buprenorphine in the Treatment of Opioid Addiction: Balancing Medication Access with Quality Care on February 21, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented the "NIDA Deputy Director's Report" at the CTN National Steering Committee Meeting on February 27, 2008, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon participated in the Federal Roundtable Discussion on the Future of Drug Courts sponsored by the Congress of State Drug Court Associations of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals on March 3, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Addiction as a Brain Disease: Implications for Prevention and Treatment" at the New Jersey Prevention Network, Back to the Basics...With An Eye on the Future on March 7, 2008, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "NIDA Progress, Priorities & Plans for the Future" to the leadership of the Association for Addiction Professionals and the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers during the 21st annual Advocacy in Action conference on March 10, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon highlighted the role of science and the research that NIDA is doing to understand and prevent inhalant abuse at a press briefing on inhalant use hosted by the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, with sponsorship from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), on March 13, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented the opening remarks for the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) Seminar Series on Sex and Gender Research: Substance Abuse on March 27, 2008, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "Advances in Drug Abuse and Addiction Research: Implications for Prevention, Treatment and Recovery" at the 31st Annual Governor's Conference on Substance Abuse on April 8, 2008, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Dr. Timothy P. Condon presented "It's a Brain Disease: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt - The Neuroscience of Addiction" at the California Association of Drug Court Professionals' 2008 Annual Collaborative Justice Conference on April 9, 2008, in Anaheim, California.

Dr. Cindy Miner, Deputy Director, OSPC, was invited to lead a discussion on drug abuse and addiction in response to the popularity of the drug abuse chat day for the students at Rockville High School, Rockville Maryland, on February 21, 2008.

Drs. Cindy Miner, Gaya Dowling and Ms. Carol Krause of OSPC led a panel discussion on NIDA's first ever web chat day entitled, "The Real Inside Scoop on What Teens Want to Know About Drug Abuse" at the 2008 Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness held in Washington D.C., on March 26, 2008.

Dr. Denise Pintello, Special Assistant to the Deputy Director, delivered the keynote address at George Mason University's Department of Social Work Conference on March 19, 2008, to faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students and provided an overview on social work career pathways and the importance of applying evidence-based research to practice.

Dr. Gayathri J. Dowling presented "It's a Brain Disease: Drug Addiction Best Practices and Effective Strategies for Treatment and How Judges Can Apply this Information" on behalf of Dr. Timothy P. Condon at the Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals on February 12, 2008, in Lansing, Michigan.

Dr. Gayathri J. Dowling presented "The Science of Addiction" at the Third Annual Summit on Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and School Safety Best Practices for Working with Youth on March 12, 2008, in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Dr. Ruben Baler, OSPC, presented a workshop on "Basic Neuroscience and the Science of Addiction" at the 31st annual PRIDE Conference, April 1-4, 2008 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Lula Beatty, Chief, SPO, served as a reviewer for the 2008 Head Start conference.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in the meeting of the Committee on Women in Psychology of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC in September 2007.

Dr. Lula Beatty presented an overview of NIDA's involvement in HIV/AIDS research at the National African American Advisory Committee meeting of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) in Washington, DC in October 2007.

Dr. Lula Beatty has been serving as NIDA's representative to the NCMHD Forum Planning Committee, a group to plan a 2008 conference on NIH health disparities research and programs.

Dr. Lula Beatty attended the National Leadership Workshop on Mentoring Women in Biomedical Careers sponsored by NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health in November 2007.

Dr. Lula Beatty served on the planning committee for the "Building Strong and Healthy Families: Connecting Marriage Research to Practice" conference supported by the Administration for Children and Families, DHSS, to be held June 17-19, 2008 at the University of North Carolina.

Dr. Lula Beatty attended the "Summit on Abuse and Violence in Relationships: Connecting Agendas and Forging New Directions" sponsored by the American Psychological Association on February 28-29, 2008 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in the meeting of the Society of Women in Psychology, APA on March 1, 2008 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in the meeting "Enhancing Diversity in Science" organized by the Consortium on Social Sciences Associations on February 28, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Lula Beatty attended a professional development program for early career scientists sponsored by NINDS and supported by the Special Populations Office on March 4, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Dr. Lula Beatty participated in the planning committee for the CSAT satellite conference at CPDD to be held June 14, 2008 in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Lula Beatty attended the meeting of the Committee on Women in Psychology, American Psychological Association, on March 28-29, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Ana Anders, Public Health Analyst, SPO, participated in the National Hispanic Science Network annual conference held in Miami Beach, FL on September 26-28, 2007.

Ana Anders, as a representative of NIDA, participated in the Latino Behavioral Health Institute annual conference in Los Angeles, CA on October 2-4, 2007.

Ana Anders, as 2007 president of the NIH Hispanic Employee Organization, along with the HEODC, chaired the committee that planned the observance of the Hispanic Heritage Month on October 11, 2007 where Dr. Nora Volkow was the keynote speaker.

Ana Anders is a member of the Virtual Program for Career Development and Capacity Building for Latin American and Caribbean Women Scientists workgroup, comprised of other NIH Institutes (NIDA has the lead through the NHSN), the WHO, PAHO, UNESCO, and FLACSO from Argentina.

Ana Anders gave a presentation on drug abuse prevention to an association of journalists, young scientists and the "drug czar" at the University of Cardenal Herrera on November 7- 8, 2007 in Valencia, Spain.

Ana Anders was a member of the NIH Diversity Council planning committee, which presented the NIH Art and Science Diversity Expo. on December 5, 2007.

Ana Anders participated in a National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse Steering Committee meeting at the University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 11-13, 2008.

Ana Anders gave a talk on Health Disparities at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in Maryland on January 30, 2008.

Ana Anders gave a presentation on Health Disparities at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, College Park, Maryland on February 26, 2008.

Drs. Cecelia Spitznas and Lisa Onken of DCNBR along with Drs. Thomas Brady, Richard Denisco and Wilson Compton of DESPR organized a meeting on Screening for Drug Abuse in Primary Care held May 12, 2008 at NIDA in Bethesda. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain expert feedback on Provider Guidelines for Screening for Drug Abuse.

Dr. David Shurtleff, Director, DBNBR, chaired the Early-Career Grant Writing session and presented on "Research Funding Opportunities: Learning the NIH System" at the 14th Annual Conference of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology (March 12-15, 2008).

Dr. David Shurtleff gave a presentation on "Basic Research at NIDA: An Overview" at the Rush University Center for Compulsive Behavior and Addiction on April 22, 2008.

Dr. Jerry Frankenheim organized two symposia panels for the Winter Conference on Brain Research, Snowbird Utah - "Neurological Emergencies with Methamphetamine & MDMA (Rodent Models)," January 29, 2008, and "What Are the Roles of Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 in Primates?," February 1, 2008.

Dr. Geraline Lin, DBNBR, organized and chaired a NIDA Neuroscience Consortium-sponsored Cutting Edge Seminar Series Mini Symposium entitled, "Groundbreaking Optical Technologies: Unprecedented Opportunities for Biomedical Research" on March 20, 2008. Speakers included: Drs. Karl Deisseroth, Mark Schnitzer and Guoping Feng.

Dr. Nancy Pilotte, DBNBR, was invited to participate and speak at Career Day activities at Purdue University on February 21, 2008. Dr. Pilotte gave a presentation entitled: "The Road From Application to Grant."

Dr. Christine Colvis, DBNBR, gave a presentation on existing proteomics programs and funding opportunities at NIDA to Human Proteome Organization World Congress representatives January 29, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Christine Colvis co-organized the MLSCN (Molecular Libraries Screening Centers Network) Satellite meeting at the Society for Biomolecular Sciences conference April 6, 2008, St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Christine Colvis gave a presentation on funding opportunities at NIDA at the US Human Proteome Organization meeting March 18, 2008, Bethesda North Marriott, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Joni Rutter, DBNBR, Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative: Translating Whole Genome Association Data into Clinical Practice: March 10-11, 2008, Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Christine Colvis served as a moderator at the annual all-hands meeting of the National Technology Centers for Networks and Pathways March 20-21, 2008, Pooks Hill Marriott, Bethesda, MD.

Drs. Jonathan D. Pollock and Joni Rutter with the Genetics Workgroup organized and chaired the NIDA Short Course on the Genetics and Epigenetics of Addiction, held at the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel, Bethesda, MD, March 31-April 4, 2008.

Dr. John Satterlee, DBNBR, a leader in the NIH epigentics roadmap project, attended the "Epigenetics and Behavior Meeting", sponsored by Nature Genetics and Nature Neuroscience, March 31, 2008 in Houston, TX.

Dr. John Satterlee attended the Keystone Meeting on the "Molecular Basis for Chromatin Modifications and Epigenetic Phenomena," April 7- April 12, 2008, Snowmass, CO.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock organized and chaired a symposium at the Society for Biological Psychiatry entitled, "Mapping Complex Traits for Addictive and Psychiatric Disorders in Mice," May 2, 2008, Washington, D.C. Presentations were given by Drs. David Threadgill, Timothy Wiltshire, Kari Buck, and Daniel Goldowitz on technical advances and recent discoveries in mapping gene variants for complex traits for addiction and psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock organized and chaired a symposium at the American Psychiatric association, entitled, "Gene-Environment-Development Interactions: Implications for Psychiatric and Addictive Disorders," May 7, 2008, Washington, D.C. Talks were given by Drs. Christopher Cowan, Frances Champagne, Julia Kim-Cohen, and Stephen Suomi.

Dr. Jonathan D. Pollock, a leader in the NIH Knockout Mouse Project, attended the International Knockout Consortium Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, May 13, 2008.

At the 14th Annual Conference of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology (March 12-15, 2008), Diane Lawrence (DBNBR) and Linda Chang (Univ. Hawaii) co-chaired a session on "Oxidative Stress, AIDS and Drug Abuse." Bryan Yamamoto was a plenary speaker, discussing the role of oxidative stress in neuronal injury produced by amphetamine-related drugs of abuse. Other speakers included Norman Haughey, Annadora Bruce-Keller, Nuran Ercal, and Linda Chang. This symposium covered current findings in cell culture and animal models, human research, and CNS therapeutics approaches, and addressed the role of oxidative stress in mediating the consequences of drug abuse on HIV pathogenesis particularly in the brain.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DBNBR, made welcoming remarks on behalf of NIDA and served as a group facilitator at the American Psychological Association's Summit on Violence and Abuse in Relationships: Connecting Agendas and Forging New Directions, February 28-29, 2008. Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, MD. NIDA was a co-sponsor of the Summit.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington organized and chaired the symposium, "Issues in Drug Abuse Treatment of Women: Translation from the Lab to the Clinic," at the 3rd International Congress on Women's Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia, March 17-20, 2008. Speakers: Angela Waldrop (Medical University of South Carolina), Rajita Sinha (Yale University School of Medicine), Dace Svikis (Medical College of Virginia), and Sherry McKee (Yale University School of Medicine).

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington organized and opened the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) seminar, "Sex & Gender Research: Substance Abuse," March 27, 1-3, Lipsett Auditiorium, NIH main campus. As part of ORWH's seminar series, this year they are featuring research on sex/gender differences supported by their Specialized Centers of Interdisciplinary Research (SCOR) on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health (P50s) Program. NIDA administers three of the eleven SCORs in that program, and ORWH chose drug abuse as the first topic to feature in the SCOR seminar series. The speakers represented the three NIDA SCORs: Sari Izenwasser (Co-Investigator of the University of Miami SCOR; Emmalee Bandstra, PI), Rajita Sinha (PI of Yale University School of Medicine SCOR), and Himanshu Upadhyaya (Co-Investigator of the Medical University of South Carolina SCOR; Kathleen Brady, PI).

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington was a planning committee member and session moderator for the meeting, Women and Smoking: Understanding Socioeconomic Influences, April 9-10, 2008 in Annapolis, MD. The meeting was sponsored by NIDA, NCI, NICHD, NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, DHHS Office of Women's Health, GlaxoSmith Kline, Inc, American Legacy Foundation, and Pfizer, Inc.

Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington gave an invited classroom lecture, "The Pervasiveness of Sex/Gender Difference in Drug Abuse," at American University for the psychology course, Women & Mental Health, April 14, 2008.

Dr. Samia Noursi, DBNBR, presented a talk on "Science to Services" at an Innovative Session: Roundtable Discussion at the Society for Research on Adolescents, Chicago, IL, March 2008.

Dr. Samia Noursi moderated an Innovative Session: Roundtable Discussion titled "Innovative Methods for Teaching Adolescent and Emerging Adult Development: A Session for those who Teach" at the Society for Research on Adolescents, Chicago, IL, March 2008.

Dr. Samia Noursi is a lead participant on an ad hoc subcommittee formed by the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the NIH Office of the Director to plan for the Office's Strategic Planning for the years 2009-2014.

Dr. Minda Lynch, DBNBR, presented "Do Drugs of Abuse Hijack the Brain?" at the Third Annual Brain Day, hosted by the VCU Department of Psychology in Richmond, VA on March 14, 2008. This event was part of Brain Awareness Week activities and approximately 350 local high school students attended.

Dr. Allison Chausmer was an invited presenter for "SRNT Global Network Committee meeting", at the annual meeting for the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, held in Portland, OR on February 28, 2008.

Dr. Allison Chausmer, DBNBR, co-organized a 2008 SRNT pre-conference workshop entitled "Global Tobacco Control Research Funding: Opportunities and Priorities", with William Riley (NIMH), Catherine Jo (ACS), Tom Glynn (ACS) and Scott Leischow (University of Arizona).

Dr. Joseph Frascella, Director, DCNBR, attended a meeting entitled "Forging Alliances among Funders in Obesity Prevention and Control" on February 20-21, 2008 in Bethesda, MD. This meeting was a collaborative effort between NIH, CDC, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to initiate an effort to advance coordination and collaboration across research funding organizations to address research, translation/dissemination, and evaluate initiatives in the area of obesity prevention and control, with a focus on those affecting children and adolescents.

Drs. Harold Gordon and Steven Grant, both of DCNBR, together with the National Institute of Mental Health organized a workshop on Imaging Imagining, The Mirror System and Beyond: Neural Representation of the Self and Others which was held on February 20-21, 2008 at the Neuroscience Center, Rockville, MD. The meeting was sponsored by the Office of Science Policy and Communications (OSPC). A major purpose was to determine the latest research on an emerging technology of imaging of various aspects of thought processes including empathy, insight, goal-directed behavior, decision-making, etc. Another purpose was to determine how research in this field can be utilized to further the mission of our institutes.

Dr. Steven Grant represented NIDA at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society in San Francisco, California on April 11- 16, 2008.

Dr. Steven Grant participated in the panel on Psychiatric Disorders that was part of the symposium on "Brain Pacemakers: A Promising Approach and a New Era of Hope for Neurological Disorders" co-sponsored by HHS and the Cleveland Clinic that was held at the Health and Human Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, DC on May 6, 2008.

Dr. Steven Grant organized and chaired the symposium on "Brain Substrates of Impaired Error Detection, Moral Judgment, and Agency as Core Deficits in Substance Abuse" at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Washington, DC on May 8, 2008. The speakers were Hugh Garavan (Trinity College), Kent Kiehl (Mind Institute), Janet Metcalfe (Columbia Univ), and Jordan Grafman (NINDS Intramural Research Program).

Drs. Laurence Stanford and Joseph Frascella, DCNBR, participated in a Roundtable entitled "Abuse, Addiction, and Pain Relief: Time for Change" in Bethesda, MD on February 8, 2008.

Dr. Laurence Stanford participated in a NINDS Professional Development Workshop in Washington, DC on March 3-4, 2008.

Dr. Joseph Frascella attended a meeting entitled "Decision Making in Eating Behavior: Interacting Perspective from the Individual, Family, and Environment" in Bethesda, MD, April 14-15, 2008.

Dr. James Bjork of the Clinical Neuroscience Branch, DCNBR, gave a presentation on adolescent risk-taking entitled ''Teenage Decisions and How They Affect our Community" at Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland on January 15, 2008. An account of the talk was published in the Wednesday, January 23, 2008 issue of the Montgomery County Gazette.

Dr. James Bjork gave a prevention-oriented talk on Jan 26th, 2008 about alcohol effects on the brain to an audience of female African-American teens by invitation of the Montgomery County Section of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.

Debra Grossman, DCNBR and Dr. Cora Lee Wetherington, DBNBR, participated in an interagency meeting, "Tobacco and Young, Low-SES Women: Federal Collaboration to Make a Difference" on March 11-12, 2008. This ongoing federal partnership is focused on promoting activities to prevent and reduce tobacco use in young, low-SES women.

Dr. Lisa Onken, DCNBR, in collaboration with OBSSR, NIAAA, NCI, and AHRQ organized an NIH symposium series on Mechanisms of Behavior Change. For Part I of the symposium series, on February 27, 2008, Dr. Mathew Nock spoke on "Getting Back to Basics: Using Basic Behavioral Research to Study Mechanisms of Clinical Change," and Dr. Marsha Bates discussed, "Translation Science Framework: Using Basic Behavioral Research to Identify Clinically Significant Mechanisms of Behavioral Change." Part I can be viewed at: http://videocast.nih.gov/Results.asp. For Part II of the symposium series, Dr. Warren Bickel presented, "Escaping the Tyranny of Small Decisions: A Conceptual Proposal," and Roy Baumeister spoke about, "Pathways to Self-Destruction: How and Why People Screw Themselves Up," on April 16, 2008. This symposium is available by videocast at http://videocast.nih.gov.

Dr. Lisa Onken, DCNBR, was on the planning committee for the 3rd International Conference on HIV Treatment Adherence. The meeting was a collaborative effort between NIMH, NIDA, and IAPAC, and took place on March 17-18, 2008.

Dr. Nicolette Borek, DCNBR, participated in a grant writing workshop and co-presented a talk on NIDA funding priorities at the 12th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Chicago, IL, March 5-8th, 2008.

Dr. Bryan Fantie, DCNBR, presented Grand Rounds on "The Cranial Nerves and Cerebral Blood Circulation" for the Postdoctoral Pediatric Neuropsychology Program at Children's National Medical Center, Rockville, MD on March 12, 2008.

Dr. Bryan Fantie presented an invited lecture on "Emotion and the Brain" to the Postdoctoral Pediatric Neuropsychology Program at Children's National Medical Center, Rockville, MD on March 19, 2008.

Dr. Bryan Fantie attended "Epigenetics & Behavior," an Emergence & Convergence Mini-Symposium sponsored by Fondation IPSEN and the Nature Publishing Group, held in Houston, TX on March 31, 2008.

Dr. Bryan Fantie served as an Evaluator for the 2008 Intel Science Talent Search, America's oldest and most prestigious national science research competition for high school seniors.

Dr. Frank Vocci, Director, DPMCDA, spoke at the Texas Physician's Retreat for Volunteers in Physician Health and Rehabilitation meeting on January 12, 2008 at South Padre Island, Texas on Hot Topics in Addiction.

Dr. Frank Vocci spoke at the Washington State Psychiatric Association meeting on March 15, 2008 in Seattle, Washington. His presentation was on new medications to treat stimulant dependence and cognitive remediation of stimulant users.

Dr. Ivan Montoya, DPMCDA, organized a two-day (February 28 and 29th, 2008) meeting of experts to discuss the progress in the development of medications for the treatment of cannabis-related disorders and define future directions in the field.

Drs. Ivan Montoya, Jag Khalsa and Frank Vocci organized and co-chaired a symposium at the American Society of Addiction Medicine annual meeting in Toronto (Canada) on April 11, 2008. The theme of the symposium is "Smoking Cessation in the Practice of Addiction Medicine".

Drs. David J. McCann and Nathan M. Appel, DPMCDA, participated as exhibitors at the Cambridge Healthtech Institute's 15th International Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference, representing the NIH RAID (Rapid Access to Interventional Development) Program. The program makes available, on a competitive basis, critical resources needed for the development of novel small molecules as therapeutic agents.

Dr. Jag Khalsa, DPMCDA, participated in the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), April 10-13, 2008, Toronto, Canada, and presented three symposia: (i) Smoking Cessation in the Practice of Addiction Medicine, for Dr. Ivan Montoya, (ii) The Endocannabinoid System: Regulatory and Reinforcing Function in Health, and (iii) Collaborations Between the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) and ASAM: Addiction Medicine Practices. Dr. Khalsa also participated in the ASAM Scientific Program Committee where the next year's scientific agenda was planned.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E., Director, DESPR, presented "Uncertainty and Discovery in Linking Drug Abuse Public Health Research to Neuroscience" as the Eli Robins Lecture-Grand Rounds, Washington University. Saint Louis, Missouri, February 18, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton presented on "Drug Abuse and Addiction as Brain Diseases" at the National Workshop for Federal District Judges, Redondo Beach, California, March 11, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton Co-Chaired a panel on "Screening and Brief Interventions for Adolescents" as part of the Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness, Washington, DC, March 26, 2008.

Dr. Wilson M. Compton served as discussant on a panel on "Spotlight on U.S. Geography Linkages to Developing Regions", Association of American Geographers, Boston, Massachusetts, April 18, 2008.

Dr. Meyer Glantz, DESPR, presented a plenary paper on "The Fundamental Nature of Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Abuse Conditions" to the 2008 Annual Meeting of the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program Portland, Maine, April 1, 2008.

Dr. Elizabeth Robertson, DESPR, was the discussant for a presentation titled Mindfulness of Thought and Emotion at the Garrison Institute Symposium on Developmental Issues in Contemplative Education, April 4 to 6, 2008, in Garrison, NY.

Dr. Aria Crump, DESPR, chaired a symposium "HIV Prevention for Adolescents in Drug Abuse Treatment" at the 2008 Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE) at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C., on March 25-27, 2008. The panel of presenters included Drs. Hyman Hops, Oregon Research Institute, Jacqueline Lloyd, Temple University, and S. Lisbeth Jarama, NOVA Research Company. Dr. Richard Jenkins, Prevention Research Branch, was the discussant for the symposium.

LeShawndra Price, DESPR, chaired an invited symposium entitled "Funding Priorities and Research Opportunities at the National Institutes of Health" at the 12th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence in Chicago, IL on March 7, 2008. Participants included Aria Crump and Kathy Etz from DESPR and Nicolette Borek from DCNBR in addition to representatives from NIMH, NIAAA, and CSR.

Drs. David Liu, Jeng-Jong Pan and Paul Wakim, CCTN, attended the Second PROMIS Conference: Improving Measurement of Patient-Reported Outcomes - New Tools and the Science behind Them, March 2-5, 2008, in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Paul Wakim attended the Spring Meeting of the International Biometric Society - Eastern North American Region (ENAR), Statistics in Practice: Creative Solutions to Bioscience Challenges, March 16-19, 2008, in Arlington, VA.

Dr. Harold Perl, CCTN, serves on the faculty for the two annual NIH Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants, sponsored by the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER). These seminars are intended to help demystify the application and review process, clarify Federal regulations and policies, and highlight current areas of special interest or concern. The seminars serve the NIH mission of providing education and training for the next generation of biomedical and behavioral scientist. The faculty of NIH policy, grants management, review, and program staff provide a broad array of expertise and encourage personal interaction between themselves and seminar participants. The first 2008 seminar convened in San Antonio, Texas from March 25-27, 2008. The second 2008 seminar will take place in Chicago, IL on June 18 - 20, 2008.

Carmen Rosa, CCTN, co-chaired a symposium titled "Women and Substance Abuse Treatment: Exploring Women-Focused Treatments and Services" at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting, held May 3-8 2008 in Washington, DC. Speakers included: Shelly Greenfield, M.D. (Harvard), Denise Hien, Ph.D. (Columbia), Susan Tross, Ph.D. (Columbia), Susan Gordon, Ph.D. (Seabrook House) and Kathleen Brady, M.D. (MUSC).

Dr. Petra Jacobs, CCTN, co-chaired a symposium titled "Diagnosis and Treatment of Adolescent/Young Adults with Substance Use Disorders" at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting on May 5, 2008. Speakers included: George Woody, M.D. (Pennsylvania) Geetha Subramaniam, M.D. (Johns Hopkins), Oscar Bukstein, M.D., MPH, (Pittsburgh) Michael Robbins, Ph.D. (Miami), and Ramon Solhkhah, M.D. (Columbia).

Dr. Teri Levitin, Director, OEA, spoke at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville about the NIH review process and new policies and procedures at NIH.

Dr. Meena Hiremath, OEA, participated in "Leadership Skills for Non-Supervisors" in Shepardstown, WV from March 16-March 21, 2008.

Dr. Gerald McLaughlin, OEA, served as a judge for the Georgetown University Graduate Student Research Days in March, 2008.

Dr. Gerald McLaughlin co-founded and co-chaired the Scientific Program and Review Interest Group (SPRIG) whose theme in 2007-2008 is Springboards to Science Leadership and Management, and he arranged several lecture-discussion sessions.

Dr. Gerald McLaughlin coordinated high school DC Area College Fairs in 2008 for the University of Iowa.

Dr. Eliane Lazar-Wesley, OEA, participated on the NIDA workgroup for the transition of NIDA's fellowship applications to CSR.

Dr. Jayanthi Subramaniam, IRP, gave a talk entitled Effects of Marijuana Abuse, at the Youth Science Fair held in Washington D.C. on March 19, 2008.

Dr. Natascha Wilson, IRP, gave a talk entitled Cerebrovascular Perfusion Correlates with Performance on a Neurobehavioral Test Battery: Gender Differences, at the Youth Science Fair held in Washington D.C. on March 19, 2008.

Dr. Jean Lud Cadet, IRP, gave a talk entitled Methamphetamine-induced apoptosis involves the FasL/Fas death pathway, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on March 17, 2008.