U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) <http://www.drugabuse.gov/>
For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 1, 2015, 10 a.m. EDT
CONTACT: NIDA Press Office, 301-443-6245, <e-mail:media@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, NIAAA Press Office, 301-443-3860, <e-mail:NIAAAPressOffice@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH FOCUS OF NIDA ORGANIZATIONAL SHIFT
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has reorganized its divisional structure to integrate its research portfolio, promote translational research and increase efficiencies. The new structure will incorporate research on clinical neuroscience, brain development and behavioral treatment development into existing and newly formed components of NIDA divisions. NIDA is part of the National Institutes of Health.
"We believe the reorganization will allow us to take advantage of new scientific opportunities, especially those addressing multidisciplinary and translational science," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
In May of this year, the NIDA organizational structure was evaluated by a NIDA Advisory Council Workgroup in light of overall reduced staffing and emerging scientific priorities. "The workgroup noted that advances in addiction neuroscience have outpaced or rivaled those achieved for any other brain disease," said John Rotrosen, M.D., professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and Workgroup Chair. "Given these developments, the workgroup encouraged NIDA leadership to embrace an organizational structure that would strengthen functional integration throughout NIDA and continue to emphasize translational neuroscience, brain development, and neurobehavioral interventions research as core elements of NIDA's mission."
In response to the workgroup's recommendations, which were reviewed by the NIDA Advisory Council and received the Council's concurrence, portions of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (DCNBR) will join the Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research to form the Division of Neuroscience and Behavior. This division will develop a neuroscience research program spanning molecular biology, chemistry, pharmacology, genetics and epigenetics, as well as integrative, functional, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience.
DCNBR's behavioral treatment development portfolio will join the Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse to form the Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences (DTMC). DTMC will now address the full range of treatment development, including a focus on how behavioral interventions and combined treatments could target brain circuits responsible for addiction.
DCNBR's remaining portfolio focusing on treatment delivery and services research, along with their portfolio on brain development and addiction etiology, will become part of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, which will allow it to integrate research at the intersection of biological and social systems.
Coinciding with the launch of the landmark Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study <http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/organization/divisions/division-extramural-research-der/longitudinal-study-adolescent-brain-cognitive-development-abcd>, these changes will help to infuse a focus on neurodevelopment throughout NIDA's programs. The new organizational structure will also encourage scientific integration through trans-divisional research teams addressing crosscutting themes and emerging priorities.
These new structures go into effect Oct. 1, 2015. See the new organizational chart here:
<http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/organization>.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found at <http://www.drugabuse.gov>, which is now compatible with your smartphone, iPad or tablet. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or email requests to <drugpubs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>. Online ordering is available at <http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov>. NIDA's media guide can be found at <http://drugabuse.gov/mediaguide/>, and its easy-to-read website can be found at <http://www.easyread.drugabuse.gov>.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary U.S. agency for conducting and supporting research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol problems. NIAAA funds the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) < http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/research/major-initiatives/national-consortium-alcohol-and-neurodevelopment-adolescence> to determine the effects of problematic alcohol use on the developing adolescent brain and examine brain characteristics that predict alcohol use disorder. NIAAA also disseminates research findings to general, professional, and academic audiences. Additional alcohol research information and publications are available at <www.niaaa.nih.gov>.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit <www.nih.gov>.
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