2024 Emerging Leader Awards from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies The Health Systems Node is pleased to announce and congratulate Jennifer Bobb, PhD Associate Scientific Investigator in the Biostatistics Division at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, on receiving one of the 2024 Emerging Leader Awards from the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies.  This award is given to up to 8 early career statisticians (international award eligible for all statisticians) who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the field of statistical science.  Dr. Bobb was specifically recognized for her “significant methodological and applied contributions to the field of environmental biostatistics; for impactful research at the interface of cutting-edge statistical methods and real-world evidence to improve outcomes of people with substance use disorders; and for outstanding service to the profession.” Dr. Bobb leads the Methods Core of the Health Systems Node and was the lead statistician on the PROUD trial (CTN-0074), the Medical Cannabis study (CTN-0077), and several studies of substance use screening and assessment in primary care (CTN-0065 and CTN 00113).  The Health Systems Node is pleased to congratulate Dr. Bobb on this well-deserved honor.

The New York Node is pleased to welcome Ryan D. McDonald as their new Node Coordinator. Ryan has worked at New York University Grossman School of Medicine in the Department of Population Health for over 12 years under Joshua Lee, MD, MSc. He joined Dr. Lee’s research team in 2011 as a Research Coordinator and since then has moved his way up to Project Manager, Program Manager, and most recently Program Director of research for the Department of Population Health’s Lee Lab. Most recently, Ryan managed a large multisite trial of the NIDA Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) titled Long-acting Buprenorphine vs. Naltrexone Opioid Treatments in CJS-involved Adults (NCT04219540) study that seeks to compare the effectiveness of extended-release buprenorphine to extended-release naltrexone among criminal justice system -involved adults.

Did you miss this week’s CTN Western States Node webinar presented with the Northwest and Pacific Southwest ATTCs: Cannabis and Mental Health with Natania Crane, PhD? In this webinar, Dr. Crane, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of the UIC Recovery Clinic, provided current information on research and treatment related to cannabis use and mental health, including recent changes in cannabis use, how the endocannabinoid system may regulate mental health symptoms, and what we currently know about cannabis use and mental health. The Western States Node had record turnout for this event (over 500 attendees!) and got tons of great questions for the Q&A at the end! One not to miss! Find the recording and slides here!

A rural clinic in New Martinsville WV affiliated with the Appalachian Node and West Virginia University has been selected as a site in CTN-0102-XR study Rural Expansion of Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. This is a Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Extended-release Buprenorphine (XR-BUP) vs. Sublingual Buprenorphine-naloxone (SL-BUP) in rural settings. The study is anticipated to get underway in the first quarter of 2024. Posted on 1/10/2024

Awards Congratulations to Dr. Lillian Gelberg, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Health Policy and Management, UCLA, for receiving the 2023 Maurice Wood Award for Lifetime Contribution to Primary Care Research! The Wood Award is given annually to honor a researcher who has made outstanding contributions to primary care research. Among Gelberg’s achievements are her pioneering research on health disparities, including work that helps people who are experiencing homelessness, as well as her efforts to integrate behavioral health into primary care, such as patient-centered approaches to prevent substance use disorders in low-income patients of federally qualified health centers. Publications

E. Jennifer Edelman, MD, MHA, was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI). The ASCI is a prestigious honor society for physician-scientists. Founded in 1908, the ASCI is one of the nation’s oldest medical honor societies and is among the few organizations focused on the special role of physician-scientists in research, clinical care, and medical education, as well as leadership positions in academic medicine and the life sciences industry. Roger Weiss, MD, delivered the Eric D. Hadar Distinguished Lecture in Psychiatry at Columbia University on 11/15/2023 on “Integrating Pharmacotherapy and Behavioral Therapy in Treating Patients with Substance Use Disorders.” Roger Weiss, MD, received the Founders Award from the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) on 12/8/2023 https://www.aaap.org/about/awards/. The AAAP Founders’ Award is presented by the organization to an outstanding member of the community who works in the field of addiction and who has contributed significantly to the science, teaching, treatment or public policy in the addictions. Shelly Greenfield, MD, MPH, was the recipient in 2022, and she presented the award and interviewed Dr. Weiss in a “fireside chat.” Photo: Front and center are Dr. Greenfield and Dr. Weiss with current and former MGB addiction psychiatry fellows (and some former MGH/McLean residents) who trained with them. Posted 12/18/2023

On October 25, 2023 and as part of the annual Appalachian Node, WVU hosted a meeting entitled “Building a Healthier Appalachia: Collaborative Solutions to Substance Use Disorders Across the Region” at the WVU Alumni Center (Morgantown, WV). The conference was co-facilitated by the WVU Research Office and brought together policy makers, community leaders, treatment providers, trainees and local as well as national researchers (~60 attendees not affiliated with the node). The goal of the conference was to advance knowledge of empirically based interventions for individuals with substance use disorders and to improve community collaboration to improve outcomes. The conference included nationally renowned speaker Dr. Frances Levin from Columbia University who spoke on research and state-of-the-art treatments for patients with ADHD and co-occurring SUD. Carmen Rosa and Dr. August Holtyn (CCTN) spoke about the role of the NIDA CTN in translating research into practice. Quandra Blackney (NIDA) and Andrew Wilson (Central East ATTC) shared dissemination and implementation resources. Dr. Jane Liebschutz and Donna Beers shared their evidence-based model of collaborative care for patients with SUDs. There was also a community panel, flash talks from researchers at UPIT and WVU, and a poster presentation and networking session. The lunch was provided by Healthy Kids, which is a local non-profit that provides meals for individuals in recovery housing and they have developed a job-training program for individuals in recovery from SUDs. During the conference registration process, attendees were asked to report on the most important drug use/SUD in their communities. This content…

The Learning for Early Careers in Addiction and Diversity (LEAD) program, a NIDA-funded science education program focused on addictions research training, is recruiting assistant professors and assistant research scientists for the Learning for Early Careers in Addiction and Diversity (LEAD) Program for the 2024-2025. The LEAD Program provides training to early-career research scientists from racial/ethnic minoritized groups that are underrepresented in the substance use and substance use disorder research field.  Contact Michael Shopshire, Ph.D., michael.shopshire@ucsf.edu, if you have any questions about the program or your application. The deadline to submit for the 2024-2025 cohort is November 30, 2023! Find the application here. Posted 11/15/2023