The "Volkow Sisters" Share a Scientific Podium for the First Time

NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow delivered a plenary talk titled "Opioid crisis and its impact on HIV and HCV" at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019) in Mexico City, Mexico in July. Her sister, Dr. Patricia Volkow, who is an infectious disease specialist at the National Cancer Institute in Mexico City, gave a follow-up talk on "HIV and co-morbidities: Kaposi’s sarcoma. State of the ART and beyond."

The Volkow sisters have never shared a scientific podium until now; they accompanied NIAID Director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who opened the session with a presentation on "HIV in 2019: Optimizing the treatment and prevention toolkit."

The Volkow sisters also participated in two IAS panel discussions including: "Reservoir talks," hosted by Bruce Richman, Founder of Prevention Access Campaign & Undetectable = Untransmittable; and the latest in HIV science and hot topics coming out of IAS 2019, specifically "HIV and co-morbidities: State of the ART and beyond," hosted by Phil Wilson, previous president of the Black AIDS Institute.

Click here to view the interviews: Reservoir Talks and IAS 2019 In the Studio and plenary talks.

(Photo, from back L to R: Dr. Patricia Volkow, Dr. Nora Volkow; Host of IAS 2019 In the Studio (back to camera); and Dr. Carlos Perez, Catholic University of Chile. Photo by International AIDS Society/Jordi Ruiz Cirera)

NIDA Establishes Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN)

As part of the HEAL Initiative, the National Institutes of Health established the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) to support research on quality addiction treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in criminal justice settings nationwide. The awards, totaling an estimated $155 million from NIDA, will support the multi-year innovation network, including 10 research institutions and two centers that will provide supportive infrastructure.

“Within the broader opioid epidemic, justice-involved populations are disproportionately affected by opioid use disorder. JCOIN will help develop effective intervention and treatment strategies for this crucial setting. It is vitally important to provide evidence-based approaches for people leaving criminal justice facilities in order to prevent relapse and opioid overdose which often occurs as they transition back into their communities.” -- NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, MD

The Network will test strategies to expand effective treatment and care in partnership with local and state justice systems and community-based treatment providers. Awarded research centers will study evidence-based medications, behavioral interventions, digital therapeutics and comprehensive patient-centered treatments in 15 states and Puerto Rico.

Learn more about the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN).

CTN Trial Progress

Randomizations for Active Studies as of the August 6 trial Progress Report.

CTN-0067 - CHOICES Scale-Up. Enrolled 116

CTN-0068 - ADAPT-2 for Methamphetamine Use Disorder. Enrolled 403

CTN-0069 - OUD in the Emergency Department. Enrolled 543

CTN-0079 - ED-CONNECT
Enrolled 47

Total randomizations in active trials: 1109

News from the Nodes

Northeast Node

The Northeast Node looks forward to continued collaboration with the Greater NY Node and the New England Consortium on CTN-0079-A1: Emergency Department Outcomes for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder (LI: Ryan McCormack, MD, MS, New York University).

This upcoming trial is ancillary to CTN-0079: Emergency Department Connection to Care with Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (ED-CONNECT). CTN-0079 is an implementation study assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a clinical protocol for ED-initiated buprenorphine (BUP) at three study sites. The three sites included Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY; Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, NH; Valley Regional Healthcare, Claremont, NH. CTN-0079 recently concluded with data lock on July 10, 2019.

This upcoming ancillary study will use mixed-methods and multiple sources of data to evaluate the sustainability of the ED-initiated BUP clinical program and identify factors influencing diffusion and effectiveness. Elements of the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) will be incorporated to assess sustainability at the patient, provider, and programmatic levels.

This project is funded through the HEAL Initiative and is currently in development. The project is expected to launch late Fall 2019.

The Northeast Node is currently hiring a Research Assistant and a Project Manager to support this new trial. Please visit Employment Opportunities on the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health website or contact Phoebe Gauthier for more information.

You can follow the Northeast Node on Twitter and Facebook.

News from the ATTC

From the ATTC/NIATx Service Improvement Blog

NIATx Principle #2: Fix Key Problems (And Help the CEO Sleep at Night) by Mat Roosa, LCSW-R, NIATx Coach

Hepatitis C (HCV) Current Initiative Prepares New Trainers. Meet the Trainer: Jess Draws by Maureen Fitzgerald, Great Lakes ATTC

From the ATTC Messenger, July 2019 Issue

Specific Disciplines Addressing Substance Use: AMERSA in the 21st Century - 2018 Update by Beth Rutkowski, MPH, Co-Director, Pacific Southwest ATTC

Highlighted SAMHSA Resource: MAT Inside Correctional Facilities: Addressing Medication Diversion

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New in the CTN Dissemination Library

Correlates of Opioid Abstinence in a 42-Month Posttreatment Naturalistic Follow-Up Study of Prescription Opioid Dependence. Weiss RD, et al. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2019;80(2):18m12292

A Systematic Scoping Review of Research on Black Participants in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. Montgomery L, et al. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 2019 (in press).

Clinical Workflow and Substance Use Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Data in the Electronic Health Records: A National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Study. Wu L, et al. eGEMS 2019;7(1):1-15