CTN Trial Progress

Randomizations for Active Studies as of the August 12 trial Progress Report.

CTN-0060-A-1 - Enrolled 644

CTN-0079-A-1 - Enrolled 33   

CTN-0080 - Enrolled 60

CTN-0082 - Enrolled 559

CTN-0097 - Enrolled 128

CTN-0099 - Enrolled 515

CTN-0099-A-1 - Enrolled 81

CTN-0100
Discontinuation - Enrolled 10
Retention - Enrolled 44

CTN-0101 - Enrolled 44

News from the Nodes

New England Consortium

Gail D’Onofrio, one of the PIs of the New England Consortium Node, was recently featured in an article in Yale News about the new outcomes paper from CTN-0069-A-1.

The study found that administration of high-dose buprenorphine therapy in hospital emergency departments (ED) may safely and rapidly diminish withdrawal symptoms and sustain craving suppression in people with opioid use disorder, improving their likelihood of accessing follow-up treatment.

In the Yale News piece, Dr. D’Onofrio says, "The study enhances the evidence we know about ED buprenorphine disorder, and could be a game changer, particularly for vulnerable populations."

Find the Yale News article here | Find the outcomes article here

Northeast

Dr. Mary Brunette named Mental Health Professional of the Year

Northeast Node Core Investigator Mary Brunette, MD, was recently named the Mental Health Professional of the Year by the New Hampshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Dr. Brunette’s work focuses on severe mental illness (SMI), particularly with first episode psychosis and early onset SMI, and co-occurring substance use disorders.

Dr. Brunette is a Professor of Psychiatry, Community & Family Medicine, and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, and Medical Director of the Bureau of Behavioral Health in the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

You can read an article here about Dr. Brunette’s award.

Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth seeking 2 Postdoc Research Fellows

The parent organization of the Northeast Node, the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, is accepting applications for two Postdoctoral Research Fellows to join a dynamic interdisciplinary research group.

• Position One will involve joining a team focused on identifying optimal models of substance use treatment and health care for pregnant and parenting women with opioid use disorder and their children.
• The focus of Position Two is open and would involve working with one or more teams led by CTBH faculty located at Dartmouth.

The Research Fellows will also become immersed in our innovative T32 training program focused on the Science of Co-Occurring Disorders and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The program offers predoctoral and postdoctoral training in transdisciplinary and translational research on co-occurring substance use and other health conditions. Multidisciplinary faculty offer training in developmental, social, behavioral, neurobiological, and transdiagnostic mechanisms of substance use, mental health, and co-occurring disorders.

We are committed to promoting equity and inclusion in our research and central to this mission is a commitment to fostering research training for historically underserved trainees.

For more information on these two opportunities: https://www.c4tbh.org/employment-opportunities/

Southwest

The Southwest Node recently offered two sessions of Harm Reduction and Pharmacotherapy Training for Health Professionals, delivered by Erin Madden, PhD, MPH, Faculty at Wayne State University, and Mindy Vincent, MSW, LCSW, MPA, Executive Director, Utah Harm Reduction Coalition.

The training was attended by clinicians, researchers, social workers, and policy workers around New Mexico. The training introduced participants to the principles of harm reduction and addressing stigma, and explored how harm reduction and treatment can complement each other, and discussed stigma around interventions for people who inject drugs and people who use opioids.

A follow-up training is in development to dive deeper into complex concepts about stigma and how providers, healthcare staff, and policy makers can reduce stigma around pharmacotherapy through advancing knowledge and action. If you would like to receive communications about future training opportunities, please email SouthwestCTN@salud.unm.edu.

Pacific Northwest

Dr. Mary Hatch-Maillette’s team at the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI) participated in the 2021 NIDA Summer Research Internship Program. Intern Gaia Norman, a rising junior at George Washington University, joined ADAI and the CTN-0082 lead team for 6 weeks.

She spent 1 week in Seattle visiting face-to-face with CTPs and Node investigators and 5 weeks working virtually from her home in San Diego. In addition to her substantive contributions, she wrote a tongue-in-cheek summary of her internship experience. Enjoy an excerpt below!

All I’ve Learned!

It’s been a fantastic summer, so there’s much to say.
I honestly can’t thank you enough.
CTN0082 PROCESS survey
really did teach me a whole bunch of stuff.

I gained a clear sense of how research operates:
A multitude of moving pieces.
Like what you do when sites don’t cooperate
or you aren’t seeing enough recruitment increases.

I saw what protocol deviations might look like
and what a headache it can be.
That you must, when doing research in psych,
dot every "I," cross every "T," ... and report to every IRB.

Always protect your human subjects and update your SOPs
because research values ethics and precision.
Better to communicate your moves and check in with the team
and remember that writing takes constant revision.

Confidential is not the same as anonymous,
and randomization is not a suggestion.
If Zoom working starts to feel monotonous,
eat a snack to spur your digestion.

You all work with people much more than I thought:
sites, EMMES, NIDA, and the folks I can’t remember.
The kindness in your hearts impressed me a lot.
I was genuinely honored to be considered your team member.

You welcomed me in a manner that was incredibly sweet
despite working from home being a bit of a bummer.
Seeing strong female leadership was such a treat
and made for quite a valuable summer.

~Gaia Norman, NIDA Summer Intern 2021

Western States

LEAD Holds 4-week Intensive Training for Emerging Investigators

From June 28 -July 23, 2021 the Learning for Early Careers in Addiction & Diversity (LEAD) program held its 7th annual intensive training for emerging researchers in drug use clinical trials.

The nine LEAD scholars accumulate background in research and grant-writing methods. Participants also plan and conduct pilot studies that can result in competitive independent research grant proposals. Scholars from underrepresented populations join the program, participating for 3 years in intensive summer training and all-year mentorship by successful investigators, many of whom are part of research nodes in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN).

LEAD is funded by a NIDA/NIH science education grant and is associated with the CTN Western States Node (WSN). In the last seven years LEAD has worked with 20 Scholars, none of whom had previously led a NIH research grant. 12 Scholars have now succeeded in becoming NIH Principal Investigators.

We note that Martin Iguchi, recently deceased, was a terrific advisor to LEAD, its mentees, and its CTN research node, and he provides a lasting role model for the program’s contributors.

The LEAD Scholars in this summer’s training, and their mentors are listed below (click graphic to view full size):

Upcoming Events

• National Latino Behavioral Health Conference
  September 16-27, 2021 | Meeting info
  
  
• Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) 2021
  October 13-15, 2021 | Meeting info
  
  
• American Public Health Association (APHA)
  October 23-27, 2021 | Meeting info
  

New from the ATTC & SAMHSA

• African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence: Building Equity in Responses to Substance Use Disorders, Mental Health and More. By Alex Skov, ATTC Messenger, July 2021
  
  
• Recently updated: SAMHSA TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder. Updated statistics, information about qualifications, recent citations, more.