Administrative Supplement NRSA T32: Training in Drug Abuse Related Research

This administrative supplement application seeks to support the mandated December 1, 2016 stipend increase, based on NIH guidelines, for the currently active postdoctoral trainees, Drs. Emily Hankosky (0 years of experience) and Anna Reynolds (1 year of experience), in the University of Kentucky’s Training in Drug Abuse Related Research (T32 DA016176). Training the next generation of drug abuse researchers is critical to current and future public health challenges associated with drug addiction. The goal is to prepare trainees for productive and successful careers in drug abuse research. The program fosters the development of essential experimental and critical thinking skills, and provides the opportunity to gain an in depth understanding of and expertise in the interrelationships of the molecular/cellular aspects of receptors and signaling mechanisms involved in the neural and behavioral response to drugs of abuse and to become immersed in drug discovery and development in the pursuit of novel treatments for drug abuse. The overarching theme of the program is that drug addiction alters fundamental cellular and macromolecular processes resulting in long term changes in neural plasticity and behavior, which can be treated using pharmacotherapeutic intervention. The curriculum provides knowledge from physicochemical properties of molecules to structural biology, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, to animal and human behavior, with numerous opportunities for in depth study of focused areas of drug abuse research. The breadth of drug abuse research opportunities is enhanced by strong links to the University of Kentucky’s (UK’s) Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research Translation, the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the Center for Pharmaceutical Research and Innovation, the Laboratory on Human Behavioral Pharmacology and the Residential Research Facility. This program provides “value added” by serving as a linchpin to networking, interactions and collaborations with other trainees and training faculty focused on human behavioral and clinical aspects of drug abuse research and supported by the T32 program directed by Dr. Craig Rush at UK. UK provides solid infrastructure and institutional support, optimizing the training environment. In summary, we propose to develop responsible and ethical postdoctoral researchers in the drug abuse field, who will move the field forward.