June 14, 2014 ― Professor Dennis McCarty, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU), and director of the Substance Abuse Policy Center in the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness, has been awarded by the 2014 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Program.
The award is for Excellent Mentoring. Dr. McCarty mentors clinicians and researchers who test emerging drug abuse treatments in community settings through the Western States Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network, which he codirects. He extends his mentoring to state and local policymakers through his role as director of the Substance Abuse Policy Center in the Center for Health Systems Effectiveness, which works to link policy, practice, and research on substance abuse treatment.
Dr. McCarty also is scientific director of the University of Amsterdam Summer Institute on Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction. I met Dennis in Amsterdam in 2011. He lectured for several days on different policy models and evidence based treatments. Two years later, on March 1, 2013, I joined Dennis as a NIDA CTN INVEST Fellow. INVEST is International Visiting Scientists & Technical Exchange Program for drug abuse research. Oregon Health & Sciences University hosted my six months fellowship during which I assessed the use of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBIRT) for alcohol use disorders among patients receiving agonist medication for opioid use disorders. Visit this post to read more about how I got here. I did not think that the summer school would lead to a fellowship in Portland, OR and I’m most grateful that it did.
With Dennis, I have learned about things I thought did not exist. For example, about researchers who enjoy writing. Writing up research projects is a task that many new researchers fear the most. Dennis is a master writer and his craft is contagious; I’ve discovered a need in me, a strong urge to write a lot and in many different formats. Dennis received the award today, at the 19th annual NIDA International Forum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 2014 Forum focused on “Building International Collaborative Research on Drug Abuse.”
Four other experts were awarded 2014 NIDA International Awards of Excellence. Mr. O’Keeffe, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, was honored for Excellence in International Leadership. The award for Excellence in Collaborative Research went to Dr. Chawarski, Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine, and Dr. Kasinather, Ph.D., Universiti Sains Malaysia. A special award was presented to Dr. Dewey, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University, in recognition of his service to the addiction research community as founder of the Friends of NIDA, and his research on how opioids and marijuana change brain and contribute to tolerance and addiction.
NIDA International Awards of Excellence winners are selected based on contributions to areas essential to the mission of the NIDA International Program: mentoring, international leadership, and collaborative research. Anybody can suggest a nomination to NIDA. Read more at www.drugabuse.gov/international/awards-excellence.
The NIDA International Program connects people across continents to find evidence-based solutions for addiction, and drug-related HIV/AIDS. NIDA is part of the National Institutes of Health – the principal research agency of the U.S. Government and a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Story first released by OHSU Newsroom: http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/index.cfm