Training in Drug Abuse Research

The NIDA has been a strong proponent of encouraging new and minority researchers to enter the substance abuse research field. The NIDA's Special Populations Office is dedicated to ensuring that minority issues are represented adequately and appropriately in the extramural research program and to increasing the number of underrepresented scholars such as minorities and women participating in drug abuse research. The NIDA sponsors several programs to encourage and foster research careers among minority researchers, including the following:

• Special Populations Research Seminar Series. This series provides drug abuse grant development training to minority and women researchers in intensive one-on-one and small-group sessions.



• Research Supplements for Underrepresented Minorities. These supplements are research awards for 2 or more years made to individual minority students and investigators who propose to work with current NIDA grantees.



• Minority Recruitment and Training Program. This is a program run by the NIDA's intramural division. Among other activities, summer research placements with NIDA intramural scientists are available for students and faculty.



• Minority Access to Research Careers. This type of support is available to institutions providing support to significant numbers of minority students for the purpose of increasing the participation of minorities in research careers.



• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative. This is a special initiative intended to increase the interest and capacity of HBCUs to conduct drug abuse research and train students in drug abuse research.

For information regarding these programs, contact Lula Beatty, the Chief in the NIDA's Special Populations Office, at (301) 443-0434 or by email to lb75x@nih.gov.

The NIDA also has a number of general training programs to support both predoctoral and postdoctoral scientists interested in drug abuse research. The NIDA has made a strong commitment to supporting and training our future scientists and, as a result, the funding for research training has been growing steadily in recent years. The NIDA sponsors a number of Research Training Sites and also provides Grant Writing Workshops.