The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has been awarded $2.4 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to renew its Addiction Research Training Program for another five years.
This marks the third renewal since the program’s inception at UAMS in 2009, bringing its total funding to $5.8 million. The grant supports stipends, tuition, training-related expenses and travel for eight to 12 pre- and postdoctoral trainees in addiction research. It also funds a summer program for four medical students annually.
Over the past 15 years, the program has supported 104 trainees, all of whom have completed it. Many graduates have secured faculty positions at academic institutions, including 12 at UAMS, while others have become medical practitioners or applied their research skills in nonprofits and private industry.
“This award represents a critical investment in growing the addiction research workforce in our state and nationally, and we are proud that NIDA continues to see our program as worthy of that investment,” said Melissa Zielinski, Ph.D., co-director of the program and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry. She shares the directorship with William Fantegrossi, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
The program features a network of 17 faculty members from six UAMS departments, including Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Neurobiology and Developmental Neuroscience in the College of Medicine; Pharmacy Evaluation and Practice, and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy; and Health Behavior and Health Education in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. This interdisciplinary approach mentors predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, and Psychiatry residents.
“Addiction and substance use disorders challenge public health on several fronts, and researchers require broad-based, interdisciplinary training to effectively address these problems. Our program provides a bird’s-eye view of addiction science to better prepare our trainees to translate their research findings into improved treatments for those struggling with drug-related disorders,” said Fantegrossi.
For more information about the UAMS Addiction Research Training Program, click here.
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