News Archives - Page 9 of 10 - Friends Research Institute

FRI President Joins Journal of Addiction Medicine

Dr. Frank Vocci has been named as the third Co-Editor of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

Dr. Vocci joins Journal of Addiction Medicine at a critical time, with the journal experiencing such recent changes as inclusion in PubMed, a commitment to increase issue count from four issues to six issues a year, and an addition of electronic publication ahead of print.

FRI congratulates Dr. Vocci on his selection.

West Coast Administration Office Relocates

Effective December 29, 2009, the West Coast Administrative Office’s new address is 11835 W. Olympic Boulevard, Suite 755E, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Phone and fax numbers remain the same.

Corporate Headquarters Relocates

The FRI Corporate Headquarters has moved its office to the Social Research Center site effective November 1, 2009. The new address is 1040 Park Avenue, Suite 103, Baltimore, MD 21201. The phone number is 410-837-3977 and the fax number is 410-752-4218. The main email address remains the same at FRI@friendsresearch.org.

FRI Researcher Involved with Chronic Pain Treatment

Friends Research Institute via Dr. Frank Vocci was recently involved in the development of case-based activity regarding opioid therapy in primary care and chronic pain. Below are descriptions of the activities.

Description of Internet Activity
A Case-Based Approach to the Safe and Effective Use of Opioid Therapy in Primary Care

This CME/CE case activity was developed by Paul Arnstein, RN, PhD, FNP-C, Bill McCarberg, MD, and Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD and focuses on issues relating to the prescription of opioid analgesics for the management of chronic pain. This activity was designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who treat pain and chronic pain patients by providing several unique primary care perspectives. This case-based activity was developed in collaboration with the American Pain Foundation, Friends Research Institute, and in consultation with the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Description of Supplement Activity
Protect Your Patients, Protect Your Practice: Practical Risk Assessment in the Structuring of Opioid Therapy in Chronic Pain

The faculty authors of this CME/CE supplement, Perry G. Fine, MD and Russell K. Portenoy, MD, discuss not only how to assess abuse risk in chronic pain patients being considered for opioid therapy, but also how to position opioid therapy in the overall management of chronic pain. This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists who treat pain and chronic pain patients. This activity was developed in collaboration with the American Pain Foundation, Friends Research Institute, and in consultation with the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse.

FRI Researcher Receives Loan Repayment Award

FRI is pleased to announce that Monique Wilson, Dr.P.H., a Research Scientist at the Social Research Center, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Loan Repayment Program. In exchange for a two-year commitment to a research career with FRI, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of Dr. Wilson’s qualified repayable educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover her Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments.

Dr. Wilson’s award is funded through NIH’s Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program. The purpose of this repayment program is to attract health professionals to careers in health disparities research.

To qualify for the Loan Repayment Program, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen and have a doctoral degree from an accredited institution. In addition, s/he must conduct health disparities research funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. Government entity.

In evaluating the applications, peer review groups comprised of non-NIH scientists are asked to consider the following criteria:

Appropriateness of the applicant’s previous training and experience as preparation for a career in health disparities;
Suitability of the applicant’s proposed clinical research activities in the two-year period to foster a career in health disparities;
Assessment of the applicant’s commitment to a research career as reflected by a personal statement of long-term career goals and the plan outlined to achieve those goals;
Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant’s potential for a health disparities research career;
Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and/or enhance the applicant’s research independence;
and Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.

FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Wilson for receiving this award. Not only is this a great honor for her, but these awards will help her pay off loans accumulated during her doctoral education.

FRI Researcher Receives NIH Loan Repayment Award A Second Time

FRI is pleased to announce that Steven B. Carswell, Ph.D., Research Scientist/Vice President, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Loan Repayment Program (LRP). Dr. Carswell’s LRP award is funded through the NIH’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) and focuses on health disparities research. The purpose of the Health Disparities Research LRP is to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals to research careers that focus on minority health or other health disparity issues.

This is the second time that Dr. Carswell has received this award. In exchange for a two-year commitment to a research career with FRI, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of Dr. Carswell’s qualified repayable educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover his Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments. To qualify for the LRP, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen and have a doctoral degree from an accredited institution. In addition, s/he must conduct health disparities research funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. Government entity.

In evaluating the applications, peer review groups comprised of non-NIH scientists are asked to consider the following criteria:

Appropriateness of the applicant’s previous training and experience as preparation for a career in health disparities research;
Suitability of the applicant’s proposed research activities in the two-year period to foster a career in health disparities research;
Assessment of the applicant’s commitment to a research career as reflected by a personal statement of long-term career goals and the plan outlined to achieve those goals;
Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant’s potential for a health disparities research career;
Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and/or enhance the applicant’s research independence;and
Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.

FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Carswell for receiving this award a second time. Not only is this a great honor for him but this award will help him continue to pay off loans accumulated during his doctoral education.

FRI Researcher Receives Loan Repayment Award A Second Time

FRI is pleased to announce that Michael S. Gordon, D.P.A., a Research Scientist at the Social Research Center, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Loan Repayment Program. This is the second time that Dr. Gordon has received this award. In exchange for a one-year commitment to a research career with FRI, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of Dr. Gordon’s qualified repayable educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover his Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments. Dr. Gordon’s award is funded through NIH’s Clinical Loan Repayment Program. The purpose of this repayment program is to attract health professionals to careers in clinical research.

To qualify for the Loan Repayment Program, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen and have a doctoral degree from an accredited institution. In addition, s/he must conduct clinical research funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. Government entity.

In evaluating the applications, peer review groups comprised of non-NIH scientists are asked to consider the following criteria:

Appropriateness of the applicant’s previous training and experience as preparation for a career in clinical research;
Suitability of the applicant’s proposed clinical research activities in the two-year period to foster a career in clinical research;
Assessment of the applicant’s commitment to a research career as reflected by a personal statement of long-term career goals and the plan outlined to achieve those goals;
Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant’s potential for a clinical research career;
Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and/or enhance the applicant’s research independence; and
Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.

FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Gordon for receiving this award a second time. Not only is this a great honor for him but this award will help him continue to pay off loans accumulated during his doctoral education.

New Appointment to Board of Directors

FRI is pleased to announce the appointment of Wallace B. Pickworth, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Pickworth is a pharmacologist with over 30 years of preclinical and clinical experience. He has served as the Principal Investigator/Senior Project Director on various projects for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the private pharmaceutical industry and as a Co-Investigator on extramural grants for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

He is currently a Research Leader and Substance Abuse Pharmacologist at Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation. Dr. Pickworth also worked at the National Institute on Drug Abuse for over 30 years and has vast experience in the field of substance abuse.

Dr. Pickworth brings exceptional experience to FRI’s Board of Directors and will prove to be a tremendous asset to the organization. We look forward to many years of service.

FRI Researcher Accepted Into Behavioral and Social Science Volunteer Program

FRI is pleased to announce that Shannon Gwin Mitchell, Ph.D., a Research Scientist at the Social Research Center, has been accepted into the Behavioral and Social Science Volunteer Program (BSSV). The BSSV program is a national HIV prevention technical assistance program directed by the American Psychological Association, Office on AIDS. It is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and has established a national network of behavioral and social science volunteers to assist with HIV prevention efforts in their communities. This national network of psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, public health experts, social workers, and others is organized to offer free and ongoing technical assistance to community-based organizations (CBOs), health departments, and HIV-prevention community planning groups (CPGs) that want state-of-the-science prevention for their communities. Dr. Mitchell will attend the BSSV training program in New Orleans in October 2008 and they will cover all of her travel expenses.

FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Mitchell for receiving this invitation award. Not only is this a great honor for her, but this experience should assist in extending FRI’s research and expertise in the HIV/AIDS field.

FRI Staff publish book

FRI is pleased to announce that Jeannette Johnson, Ph.D., and Jan Gryczynski, M.A., were co-editors on a recently published book entitled “Ethnocultural Perspectives on Disaster and Trauma: Foundations, Issues, and Applications.” Beyond their significant contributions to this volume as co-editors, they also contributed to this work by co-authoring two chapters. This unique volume provides important information regarding major minority groups in the United States in order to improve disaster relief efforts, practices, and policies. FRI congratulates Dr. Johnson and Mr. Gryczynski for this important contribution to the literature.