Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) have been awarded funding from the National Institutes of Health to establish a K12 program to train scholars in addiction research.
The Vanderbilt Oregon Collaborative Scholar Training in Addiction Research (COSTAR) program will draw on both institutions’ expertise in addiction. The initiative is funded by a $3.6 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and will support a minimum of three scholars with MD, PhD or equivalent degrees for three to five years. COSTAR Scholars will focus their research efforts on substance use with an emphasis on vulnerable populations, such as people living with HIV. COSTAR is the newest among seven currently funded NIDA K12 training programs.
Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, the Willliam Anderson Spickard Jr., MD Professor of Medicine at VUMC, is the contact principal investigator along with two others, Matthew Freiberg, MD, MSc, the Dorothy and Laurence Grossman Professor of Medicine at VUMC, and Todd Korthuis, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Addiction Medicine Section at OHSU.
VUMC and OHSU, both located in states with high rates of substance use, are national leaders in addiction research. COSTAR Scholars can draw upon the expertise from researchers and institutional resources, including but not limited to the Vanderbilt Center for Tobacco Addiction and Lifestyle, the Vanderbilt Center for Population Science and Randomized Clinical Trials, the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research, the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, several National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded research centers at both VUMC and OHSU, the Western States Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network, and the Rural Opioids Initiative at OHSU.
“We are very fortunate to be able to partner with OHSU to offer this NIDA-supported resource to help train the next generation of addiction researchers,” said Tindle. “COSTAR seeks to amplify the impressive addiction science being conducted at both institutions and foster synergy through collaborative mentoring and investigation.”
The two locations offer opportunities to better understand substance use disorders. The Southeast, where VUMC is located, has high rates of cigarette smoking, unhealthy alcohol use and new HIV infections. The Pacific Northwest, where OHSU is located, has high rates of opioid and methamphetamine use disorders. Substance use is associated with HIV, hepatitis C, and other physical and mental health comorbidities, which can lead to shortened lifespans. The program aims to advance treatments that limit the toll of substance use disorders on human life and well-being.
“We are excited about linking VUMC and OHSU. As part of this program, scholars will have the opportunity to visit and learn on site at the sister program (e.g., VUMC Scholars can travel to OHSU and vice versa). This unique aspect of our program will allow scholars to experience firsthand the regional differences in substance use disorders and the opportunity to work closely with experienced faculty from two institutions,” said Freiberg.
