The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded WSU a five-year, $11 million grant to establish a network of community treatment groups with state universities to study the practical application of research on drug addiction treatment. NIDA established similar programs, or Clinical Trials Networks, in six other U.S. regions last year. This grant establishes the Great Lakes Regional Node (GLRN), which will involve clinical researchers at Wayne State's School of Medicine, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
"In all areas of medicine, there is a significant delay in translating research findings into new methods of treatment," said Charles Schuster, a WSU professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences who is the principal investigator on the grant. "With this program, we will be able to help facilitate the transfer of new proven therapeutic interventions into practice."
At the same time, community treatment program practitioners will provide researchers with valuable information on the practical, day-to-day problems faced in treating drug abuse, Dr. Schuster said. This will serve to guide the research agenda of the CTN to insure its relevance to community substance abuse treatment programs.
During the first year, an infrastructure will be established to conduct clinical research in six community treatment programs. Four will be in the metro-Detroit area, including the Eleanor Hutzel Recovery Center, Michigan Counseling Services, Self Help Addiction Rehabilitation (SHAR), Inc., and the Star Center. The two facilities outside the metro-Detroit area are the Chelsea Arbor Treatment Center, in Ann Arbor, and Gateway Services, in Kalamazoo. Eventually, the network will involve a total of 10 sites in Michigan.
Specifically, the GLRN will promote use of the most cutting-edge treatments available, including the drug buprenorphine. Used to treat heroin addiction, buprenorphine will be on the market within three months and community treatment programs need to learn how to use this medication most effectively. Community groups also will be trained in new behavioral interventions, such as "motivational enhancement therapy," which clinical trials have shown helps patients complete rehabilitation programs.
"In clinical trials, we can prove something called 'efficacy,'" Dr. Schuster said, "but we can't prove whether it will be useful in the real world. That's what we want to do with this network."
For more information on the NIDA program, visit NIDA's website.
Related articles
Accelerate mobility
-
Wayne State programs listed among the country’s best
-
From the president’s desk
-
Political science major lands Campus Vote Project internship, furthering her civic experiences and helping colleges across the nation engage students
-
Wayne State engineering student navigates her own college-to-career road course
College to Career
-
Wayne State graduates empower urban health
-
Student filmmaker earns hands-on experience through collaboration to promote Chaldean American documentary
-
Wayne State’s social mobility mission and College to Career focus reflected in nursing student’s hard-fought success following brain injury
-
Communication students use capstone projects to serve local Detroit communities, learn vital career skills
Fuel innovation
-
During this Earth Month, Wayne State reflects on its commitment to sustainability
-
From the president’s desk
-
Ilitch School Student Brooklynn Jackson begins fashion line while studying at home during the pandemic
-
Business and Community Law Clinic supports Detroit nonprofits, small businesses with multidisciplinary effort