APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 3, 2022

The NIDA-AACAP Resident Training Award in Substance Use Disorder is a partnership between AACAP and NIDA CTN to fund NIDA Mentor-Facilitated Training Awards, a key component of the NIDA CTN Dissemination Initiative, supporting the development of expertise in SUD, especially OUD, through the completion of a mentor-supervised project focused on adoption and/or dissemination of SUD treatment research and the publication of the results.

The goals of this award are:

• To promote and improve knowledge of evidence-based SUD treatment among health care providers;
• To promote dissemination of SUD research findings;
• To promote the adoption of evidence-based approaches in medical settings; and
• To facilitate the professional growth and development of future leaders in SUD management and research.

The NIDA-AACAP Training Award provides up to one year of support to general and child and adolescent psychiatry residents to support training in dissemination of research. Through support from this program, the awardee(s) will engage in a Mentored opportunity to learn about key areas of SUD and SUD treatment strategies through their project, attendance at conferences and workshops, and interaction with leading experts in the field.  

This award cannot be used to conduct basic or a clinical trial. Applications proposing non-exempt research involving human subjects that must be reviewed by an IRB under the requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations at 45 CFR part 46 will not be eligible. Secondary data analysis of treatment research datasets may be completed in pursuit of award goals, provided the project proposed is eligible for Institutional Review Board (IRB) exemption and displays merit to impact on or increase the adoption of evidence-based practices. In addition, applications that propose recruiting participants are not eligible.

The award offers up to $10,000 for program support (award amount includes travel to AACAP's 70th Annual Meeting in New York, NY, October 23-28, 2023; and travel to the NIDA Clinical Trials Network's Annual Meeting in Bethesda, MD, Spring 2023) and $2,000 for a mentor stipend. Funds may also be used for educational and resource materials/courses. (All awards are contingent upon the receipt of adequate funding support.)

PURPOSE OF THE AWARD

The purpose of the award is to enhance the trainee’s ability to disseminate and/or adopt evidence-based SUD treatment practices through a mentored project that will:

• Provide the trainee with experience that eventually fosters interest in either a clinical career providing evidence-based management of SUD in medical settings or potentially stimulates interest in securing a NIH career development or other grant award to pursue implementation and related research in the field of substance misuse and substance use disorder in subsequent years.
• Provide the trainee with a mentored experience in effective dissemination of existing or emerging research findings and/or the implementation/adoption of research in clinical practice. Applicants are encouraged to develop projects that address or improve upon current gaps in the dissemination of research findings or implementation/adoption of evidence-based treatment practices. Project updates will be shared at the NIDA CTN Annual meeting. Project results will be presented at AACAP’s Annual Meeting. The trainee is strongly encouraged to develop a manuscript for submission for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
• Link the trainee with an experienced mentor to guide and facilitate an up to one year-long mentored experience, culminating in a project related to dissemination and/or adoption of SUD research findings.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Please submit the following required items to Daphney Chancy-Green, AACAP’s Research and Grants Program Manager, at research@aacap.org by 11:59 pm EST on Thursday, November 3, 2022.
Note: All letters submitted electronically must contain valid signatures.

Eligible candidates must not have a NIH research fellowship or a NIH research award or a NIH career development award. Award recipients are selected through a competitive process. Applications that do not adhere to the following guidelines will not be reviewed. Applicants must submit the following information: 

• Completed award application form.
• Candidate section, including a personal statement and interest in the substance use field, of no more than two pages (single spaced, no less than 12 pt. font and 1” margins).
• A proposal of no more than five pages (single spaced, no less than 12 pt. font and 1” margins) including:
• Project title and description that includes the following sections: objectives, background, project rationale, project method, and an implementation and dissemination plan.
• A detailed project timeline with tentative dates of all activities for the proposed project.
• A budget and budget justification containing sufficient detail so that each item can be judged separately. Computer related items (e.g., personal computers, printers, modems, etc.) are unlikely to receive budget approval. Salary support will not be provided for the mentor. No indirect costs for the institution will be provided. Typical budget items may include, but are not limited to, honoraria, travel expenses, etc.
• A letter detailing any current and previous funding.
• The applicant’s and mentor’s current biosketch or curriculum vitae.
• A letter of support from a proposed mentor of no more than two pages (single spaced, no less than 12 pt. font and 1” margins), including a brief description on how he/she will play a key role in shaping and assisting the candidate in fulfilling the needs of this award.
• A letter of support from the residency training director, of no more than two pages (single spaced, no less than 12 pt. font and 1” margins).

PROJECT EXAMPLES AND RECOMMENDED TOPIC AREAS

Clinically relevant applications with a focus on treatment of substance use disorders and the dissemination of research findings or facilitation of adoption of evidence-based practices in clinical settings are encouraged. To this end, awardees are to develop and execute a plan designed to increase their own clinical knowledge of the management of SUD, especially OUD. They will then design and complete a project aimed at improving the dissemination and/or adoption of existing SUD treatment research findings.

Examples of appropriate activities and projects include but are not limited to:

• Reviewing available curricula or training programs, identifying status of education on SUD, especially opioid misuse, OUD diagnosis and management in various settings, and proposing and conducting activities to improve or increase the adoption of evidence-based practices.
• Developing materials that could be used for quality improvement or integration of an evidence-based approach or process, in the management of SUD, including OUD, in a medical setting and conducting activities for quality improvement or adoption.
• Identifying training gaps and research findings and/or products developed by NIDA or other federal agencies or professional associations that could bridge gaps, identifying potential partners for effective dissemination of these findings and disseminating them within existing or newly developed communication channels.
• Other activities consistent with the goals of the Dissemination Initiative to accelerate the dissemination of research findings and implementation or adoption of evidence-based SUD treatment in clinical practice.
• Analysis of de-identified data from completed clinical trials such as those found on the NIDA Data Share website (https://datashare.nida.nih.gov/) to inform dissemination or implementation efforts; to characterize availability of data on substance use or practice patterns; identify gaps in the provision of evidence-based practices; and/or identify needs for dissemination or implementation.
• Proposals must include components of evidence-based child and adolescent SUD treatment science to include clinical topic areas such as:
  • Screening and brief intervention for adolescents misusing opioids, marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs including prescription medications;
  • Smoking cessation for adolescent patients in the medical or behavioral healthcare system;
  • Integrating substance use treatment for youth with(in) primary care or a medical home;
  • Integration or augmentation of electronic health records to include substance misuse and substance use disorders in youth;
  • Prescription drug misuse or use disorder in youth;
  • Co-occurring disorders in youth; or
  • Screening and management of HIV/Hepatitis/STD infections in adolescent patients with substance use disorders.

AACAP will consider additional clinical topics that meet the criteria of direct relevance to child and adolescent substance use disorder treatment science and dissemination. For consideration of a topic not listed above, applicants are encouraged to contact Carmen J. Thornton, MPH, AACAP Director of Research, Grants, and Workforce at research@aacap.org to discuss their topic before submitting an application.

Please see here for a list of previous awardees and their projects

AWARD REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants must be enrolled in a fully accredited general psychiatry or child and adolescent psychiatry clinical research or training program, or triple board program and be at the PGY2 level or higher. 
• Candidates must not have any current or previous significant, individual project funding in the field of child and adolescent mental health. Candidates should not have had previous or simultaneous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other research funding sources. Eligible candidates will not have a career development award.  
• Applicants must either be AACAP members or have a membership application pending (not paid by the award) and agree to submit a proposal for a poster presentation on his or her activities or project for, and attend AACAP's 70th Annual Meeting in New York, NY, October 23-28, 2023. 
• Applicants must agree to attend the NIDA Clinical Trials Network's Annual Meeting date to be determined in Spring, 2023 in Bethesda, MD. Cutting edge research will be presented at the NIDA CTN Annual Meeting and awardees will have the opportunity to network with other clinicians and researchers in the field.
• Recipients must submit a poster on preliminary work for the NIDA CTN Steering Committee meeting in Spring 2023.
• All applicants must be available to attend by teleconference an orientation provided by The Bizzell Group, on behalf of NIDA, on December 16, 2022. 
• The trainee is required to participate in 4 quarterly meetings to discuss the progress of the trainee with their perspective projects.
• All applicants are responsible for ensuring their own adherence to all federal research regulations, certifications and assurances. Institutional agreement of acceptance of their role and responsibility for the oversight of the award and proposed activities will be requested through the application process.
• Participants agree to participate in all annual surveys as part of the program evaluation process.   
  
   

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Progress and Final Reports: The trainee and designated mentor are required to submit a 6-month narrative progress report and a final narrative report at the end of the performance period. Failure to provide the report may negatively impact your institution’s ability to apply for future awards. These reports will be submitted to AACAP for subsequent submission to NIDA.  In the event that the awardee’s project is not completed at the end of the designated performance period, and appropriate approvals to continue have been granted, the final report must still be submitted as an outline of work done and projections for work/expenditures remaining.

Publications: All work supported in part by the NIDA Award should be made available to the public and scientific community through approved scientific channels such as national meetings and peer reviewed publications. Publications will acknowledge the support of NIDA and AACAP. Two reprints of each publication should be forwarded to AACAP and NIDA.

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed by senior investigators with experience in related work in child and adolescent psychiatry research. Prior to the scientific review process, applications will undergo an administrative review process.

• Administrative Review – Applications will be reviewed for submission of all application materials.  Incomplete applications or those that do not adhere to the application guidelines will not be forwarded for further review. Please ensure you meet the eligibility requirements and have submitted all requested application materials before finalizing your application.

• Selection & Review – Applications will undergo a scientific review process by senior child and adolescent psychiatrists with relevant expertise. Applications will be scored by the NIDA-AACAP Resident Training Award Program Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will prepare written reviews and score all applications. The review criteria are as follows:
• Strength of the proposed activities or project plan, including conceptual or clinical framework, or information gathering plan;
• Alignment with the goals of NIDA’s Dissemination Initiative;
• Feasibility of the proposed activities or project to advance scientific knowledge or clinical practice in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry;
• The applicant’s commitment and potential to become a champion of SUD evidence-based treatment in general medical settings and/or career investigator in the SUD field;
• Endorsement, support, and qualifications of the applicant; and
• Strength of commitment and support from the applicant’s host institution.

AACAP reserves the right to cancel the award if terms and conditions are not met. AACAP maintains the right to waive informalities.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

All completed applications and attachments must be submitted by
11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, November 3, 2022.
Materials should be sent to Daphney Chancy-Green at research@aacap.org

Availability of all awards is contingent upon the receipt of adequate funding.

Last updated: September 2022