After the Doubling- What is the Climate at NIH for Behavioral Research?

Interview with NIDA staff David Shurtleff, PhD, Director of the Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research Division, and Lisa Onken, PhD, Chief of the Behavioral and Integrative Treatment Branch.

How are your programs being affected by the very lean budget in Fiscal Year 2006?

Shurtleff: For Fiscal Year 2006, it's likely NIDA will fund fewer new/competing research project grants than in the past.

Onken: With a very lean NIH budget, it is possible that fewer grants will be funded in the future. However, every attempt will be made to maintain a behavioral and cognitive treatment field that is not only surviving, but thriving.

Has the number of grant applications to your institute been affected by the budget?

Shurtleff: It is too early to know for certain whether the number of grant applications will be affected by the budget. The number of grant applications received per review cycle has increased over the past two years for NIDA. With the likelihood of fewer applications being funded, it's likely that more applicants will need to submit revised applications to achieve a competitive score in this funding climate.

Are there new areas of research emphasis at your institute for psychologists?

Shurtleff: Behavioral and cognitive science research continues to be an important part of NIDA-supported research. Of particular interest is the study of co-occurring disorders with substance abuse, adolescent vulnerability to addiction, and genetic and environmental factors associated with drug abuse and addiction. Research focusing on decision making and risky behavior in the context of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse is an important area of research for NIDA. Because drug addiction is a complex bio-behavioral disorder, it's important to adopt multidisciplinary approaches that foster collaboration between psychological researchers together with researchers from other disciplines, such as neuroscience, and genetics. A recently released RFA, DA06-004, "Social Neuroscience," reflects NIDA's interests in collaborative, multi-disciplinary and multi-level approaches to understanding drug abuse and addiction. Both human and animal-model-based behavioral research in these and other related areas are supported by NIDA.

Onken: Behavioral and cognitive treatment research, as described in the Behavioral Therapies Development program announcement (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-126.html) continues to flourish at NIDA within the broader context of the multi-disciplinary, translational framework of the NIH Roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/). Although it is no longer "business as usual," - some applications that would have been considered competitive in the recent past may no longer be as competitive -- the current zeitgeist environment has created new, different and exciting opportunities. Also, the Institute is particularly concerned about attracting top-notch new investigators, so new PI applications may get a second or even third look.

Although it wouldn't be possible to list everything of high interest to the Institute, there are a few areas in the behavioral and cognitive treatment field that do stand out. Applications that attempt to determine the basic behavioral, cognitive, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying effective psychosocial interventions (i.e., their "mechanism of action") are of particular interest. Such applications inherently bridge basic and clinical science, another Institute priority. Translational research that attempts to utilize basic science principles and mechanisms of behavior change in the development and refinement of treatments - especially research that takes into account human development - is also of interest. This includes linking what we are learning about brain development in the cognitive, affective, and social domains to behavioral treatment research, and research with a goal of understanding the neurobiology of psychosocial treatment. Applications that seek to modify existing efficacious treatments to make them retain their efficacy while becoming more "community-friendly" (e.g., easier to administer, less costly, less complex, less lengthy, components or training materials computerized, etc.) are also of very high interest. Behavioral and cognitive treatment research on methamphetamine addiction is of great interest, as is research that also addresses the HIV risk behavior of methamphetamine addicts and research that integrates targeted HIV risk reduction interventions - particularly in non-injection drug abusers- into drug abuse treatment research. At the intersection of HIV/AIDS research and treatment, research designed to better understand the factors that influence adherence to medications remains of great interest. And of course multidisciplinary research proposals are of great interest.

To help achieve the goal of a thriving behavioral and cognitive treatment research field, the Behavioral and Integrative Treatment Branch is seeking a new Program Officer.

Are there training or retraining mechanisms in your institute that psychologists should take more advantage of?

Shurtleff: The Mentored Career Development Awards (e.g., K01, K08) geared toward newly independent researchers, is one avenue available for psychologists to gain additional training in an area of research that could complement their existing expertise. Early career investigators should also be aware of the new "NIH Pathway to Independence Award program." The program provides the opportunity for promising postdoctoral scientists to receive both mentored and independent research support from the same award (see: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-133.html). Psychologists should also consider collaborating with researchers who have complementary expertise and training that allows for a multidisciplinary approach to the study of drug addiction.

Onken: In addition to the mentored career development awards ("K" awards), there are National Research Service Awards, including T32s (Institutional Research Training Grants) and F awards (Individual Predoctoral Fellowships. Also, predoctoral students can consider applying for a Dissertation Award. Finally, new investigators should look into the NIDA B/START (PAR-03-146 Behavioral Science Track Award for Rapid Transition) and I/START (PAR-06-092 Imaging-Science Track Award for Research Transition) programs, which are designed specifically to support scientists early in their careers.

What can psychologists do to improve their chances of being funded?

Shurtleff: First and foremost all applicants should talk with program staff before submitting a grant application to NIDA to consider how NIDA's priorities fit their research interests. It's important that, for the most part, research be hypothesis driven with clear objectives and specific aims. The applicant must clearly state how the proposed research relates to understanding the antecedents and consequences of drug abuse and addiction, particularly in those cases where the research does not propose to study drugs of abuse or drug addicted individuals.

Onken: In addition to speaking with someone at NIDA within their area of scientific interest, applicants should consider their ideas within the context of the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary priorities that are being fostered through initiatives such as the NIH Roadmap and the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint.

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