Building capacity for collaborative research on opioid and other substance use disorders through the Clinical and Translational Science Award Program.

Harold Alan Pincus,Jennifer L Humensky,Alan I Green,Scott Mcintosh,Linda B Cottler,Kathleen Brady

doi:10.1017/cts.2019.441

Abstract

The opioid crisis in the USA requires immediate action through clinical and translational research. Already built network infrastructure through funding by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) provides a major advantage to implement opioid-focused research which together could address this crisis. NIDA supports training grants and clinical trial networks; NCATS funds the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program with over 50 NCATS academic research hubs for regional clinical and translational research. Together, there is unique capacity for clinical research, bioinformatics, data science, community engagement, regulatory science, institutional partnerships, training and career development, and other key translational elements. The CTSA hubs provide unprecedented and timely response to local, regional, and national health crises to address research gaps [Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, Center for Leading Innovation and Collaboration, Synergy paper request for applications]. This paper describes opportunities for collaborative opioid research at CTSA hubs and NIDA-NCATS opportunities that build capacity for best practices as this crisis evolves. Results of a Landscape Survey (among 63 hubs) are provided with descriptions of best practices and ideas for collaborations, with research conducted by hubs also involved in premier NIDA initiatives. Such collaborations could provide a rapid response to the opioid epidemic while advancing science in multiple disciplinary areas.

Highlights

Collaborative and institutional infrastructure grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) offer unprecedented opportunities to address multiple issues affecting population health locally, regionally, and nationally
These included understanding the neurobiology of pain management, best practices in clinical management of pain, developing new and innovative medications and technologies for better addiction treatment, improving access to efficacy-based addiction treatment, and reducing and reversing ODs
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) worked together to evaluate the gaps in the field, and the capacity at the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs to field studies focused on opioids and eventually other drug trends

Summary

Introduction

Collaborative and institutional infrastructure grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) offer unprecedented opportunities to address multiple issues affecting population health locally, regionally, and nationally. The opioid crisis is one major health issue significantly affecting the US population that could be urgently addressed utilizing resources and infrastructure of a national network. Programs funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) could be efficiently leveraged to speedily address the opioid crisis. NIDA is the NIH institute that funds the majority of research on substance use disorders and opioids in particular. The opioid epidemic has been responsible for an economic cost of at least $630Bf from 2015 to 2018. 15% is attributable to lost productivity [2,3,4,5,6]

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