Monday, December 8, 2025 12/8/2025

A longitudinal study of Puerto Rican children and the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the development of cognitive control and risk for substance use disorders

Award Number: K08DA049913
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2027

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

A longitudinal study of Puerto Rican children and the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the development of cognitive control and risk for substance use disorders - PROJECT SUMMARY This K08 application aims to characterize how exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) changes sub-components of cognitive control, related brain function, and substance use disorder (SUD) risk. Improved understanding of the impact of ACEs on cognitive control and SUD risk is of particular importance in the Puerto Rican community, as this group has higher rates of ACEs and worse SUD treatment outcomes than the general US population, and is underrepresented in SUD and neurobiological studies. This five-year K08 application presents a program for research and training that will support the applicant on a path towards becoming an independent investigator, focused on studying the development of SUD risk using a developmental cognitive neuroscience approach. The training plan builds on the candidate's prior experience and training and capitalizes on an outstanding mentorship team and research environment to foster the development of the candidate's expertise in (1) collection, analysis and interpretation of longitudinal pediatric fMRI data; 2) SUD risk in a pediatric minority population; (3) computational modeling of cognitive and neuro- developmental processes; (4) responsible conduct of scientific research. This project will investigate the influence of ACEs on the development of sub-components cognitive control and related brain activity in the frontoparietal (FPN) and cingulo-opercular (CON) networks during a cognitive control performance task and at rest (Aim 1), and the relationship between ACE-related changes in development and SUD risk (Aim 2). We hypothesize that increased ACEs will lead to (1) a slower rate of evidence accumulation (i.e. drift rate, a computational model parameter), (2) greater activity in key FPN nodes, and (3) increased connectivity between FPN and CON nodes and other regions. Furthermore, these behavioral and neural changes will be associated with increased risk for SUD. Currently, the proposed study participants are enrolled in the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) study, which will collect cognitive control measures and MRI data on 290 children. Building on this structure, we propose to select a subsample (n=76) of children, evenly sampled across the full range of baseline cumulative ACE scores, and invite them to participate in a follow up assessment. Measures of cognitive control performance, brain activity during cognitive task performance and rest, and parental- and self-report of SUD-risk related behaviors will be collected. Data yielded from the proposed study will lead to a future R01 application examining continued development of cognitive control, brain activity and SUD risk, as well as the development of substance use patterns and SUD as these children become adolescents. Together, the research and training experiences and expertise developed through this K08 award will support the applicant's transition to research independence and ensure the applicant becomes a leading authority in the developmental cognitive neuroscience of SUD risk, focusing on the impact of ACEs.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2023	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC.	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	4	12/4/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC.	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	4	8/18/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2024	2023	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC.	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	4	7/24/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $196,020 )
2023	2023	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE INC	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	003	4	8/1/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2023	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE INC	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	001	4	7/20/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$196,020
2023	2022	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE INC	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	7/19/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2022	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE INC	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	002	3	8/1/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $196,020

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $196,020 )
2022	2022	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE INC	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	8/3/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$196,020
														Subtotal = $196,020

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $196,020 )
2021	2021	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC.	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	7/15/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$196,020
														Subtotal = $196,020

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $196,020 )
2020	2020	RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC.	1051 RIVERSIDE DR	NEW YORK	NY	10032	NEW YORK	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	1	7/15/2020	NEW	$196,020
														Subtotal = $196,020

Grand Total All Awards = $784,080

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

A longitudinal study of Puerto Rican children and the impact of adverse childhood experiences on the development of cognitive control and risk for substance use disorders

Award Number: K08DA049913

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2027

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer