Clinical Undergraduate Research in Addictions - Training and Experiences (CURATE) Program - PROJECT SUMMARY Overdose deaths have made an unprecedented impact in the United States. While public health challenges related to substance use continue to increase, medical education and research training to address substance use disorders have been insufficient to meet the needs of providers and researchers. Undergraduate students are not routinely offered training dedicated to addiction research. This has limited the number of graduate and medical students inspired and prepared for a path in addiction research and healthcare. The Clinical Undergraduate Research in Addictions - Training and Experiences (CURATE) Program’s goal is to increase the pool of undergraduate scholars in clinical addiction research who are prepared to continue a professional path in this area. We will create an addiction research summer program specifically for undergraduate students across the U.S. This program will engage learners in mentored research, didactic seminars, research workshops, and experiential learning at hospital and community clinics. The CURATE Program has the following Specific Aims: 1. To develop a program offering summer research for undergraduate students and their specific learning and mentoring needs. We will develop a summer program on the Boston University Medical Campus offering undergraduate training in addiction research. In collaboration with undergraduate student organizations, we will devise recruitment approaches to reach potential students at colleges nationwide. We will match students with appropriate, supportive research mentors. 2. To offer undergraduate students a mentored summer research training experience. Guided by an individual development plan, students will engage in ongoing projects with a faculty mentor. The 10 weeks of mentored summer research will be complemented by workshops about the conduct of rigorous and responsible research (at the beginning of the program) and by analysis, scientific writing and dissemination workshops (in remaining weeks). In year 1, we will enroll three participants; in years 2-5, five learners. 3. To provide experiential learning during the summer research training. We will offer seminars providing an introduction to clinical addiction medicine and research, including an overview of various substances and related research challenges. We will also offer students observations in hospital clinics and in community programs serving people with addictions in order to become acquainted with the spectrum of clinical addiction medicine and link contemporary clinical problems with their research activities. The CURATE Program will prepare and inspire undergraduate trainees for a professional path in clinical addiction research, ultimately increasing capacity in addiction research and advancing our research response to the most pressing addiction challenges.
