MU Alcohol Research Training Summer School (MU-ARTSS)

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

This application proposes to continue, refine, and disseminate a 9-week summer research program in alcohol and addiction research. The program, the “MU Alcohol Research Training Summer School” (MU-ARTSS) at the University of Missouri, is targeted at undergraduate students with the goal of preparing them for graduate training in health-related scientific disciplines focusing on alcohol and addiction research. The program recruits seven students annually drawn from a national pool of applicants. MU-ARTSS begins with a one-week intensive set of didactic lectures on alcohol research. Topics include: introduction to addiction research, epidemiology, genetics, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, individual differences, assessment and treatment, responsible conduct of research, and human subjects issues. In addition, trainees attend demonstrations of addiction-relevant research protocols, including mobile and ambulatory assessment, structural and functional neuroimaging, brief interventions, and laboratory administration of alcohol to human subjects. Following this didactics week, students complete an 8-week internship in the lab of a mentor conducting alcohol research. During the internship period, MU-ARTSS trainees also attend a weekly brownbag series covering specific research topics and professional development issues and a weekly “journal club” to help extend and integrate the broader learning that occurs during the initial didactic portion into the rest of the summer experience. Additionally, a weekly “movie series” is hosted by program mentors showcasing notable films about alcohol and addiction to allow for less formal discussion and exploration of clinical phenomena related to alcohol and addiction and the role and portrayal of alcohol in society. MU-ARTSS programming is supplemented by additional experiences offered by the MU-Summer Undergraduate Research Program (MUSURP). Partnering with MU-SURP affords our trainees an opportunity to interact with research faculty and students across multiple scientific disciplines and in multiple venues including professional development mini-conferences, further instruction in the responsible conduct of research, a seminar series, and a formal end-of-the-program poster session. MU-ARTSS draws on the large number of active alcohol research programs in MU’s Department of Psychological Sciences. The focus of MU-ARTSS on undergraduate education also provides an important complement to the alcohol training emphasis at the graduate and postdoctoral levels (currently supported, in part, by a T32 to Co-Director McCarthy). To date, 41 of 53 MU-ARTSS interns have completed their undergraduate degrees, and of these, 31 have enrolled or completed graduate or MD programs. The current proposal aims to continue refining MU-ARTSS recruitment and curriculum activities, and importantly, increase dissemination of materials and outcome data produced by the program.