Pre- and Post-Doctoral Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research Program (BST) Comes to NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

NIH-funded for over 30 years, the move by BST to NYU provides a rich intellectual environment for trainees and strengthens the linkages to NYU Meyers’ Center for Drug Use and HIV Research

     The Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research (BST) program is coming to New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing as of July 1, 2016.  The move will lead to stronger linkages between BST and NYU’s Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR), which is housed at NYU Meyers. Since 1984, BST has been a highly successful pre- and post-doctoral training program administered jointly by National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. and Public Health Solutions, two leading not-for-profit service delivery and research centers in NYC. BST is NIDA’s largest and longest-standing training program—supporting 16 pre- and post-doctoral fellows each year—and the move to NYU will enable the university to support a significant number of fellows specializing in drug abuse research.

     “The request to move BST to NYU Meyers is being made because CDUHR will provide a rich intellectual environment for trainees and advantages that will enhance the training experience for them,” said Program Director Gregory Falkin, PhD. “With the move to NYU we want to be sure to maintain the program goals, direction, and structure, including the intensive and comprehensive training BST is known for, which was approved by NIDA for years 31-35.” The program is co-directed by George De Leon, PhD., a foremost authority on therapeutic communities for drug treatment.

     CDUHR affiliate investigators direct over 60 projects on substance use and infectious diseases, nearly two dozen of which are National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, including 18 RO1 and 2 Avant Garde Awards, offering numerous opportunities for BST fellows to gain experience on major NIDA studies led by researchers at the forefront of the field.

     “We are delighted BST will be coming to NYU Meyers,” said Sherry Deren, PhD. and Holly Hagan, PhD. Co-Directors, CDUHR.  “We have worked with fellows in this training program since our Center was funded, and this will provide new opportunities for strengthening research training for fellows and other CDUHR-affiliated early stage investigators. We also anticipate the development of new research collaborations working to address our mission to end HIV and HCV in drug using populations.”

     For over 32 years, the BST program has graduated over 200 pre- and post-doctoral fellows, nearly half of whom have been minority scholars. Many of them have distinguished themselves through their research and publications—which number about 2,000—and have become PIs and Co-investigators on over 70 NIH grants and have received well over 100 grants from other funders. Dr. Falkin adds that he “thoroughly enjoys helping fellows build their careers and seeing their successes.”

About the Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research (BST) program:

BST’s training program prepares social scientists for careers in research on drug abuse and HIV/AIDS through intensive training—fellows participate in seminars and workshops all day on Mondays—and hands on research on NIDA grants. The program comprises 16 fellows (9 predocs and 7 postdocs) from the various behavioral disciplines and includes both qualitative and quantitative researchers working in a mutually supportive milieu to conduct research, build their publication records and write grants for outside funding. Fellows specialize in a wide range of topics (e.g., drugs among college students, doping in sports, drugs and crime, HIV risk factors and interventions, drug treatment, politics and drug policy, international research). Gregory Falkin, PhD, Program Director; George De-Leon, PhD, Co-Director

About the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing, a Master of Science and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing research and theory development. http://nursing.nyu.edu/

About CDUHR

The mission of the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research (CDUHR) is to end the HIV and HCV epidemics in drug using populations and their communities by conducting transdisciplinary research and disseminating its findings to inform programmatic, policy, and grass roots initiatives at the local, state, national and global levels. CDUHR is a Core Center of Excellence funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant #P30 DA011041).  It is the first center for the socio-behavioral study of substance use and HIV in the United States and is located at the New York University College of Nursing. For more information, visit www.cduhr.org.