# Mentoring Emerging Scientists for Careers in Substance Use Research

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $412,011

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This is a renewal application from the University of California, San Francisco to extend a five-year research
education program for clinical researchers (Learning for Early Careers in Addiction and Diversity-LEAD). The
program continues its mission to provide training to early-stage research scientists from underrepresented
racial/ethnic minority groups, aiming to increase the number of racial/ethnic minorities who conduct behavioral
or pharmacological substance use disorders treatment research. LEAD builds on the platform of the National
Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN), a network of scientists and healthcare organizations that
offers a broad infrastructure for multisite testing of science-based therapies. During the next five years, we will
expand recruitment to include postdoctoral fellows (rather than just assistant professor level participants) in an
effort to reach a larger pool of promising early stage investigators. The training program will include a new
component in implementation science training to align and strengthen scholars' research skills with the
priorities of the NIDA CTN to conduct rigorous multisite clinical trials in primary care and other general medical
settings. The training program greatly benefits from strong connections to training programs and faculty
conducting clinical research at UCSF and the presence of the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science
Institute. Specific aims are to: 1) Match trainee scholars with senior scientists in the CTN who will provide
scientific mentoring and professional guidance; 2) provide scholars with support to conduct pilot research as a
pathway to subsequent NIH applications; 3) assist scholars in developing grant-writing skills, with the goal of
submitting competitive NIH applications during the LEAD training period; 4) offer training in cultural tailoring of
evidence-based treatments and implementation research methods; 5) provide scholars with knowledge and
skills to address ethical, regulatory, and project management issues encountered in clinical trials; and 6) foster
a networking structure to build relationships with leading experts in substance use disorder clinical trials
research. Scholars will participate in a 3-year training, consisting of a yearly 4-week summer intensive program
of seminars and workshops at UCSF, mentoring and training during the academic year, and participation in
CTN national research and training meetings. Scholars will be matched with NIDA CTN senior investigators
who will mentor them through the 3-year training period. A successful NIH award for research or career
development is the planned measurable outcome for the scholars who participate in the program. The program
addresses the need for investigators who have expertise in conducting culturally-competent substance use
disorder treatment research that has the potential to impact healthcare policy and practice. The long-term goal
to increase the number of PIs from underrepr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9920115
- **Project number:** 5R25DA035163-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Carmen L Masson
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $412,011
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9920115

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9920115, Mentoring Emerging Scientists for Careers in Substance Use Research (5R25DA035163-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9920115. Licensed CC0.

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