Interdisciplinary Research Training Institute

ATTENTION: The application deadline for the 2013 Interdisciplinary Research Training Institute on Hispanic Drug Abuse has been extended to THURSDAY, FEB. 28.

The Interdisciplinary Research Training Institute (IRTI) promotes the career development of pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and early career scientists interested in conducting research on drug abuse among Hispanics. While drug abuse in the United States continues to have a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities, particularly Hispanics, the number of researchers studying the problem remains relatively small. Moreover, few training and research centers exist that focus on current drug abuse issues among Hispanic populations. There is a need to train researchers to develop a broad-based set of scientific knowledge and research skills that will equip them to conduct interdisciplinary drug abuse research.

IRTI is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and provides three core activities to research fellows: training, mentoring and networking. The aim is to ensure an infrastructure of constant support for fellows to conduct, present, publish and acquire funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research. The institute conducts an intensive interdisciplinary summer training program along with a formal mentorship process.

Avelardo Valdez, professor at the USC School of Social Work, is the principal investigator and director of IRTI.

For more information on IRTI, contact Erika Guerrero Smith at erikague@usc.edu.