The Division of Intramural Research (DIR) of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) seeks an outstanding Staff Scientist to conduct health disparities research studies focused on:

(1) examining the interrelationship between social determinants of health and health behaviours,

(2) using observational and experimental approaches to investigate the mechanisms that explain these interrelationships, and

(3) develop, forecast, and evaluate multilevel interventions to reduce disparities in health behaviours.

Majority of the research will focus on tobacco and substance use disparities, under the direction of Dr Kelvin Choi. There will be opportunities for the incumbent to interact with investigators within and outside of the NIH.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) invite applications for the Chair in Addiction Psychiatry. This position is a University of Toronto Endowed Chair. The expected start date is January 1, 2021.

The University of Toronto has one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, and is consistently ranked as the top Canadian university in international rankings. The Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN), composed of the University and including CAMH amongst its nine fully affiliated institutes, is one of the world’s largest, most productive academic health science centres.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues.

Candidates for the endowed chair position must have a distinguished record of external funding, strong evidence of research and scholarly achievement, consistent record of publication, experience in mentoring, and documentation of outstanding teaching performance. Candidates must demonstrate a proven capacity for leadership, integration and collaboration in the field of addiction psychiatry.

PhD Studentship: In Psychology: Cannabis, Tobacco and Psychiatric Disease: Examining the Impact of Single and Combined-use on Brain Structure and Function (MRC Funded)

This PhD project will ask: 

Can we isolate the relationships between cannabis use, tobacco use and psychiatric disease through triangulation of data from cohort studies and brain imaging studies, and across statistical methods that differ in their ability to make causal links?

International impact: 

Understanding the impact of single and combined use on brain regions will inform conclusions about the influence of these substances on psychiatric disease, and will have important policy implications, in the UK and around the globe.

Aims and method:

• Study 1: Systematic review and meta-analysis of imaging studies exploring the association between cannabis, tobacco use and psychiatric disease.
• Study 2: A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis using pre-existing data from cohort studies with imaging data (IMAGEN, UK Biobank) to examine the association between dual and single cannabis/tobacco use and its impact on brain structure and function.
• Study 3: The student will collect novel data via fMRI. Results from Study 2 will determine a-priori regions of interest used in this study.

BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY invites applications for a NIAAA-funded postdoctoral training program in Developmental Neuroadaptations in Alcohol and Addictions. This training program has a strong affiliation with the Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center (www.binghamton.edu/dearc), a NIAAA-funded P50 Center situated within the Behavioral Neuroscience programme in the Department of Psychology.

In recognition of the fact that alcoholism and addictions have their origins in neurobehavioral development, our program focuses on training in the implementation of approaches that enable characterization of ontogenetic antecedents leading to alcohol- and drug-use disorders, as well as in strategies to mitigate these outcomes. Our program has a strong focus on pre-clinical research, though opportunities also exist for training in clinical psychology and/or interventions research.

Co/Lab in partnership with several other researchers and organizations across BC, recently received funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research for a study entitled: 

A mixed-methods evaluation of risk mitigation measures to address the dual public health crises of COVID-19 and overdose. 

Additionally, we have received funding to work with AVI Health and Community Services on a related project that is also evaluating aspects of the risk mitigation measures.

The project will assess the impact of the new risk-mitigation guidance that permits the prescribing of pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic drug supply. The specific objectives are to:

1. Determine the impact of risk mitigation guidance on COVID-19 infection, continuity of care for people who use substances and concurrent health conditions, overdose and all-cause mortality among people who use substances.

2. Determine the impact on the uptake of public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, as well as other behavioural and psychosocial outcomes among people who use substances.

3. Identify barriers and facilitators to implementation based on program uptake from the perspectives of people who use substances, prescribers, health care providers, outreach workers, and others.

4. Explore different models of delivery of the risk mitigation guidelines.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to be part of the Public health and multimorbidity theme within NIHR South London ARC. The research is exploring ways of reducing harm from tobacco in people who use local health services. The postholder will work within the Nicotine Research Group, Addictions Department on the Denmark Hill Campus. They will provide research assistance for the evaluation of tobacco dependence treatment delivered in hospital and community settings. The evaluation involves a clinical audit of electronic health records and a series of qualitative studies to explore the experience of tobacco dependence treatment from the patient and clinician perspective.

The postholder will be responsible for recruiting patients with long term health conditions and clinicians working across King’s Health Partners, conducting interviews (remotely whilst social distancing measures are in place), extracting data from electronic health care records, assisting with the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, writing for publication and dissemination.

Glasgow Caledonian University are looking for an experienced qualitative postdoctoral researcher to join GCU’s Substance Use and Misuse research group.

You will work on a project exploring change in the availability of alcohol and tobacco in Scottish neighbourhoods over time. The postholder will explore how residents experience the availability of alcohol and tobacco in their neighbourhoods and examine stakeholder views on policy interventions that could reduce alcohol and tobacco outlet density.

You can find out more about the project here.

Under the direct supervision of the Principal Investigator, this position will be expected to work closely with The LMUTobacco Research Team and The Veteran and Military Family Research Laboratory on a Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program for the project entitled, “Youth Vaping in Los Angeles.”

This three-year mixed-methods study integrates quantitative spatial data and qualitative interviews from adolescents in order to create geo-narratives.

The multidisciplinary T32 NIAAA training program focuses on alcohol and HIV infection.

The state of Florida currently ranks second in new HIV infections per year, and second in total HIV/AIDS cases in the US. Alcohol consumption contributes to poor HIV outcomes and to ongoing HIV transmission, and the relationships between alcohol consumption and HIV can vary by age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

The T32 program ensures appropriate depth in knowledge regarding alcohol, HIV, and three additional focus areas that represent areas of strength in ongoing research at UF:

• Behavioral Intervention
• Cognitive Science
• Data Science
• Epidemiology
• Microbiome
• Mhealth

Specific aims of our training program are to:

• Deliver an academic curriculum
• Provide mentoring
• Ensure skills in communication of science
• Maximize professionalism and ethical conduct of research

The training program supports four pre-doctoral and two post-doctoral trainees at any time. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis based on availability of positions. Pre-doctoral trainees will be based in the following academic programs: Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Clinical and Health Psychology, Nursing Science, Health Education and Behavior, and the Interdisciplinary Program in Medicine. 

This position is located at the Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Dakar, Senegal.

Responsibilities

The Representative will head the Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN). Within delegated authority, the incumbent will be responsible for the effective implementation of UNODC programmes and activities in the West and Central Africa region and countries therein, in supporting Member States to deal effectively with issues related to drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism, i.e. UNODC’s core mandate areas. The incumbent will be responsible and accountable for the efficient management of all human and financial resources allocated to the programmes and the office, as well as for ensuring outputs of a high-quality standard.

The incumbent is also a member of the relevant United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) in the region, under the strategic guidance and coordination of the United Nations Resident Coordinators (UNRCs), and member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) Regional Team wherever applicable, and as such will work closely with them. 

This position is located in the Country Office in Afghanistan (COAFG)of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Kabul. The incumbent will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Director, Division for Operations (DO), the direct supervision of the Deputy Director of DO and oversight through the Regional Section for Europe, West & Central Asia (RSEWCA) located at UNODC headquarters in Vienna.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Representative is responsible for the effective implementation of UNODC programmes and activities in the designated country in supporting Member States capacities to deal effectively with issues related to drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism, i.e. UNODC’s core mandate areas. S/he will be responsible and accountable for the efficient management of all human and financial resources allocated to the programmes and the office, as well as for ensuring outputs of a high-quality standard. 

The incumbent is also a member of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Afghanistan. In order to ensure UNODC contributions to UNCT, s/he will work closely with and under the strategic guidance and coordination of the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC). 

The post is located at the UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) in Cairo, Egypt. The Programme Coordinator will report to the UNODC Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa. 

Responsibilities

The focus of this position is to support the Regional Representative to oversee Project Managers and the Operations Team in implementing projects in the region in multiple thematic areas covering drug control, crime prevention, criminal justice, research and trend analysis, terrorism prevention, health and livelihoods and policy support activities. The Programme Coordinator will oversee and coordinate the development and implementation of UNODC programming through the Regional Programme for the Arab States, in line with United Nations/UNODC strategies, policies, standards and rules. 

CDAS Programme Leader (Dr Aileen O’Gorman) is leading a research study funded by the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce: Understanding the Role and Potential of Primary Care in the Prevention of Drug Deaths post COVID-19.

They are recruiting a full-time fixed term (14 months) Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the duration of the study. The successful applicant will be a key member of an inter-institutional research team that includes academics from the Universities of Stirling, Dundee, and Edinburgh, as well as two experts by experience. 

The aim of the study is to examine the role and potential of Primary Care Teams in areas of extreme deprivation to respond to drug-related harms and prevent drug deaths. The study design uses mixed methods combining interviews and focus groups with GPs, patients, affected family members and other stakeholders with complex systems mapping. 

The Dan Norman Early Career Research Fellowship in (Bio)medical Sciences specializing in addiction research is available for a fixed term of three years from  1 October 2020. This non-stipendiary position comes with a package of College benefits, and a requirement to do a small amount of paid teaching to Balliol undergraduates.

The Dan Norman Fund was established by an Old Member of Balliol and his family in memory of his son.  The Fund supports Early Career Fellowships and Doctoral Scholarships with the purpose of advancing research into addiction across the biomedical, clinical, health and life sciences.

The College proposes to elect an outstanding early career scientist who is undertaking funded research into addiction in one or more of the following disciplines: experimental psychology; neuroscience; pharmacology; physiology, anatomy and genetics; and psychiatry.

The purpose of this ECF is to support, mentor, and build the experience (including of teaching) of an early career researcher who has won long-term independent support against nationally or internationally competitive fields and who has creative research ideas in an eligible discipline. 

Deadline for applications: 12 noon BST on Wednesday 2 September 2020

The School of Social and Political Science is looking to appoint to the post of Research Fellow for the GCRF-funded Tobacco Control Capacity Project (TCCP), a consortium undertaking policy relevant health research in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gambia, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda.

Based in the Global Health Policy Unit, Social Policy, the post holder will contribute to capacity building through a programme of high quality research on tobacco control, governance and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), including via work on improving health governance by preventing tobacco industry interference in policy-making. The post holder will develop outputs for publication and dissemination and engage with consortium co-investigators, partners and collaborators.

The post is available from October 2020, full time (35 hours per week) and is fixed term for 14 months until 30th November, 2021.

About the role:

The main purpose of this role is to provide research support for the Drug Policy Voices project. This is an ESRC project led by Dr Rebecca Askew in the Department of Sociology, which aims to integrate the views and experiences of people who use drugs into debates about drug policy reform. Please see www.drugpolicyvoices.co.uk for further information. The project is entering its final year and is due to conduct qualitative research in early 2021. The candidate will support by assisting the project with organising and conducting qualitative research, including data collection and analysis. This is expected to be face to face workshops, but adjustments may need to be made in light of the Covid-19 situation at this time.

Loyola Marymount University is recruiting for a postdoctoral research fellow in the area of: health disparities, the influence of social/ecological/geographic context on health and well-being, substance use/misuse and associated problems, public health, as well as marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, or other drug research and policy. Remote work opportunities for the position may be possible.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Substance Use and Adolescent Populations

The Tobacco Research Team at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position focused on substance use (new tobacco products, vaping) among adolescents. The postdoctoral fellow will join an active research and evaluation team working on multiple funded projects for state efforts to address the vaping epidemic.

The selected Fellow will participate in all aspects of research and evaluation including project management, development, implementation, and data analysis. The Fellow will author peer-reviewed publications, reports, and proposals to state and federal funding sources. The position offers ample opportunities for working with data from multiple projects, developing publications, interdisciplinary collaboration, professional networking, teaching, and enhancement of analytic skills. The Fellow will be encouraged to develop their own research agenda related to substance use and to collaborate with faculty, staff, and students. A doctoral degree in a relevant field is required (e.g., social work, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, public health). The ideal candidate will have strong mixed-methods research skills with experience analyzing survey, administrative, and qualitative data. Relevant experience and research interests should be noted in the letter of application. The primary assignment will be at the LMU Tobacco Research Team, under the direct supervision of the Principal Investigator, Dr. Roberto Cancio on a Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program for the project entitled, “Youth Vaping in Los Angeles.” This three-year mixed-methods study integrates quantitative spatial data and qualitative interviews from adolescents in order to create geo-narratives.

Founded in 1911, LMU is a top-ranked university rooted in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions. We are committed to fostering a diverse academic community rich in opportunity for intellectual engagement and real-world experience. We enroll an academically ambitious, multicultural, and socioeconomically diverse student body. As a Carnegie-classified R2 school, LMU is recognized nationally as a doctoral university with high research activity. We recruit, retain and support a diverse faculty committed to excellence in teaching, research, scholarship and creativity. Our three campuses are rooted in the heart of Los Angeles, a global capital for arts and entertainment, innovation and technology, business and entrepreneurship.

LMU offers excellent benefits and competitive salaries that exceed the National Institute of HealthÂ’s postdoctoral stipend levels. Funding is guaranteed for one year with the possibility of additional years based on performance.

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit a CV, writing sample, a cover letter outlining their previous training, research interests and experiences, career goals, and the name and contact information for three references to the online application interface at: https://jobs.lmu.edu/postings/45464. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Any questions can be forwarded to Roberto [dot] cancio [at] lmu [dot] edu (Roberto[dot]cancio[at]lmu[dot]edu) .

Project Title: Understanding Heavy Alcohol Consumption Culture Among Nurses and Lawyers

Project Title: Investigating the Role of Cost in Alcohol Purchases

Project Title: Alcohol' Harm to Others (1 and 2)

Project Title: Drugs, Sex/ Gender and Human Rights

Project Title: Infectious Disease, Gender and Stigma

It is the mandate of the Strategic Partnerships and Knowledge Mobilization (SPKM) division to facilitate, lead and participate in the gathering, connecting and mobilizing people, knowledge and other resources for collective action and change toward shared goals.

Reporting to the Director, Knowledge Mobilization, the Knowledge Broker works collaboratively with other divisions in CCSA, draws on existing bodies of knowledge or evidence from research and other sources, and works with key stakeholders to provide tailored, evidence-informed guidance and practical tools to facilitate desired changes in practice, programs or policies. Through facilitating the collaborative efforts of stakeholders and partners, this role uses effective knowledge mobilization approaches to encourage the application of evidence in practice, program and policy development and implementation.

Responsibilities

• Lead or assist in the developing and implementing knowledge mobilization plans on assigned national priorities
• Work closely with CCSA colleagues to identify partners and stakeholders across Canada, and ensure they have access to CCSA products and services to address their needs and issues
• Identify networks of stakeholders and partners that can both benefit from and contribute to the collective effort to reduce harms to and improve care for those affected by substance use and addiction
• Work with CCSA colleagues to interpret and summarize research findings to form the basis of knowledge mobilization plans, products, tools and activities to inform practice, policy and program development in the field of substance use
• Participate in environmental scans and needs assessments with stakeholders to identify issues and problems, readiness for change, and common goals and solutions
• Coordinate project work on assigned national priorities through applying principles of project planning and administration, and collaborating with colleagues, including by identifying deliverables, timelines, risks, budgeting and stakeholder engagement
• Participate in continuous learning and peer-to-peer learning opportunities with colleagues, partners and networks to advance knowledge and competency of effective knowledge mobilization practices in the substance use field
• Collaborate with colleagues to enhance the application of sex- and gender-based analysis + to research, product development and tool development
• Lead collaboration efforts with a variety of stakeholders to negotiate creative, practical and relevant approaches to knowledge mobilization for sustainable solutions and change

Overview

This PhD will focus on populations experiencing multiple disadvantage and extremes of inequalities (e.g. homelessness, offending, substance misuse). It is an exciting opportunity to gain research skills in developing interventions for and improving the health of the most disadvantaged in society.

Areas of research could include understanding the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on the health of groups with multiple disadvantages, and/or identifying ways to improve services (e.g. primary care, secondary care) and support for people experiencing multiple disadvantages. The candidate will be supported in developing a research plan for the PhD.  The project will involve working collaboratively with the voluntary sector (charities) and local authorities in Newcastle/Gateshead areas to develop a research plan that is based on service and practice needs. The PhD will involve the use of mixed methods. It will be embedded as part of other ongoing work in our Institute around multiple disadvantages and marginalised populations.