NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE (NIDA)
PRE-CONFERENCE SUMMARY
Developing a Bi-national Research Agenda
U.S. – Mexico Cooperation on Drug Abuse Research
Phoenix, Arizona
May 30, 2000
At a one-day meeting preceding the (Third U.S. – Mexico Bi-national Demand Reduction
Conference), Mexican and U.S. drug abuse researchers and officials met to discuss the
recommendations of the work groups from the two previous bi-national conferences and
to identify several potential collaborative research projects. Fifty-six participants from
both Mexico and the United States came together for a daylong series of presentations,
discussions and working group sessions. The meeting was organized by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse International Program in cooperation with the U.S. Office of
National Drug Control Policy.
Welcoming participants, Dr. M. Patricia Needle, International Program Director, NIDA
Office of Science Policy and Communications, opened the meeting and encouraged
attendees to network and exchange information regarding research about drug abuse and
health consequences, as well as to establish future collaborative research initiatives. She
added that the comments, suggestions and ideas that emerged from this meeting would
help structure the agenda for the next U.S.-Mexico conference.
Ms. Haydee Rosovsky, Mexican National Council Against Addictions, opened the
morning presentations with her discussion of the benefits of exchanging data, instruments
and information as steps toward building bi-national research cooperation. She also
reviewed some of the important achievements in research cooperation between Mexico
and the United States over the past three years.
Dr. Richard H. Needle, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of
HIV/AIDS Policy, presented preliminary results from Rapid Assessment, Response and
Evaluation (RARE) projects in three U.S. cities. The RARE methodology will be
implemented in racial and ethnic minority communities around the country
disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS to better understand the changing dynamics of
HIV/AIDS and to implement feasible, science-based best practices to respond to the
epidemics of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse in their communities.
Dr. Mary Jeanne Kreek, Rockefeller University, discussed from her extensive experience
in drug abuse science as a basic scientist and clinical researcher the important
contribution of basic neuroscience for understanding addiction and the translation of this
knowledge into science-based best practices for prevention and treatment of drug abuse
and the health consequences of abuse. Dr. Silvia Cruz, Cinvestav, served as a discussant
and raised issues of importance for practitioners in implementing programs built on
scientific research.
Dr. Judith Brook, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, described the U.S. National Institutes of
Health (NIH) grant application process and the advantages of collaboration between
Mexican and U.S. partners, especially NIDA-supported researchers, to secure research
funding for joint projects. Dr. Brook also provided a list of current topics of special
relevance in drug abuse research, based on priorities of NIDA and NIDA researchers.
Dr. Luciana Ramos, Mexican Institute of Psychiatry, and Dr. M. Patricia Needle
discussed funding mechanisms available in their respective countries for building
research cooperation between Mexico and the United States. NIDA promotes
international scientific collaboration in drug abuse through fellowships and grant
mechanisms. Other NIH programs were also described.
Research information sessions featured presentations by Mexican and U.S. drug abuse
scientists, followed by work groups that explored issues on epidemiology and prevention,
drug abuse treatment, and basic science. The work group participants developed goals
and objectives for future U.S.-Mexico research collaboration and presented them at the
closing plenary session. These recommendations are listed below.
Recommendations
- Binational Web site and/or listserv to facilitate development of research
cooperation.
- Second research pre-conference in 2001 (or next U.S.-Mexico Bi-national
Demand Reduction Conference) with scientific presentations that feature bi-national
(U.S.-Mexico) research collaborations.
- Formalize a program of bi-national research cooperation. Topics of importance
for this group include: perception of risk in relation to drug abuse prevalence;
program evaluation; HIV prevention interventions for drug abusers;
implementation of rapid assessment, response and evaluation on U.S.-Mexico
border; adolescent drug use, violence and HIV; gender differences, family
influences, women, social and cultural factors; patient-treatment matching; and
cooperation in the basic science of drug abuse.
