|
|
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS
Friends- I had long wanted to compete in dog agility. So like everyone else, I got a pup during COVID. Although surrounded by skeptics, raising the issue of falls and broken bones, I found a trainer and trotted to the fields. Turns out Henry loves the hurdles, the tunnel, the dog walk. Also turns out that you lose points but gain notoriety when you trip over the dog (skeptics are sometimes correct -) As the hip was healing, we turned to Rally. Take homes: don’t trip over the signs or drag (rather than lead) your dog from sign to sign (you get more points if the dog appears to want to come along). Fortunately, he’s a natural. Consequently, I wasn’t too concerned about our progress even in the face of work-related interruptions in training until we arrived at a recent multi-day event. I found myself paralyzed with anxiety … what were these new signs? A wicked cat person must have designed this course. Though discombobulated, I refused to surrender. Henry and I were there and I was not leaving with my metaphoric tail between my legs. Only in the last trial did we demonstrate any notable skill —but we accumulated sufficient points in each of the 3 trials to earn our next title. So what? First, BARELY making the cut-off is still on the happy side of the threshold. In the "Sport to Real-life" application, whether my grant is in the 10th or the 23rd percentile, if it’s funded, it’s funded. Screech with joy and get to the work. That score was yesterday’s news. Second, albeit trite, showing up counts…a lot. If you lose in a round of two dogs, you still sit in 2nd place. TAKE IT. Granted, I'm not compelled to alter my competitive nature. Come’on- Anyone can appreciate the fact that earning a perfect score on the last run felt a whole lot better than barely crossing the threshold. That said, maybe these familiar phrases aren’t entirely tripe. Oh- and third, dog trials parallel academic careers: highly competitive and somewhat snarky. Yep…we’re going back.
And speaking of return—this issue of our recurring newsletter is full of information, updates and opportunities that you won’t want to miss! The Legacy Lecture was a great success (THANKS TO ALL), our call for Fall Travel Awards and Dissertation Aid grants just closed and announcements are forthcoming, we have an exciting Visiting Scientist, Dr. Yeung, in November, and our 10th Annual Symposium is set for April 17th with a new format, greater opportunities for involvement by scientists across the state and keynote speakers Drs. Shannon Gourley and Hugh Garavan.
Finally- I want to remind you that our programming, i.e. our ability to support trainees, new projects, and networking opportunities relies on your gifts through your IDC assignments and individual donations. Please consider giving.
Best- SJN
|
|
|
|
THE INAUGURAL LEGACY LECTURE
|
|
|
|
Thank you to those who were able to join us for the Inaugural Legacy Lecture with Dr. Rueben Gonzales. [Above, he's cutting his face cake with Dr. Peris' help]. For those who were unable to attend in-person, the recording of Dr. Gonzales' seminar can be found on the UF CARE website linked below.
|
|
|
|
|
AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU
Thank you to Drs. Joanna Peris and Marieta Heaton for organizing Dr. Gonzales' visit as the Inaugural Legacy Lecturer!
|
|
|
|
THE MONTHLY SEMINAR SERIES
|
|
|
|
November Seminar
|
|
UF CARE is excited to collaborate with the Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health and welcome Dr. Ellen Yeung in-person as the November seminar speaker. Dr. Yeung is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Science at George Washington University. Her research focuses on understanding the unique and shared risk and resilience factors underlying addiction and chronic pain, and the mechanisms linking the two.
Her seminar will be November 16th at 3pm in Communicore (HSC) C1-011.
Distance attendees can register for Zoom information here: https://ufl.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcpd-irrT0oHdcO2CdpI7Jz-nm-OzZw0dnv
|
|
|
|
|
|
DON'T FORGET YOUR STAFF
Affiliate membership to UF CARE is now available to UF staff members working in addiction science! Staff must be nominated by UF CARE Full Members.
To be eligible, staff members must work in addiction/substance use science either in direct data collection and/or oversight/training/administration with at least a 0.5FTE on substance use/addiction related research. They should have been involved for at least 1 year. General administrative staff would not be eligible, nor those who provide services without regard for domain.
Staff affiliate members are not eligible for UF CARE funding opportunities (e.g travel awards, dissertation aid awards). However, with the approval of their PIs, they may participate in all UF CARE activities.
Members can nominate their staff by filling out the nomination form linked below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UF CARE PODCAST
Wow, it's our 20th UF CARE Podcast! There are nearly 8 hours of addiction-related content from our members. All 20 installments of the podcast can be found here: https://addictionresearch.health.ufl.edu/category/podcast/
UF CARE member Dr. JeeWon Cheong joins podcast host Dr. Oliver Grundmann for our 20th installment of the UF CARE Podcast. Dr. Cheong came to UF in 2015 and is an expert in mediation analysis and longitudinal modeling.
Click below to watch!
|
|
|
|
Acceptance for Annual ACNP Meeting
UF CARE has several members and affiliates with posters accepted at the upcoming meeting of the American College of the Neuropsychopharmacology on December 4-7, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona. Acceptances include:
-Disentangling the Relationship Between Age, Sleep, and Alcohol Consumption: Examination Among Healthy Community-Residing Men and Women. Christian C. Garcia*, PhD; Ben Lewis, PhD; Sara Jo Nixon, PhD -Simultaneous intravenous cocaine+alcohol self-administration increases the motivation to seek cocaine in rats. Javier Mesa* and Lori Knackstedt, PhD
-Effects of Chronic Oral THC Self-Administration on Working Memory Across the Lifespan. Barry Setlow, PhD, Sabrina Zequeira*, Emely Gazarov*, Alara Guvenli*, Erin Berthold, Takato Hiranita, Lance McMahon, PhD, Abhisheak Sharma, Christopher McCurdy, PhD, Jennifer Bizon, PhD.
Underlines denote UF CARE members and * denote UF CARE affiliate members
|
|
|
|
Dr. Adriaan Bruijnzeel
|
|
UF CARE member Dr. Adriaan Bruijnzeel's paper "Sex differences in the elevated plus-maze test and large open field test in adult Wistar rats" has been listed as one of the top cited articles in the journal Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior.
As described by Dr. Bruijnzeel, "There is a continuing need for a better understanding of sex differences in animal models of psychiatric disorders. Previous studies had explored sex differences, however, most of these studies were underpowered to determine if there are sex differences in the elevated plus-maze test and large open field tests. Using advanced statistical and visualization methods, we determined which behaviors in each test and across the tests showed similarities, and found that females were less anxious than the males in the elevated plus-maze test and large open field test and there are sex differences for almost all behavioral parameters." Given the comorbidity of anxiety and substance use, this study may help shed light on sex differences in risk factors for substance use disorder.
Click below to read the article.
Congratulations, Dr. Bruijnzeel!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hugh Farrior
UF CARE affiliate member Hugh Farrior successfully defending his Master's Thesis "The Impact of Pain on Substance Use Treatment Dropout and Readmission". His committee members are UF CARE members Drs. Ben Lewis (committee chair), Sara Jo Nixon, and Jeff Boissoneault.
Congratulations, Hugh!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations to the new affiliate member!
We are excited to welcome a new graduate trainee an as affiliate member: Zachary Simon is working with Dr. Marcelo Febo in the Department of Neuroscience.If you are a UF CARE faculty member and are working with outstanding trainees in addiction science, click below to nominate them for membership.
|
|
|
|
|
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Ferguson, E., Lewis, B., Teitelbaum, S., Reisfield, G., Robinson, M., & Boissoneault, J. (2022). Longitudinal associations between pain and substance use disorder treatment outcomes. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 108892.
*Underline denotes UF CARE members and affiliates
|
|
|
|
Not yet a member?
If you are a UF Faculty member working in addiction science and would like to join UF CARE, click below for more information about becoming a full member of UF CARE.
|
|
Have news to share?
Have updates you'd like to be included in the next UF CARE newsletter? Click below to share news about you and/or your affiliate trainees!
|
We're Hiring!
The Department of Psychiatry is seeking a dynamic individual with demonstrated potential for cutting-edge clinical research and a strong publication record in the area of addiction science. Click below to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|