Irving Institute Hosts Columbia University Opioid Brainstorm

​At a fall 2017 meeting of all Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program hubs in Washington, DC, the Director of NCATS, Dr. Chris Austin, spoke of future plans to use the CTSA network to address the opioid public health emergency. Specifically, Dr. Austin was approached by Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to collaborate with and leverage the CTSA network for broad NIH opioid research initiatives.

On December 21, 2017 the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research convened a group of Columbia University experts across the spectrum of opioid research ranging from the mechanisms of pain to community interventions, implementation research and education. Since the brainstorm session, we have had engagement from multiple schools and departments throughout Columbia University including Engineering, Social Work, Psychology, and Chemistry as well as Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI).

The Irving Institute continues to organize and support the community for opioid crisis-related research and implementation and released a summary white paper and appendices of presentations from the session and funding opportunities which it is sharing broadly across the Columbia and NYP communities. Visit our opioid key initiative page to learn more about our efforts in response to this crisis.