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Education and Training

Training Opportunities

You've come to the right place if you're looking into becoming an addiction researcher but don't know where to start. Pitt offers a variety of addiction training opportunities that are designed to advance your knowledge of interdisciplinary research and network with other post-doctoral trainees through professional development opportunities.

  • SMART. The SMART T32 will provide training opportunities complementary to ongoing large translational research efforts at the University of Pittsburgh including the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms and Sleep (CARRS), the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD), and Bridging Connections in Addiction Research (BCAR). Postdoctoral trainees will engage with their primary research mentor, as well as a host of transdisciplinary faculty members across the University of Pittsburgh.
  • SOAR. Seminar on Addictions Research (SOAR) meets twice monthly. Seminars consist of trainee and faculty presentations meant to provide the opportunity to present planned, ongoing, or completed addictions research and receive feedback and discussion. Job talks may also be presented. SOAR attendees include DART T32 trainees, K awardees in addictions research across departments, and advanced graduate students (i.e., conducting dissertation work). Attendees also include junior faculty supported by the NIDA-funded K12 PittCATS program. The seminar creates a core cross-departmental addictions training community that builds knowledge and networking pertinent to addictions research and supports individual training and career development goals pertinent to addiction-focused careers. 
  • PittCATS (K12). University of Pittsburgh Collaboration in Addiction Training Scholars (PittCATS) Program (K12). PittCATS K12 provides training to guide scholars towards independent careers in clinical and translational research. Through the K12 Program, scholars are given 75% protected time and $50,000 in researcher funds to achieve its goal of preparing highly qualified junior faculty Scholars for independent careers in substance use and substance use disorders (SUD) research, with a focus on the care of patients with substance use and SUD in general medical settings.
  • Wilson Scholars. The Wilson Scholars in Addiction Medicine Research Award supports developing physicians in the field of addiction medicine to address the overwhelming crisis of addiction and its terrible toll on human life and the health care system. The Wilson Scholars Award supports medical students between their first and second years who are interested in learning more about the field of addiction medicine. By the end of the fellowship, students will complete a project with an addiction medicine faculty member from the University of Pittsburgh and travel to Pittsburgh for an addiction medicine shadowing experience.

Seminars

BCAR hosts a seminar from 12:00pm - 1:00pm on the second Wednesday of the month (September - April). Seminars highlight interdisciplinary research projects across the University of Pittsburgh. Click here to learn more about BCAR seminars. If you are interested in presenting at a BCAR seminar, please contact us!

Resources

Funding Announcement Listservs and Resources
Journals and Websites

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Agencies and Organizations