CELLULAR BIOLOGY OF ADDICTION
August 9 - 15, 2005
Application Deadline: April 30, 2005

Instructors:
Bertha Madras, Harvard Medical School
Mark Von Zastrow, University of California, San Francisco

Drug addiction is the most costly neuropsychiatric disorder faced by our nation. Acute and repeated exposure to drugs produces neuroadaption and long-term memory of the experience, but the cellular and molecular processes involved are only partially understood. The primary objective of the proposed workshop is to provide an intense dialogue of the fundamentals, state-of-the-art advances and major gaps in the cell and molecular biology of drug addiction.Targeted to new or experienced investigators, the workshop will combine formal presentations and informal discussions to convey the merits and excitement of cellular and molecular approaches to drug addiction research. With the advent of genomics and proteomics, an extraordinary opportunity now exists to develop comprehensive models of neuroadaptative processes fundamental to addiction, withdrawal, craving, and relapse to drug use and to brain function, in general. A range of disciplines and topics will be represented, including noninvasive brain imaging to identify drug targets and adaptive processes; neuroadaptative processes at the molecular and cellular level, neural networks and their modulation, the relevance of genotype to susceptibility and drug response; tolerance and adaptation at the cellular level and approaches to exploiting the daunting volume generated by neuroinformatics. This workshop will provide an integrated view of current and novel research on neuroadaptive responses to addiction, foster discussion on collaboration and integration, provide critical information needed to construct a model of addiction as a disease and novel molecular targets for biological treatments. Beyond the plane of scientific endeavor, the information is vital for formulating public policy and for enlightening the public on the neurobiological consequences of drug use and addiction. The proposed workshop is designed to generate interest in this level of analysis, open conduits for collaborations and present novel routes to investigating the neurobiology of addictive drugs.

Speakers in the 2005 course:
George Augustine, Duke University Medical Center
Randy Blakely, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Teresa Branchek, Lundbeck Research America
Emery Brown, Massachusetts General Hospital
Marc Caron, Duke University Medical Center
Robert Edwards, University of California, San Francisco
Chris Evans, University of California, Los Angeles
Gordon Fishell, The Skirball Institute, NYU medical center
Joel Gelernter, Yale University School of Medicine
David Goldman, NIAAA/LNG
Peter Kalivas, Medical University of South Carolina
Mary Jean Kreek, Rockefeller University
Angus Nairn, Yale University School of Medicine
Eric Nestler, UT Southwestern at Dallas
Daniele Piomelli, University of California, Irvine
Michael Rosenfeld, University of California, San Diego
George Uhl, NIDA
Renping Zhou, Rutgers University College of Pharmacy

The course will be held at the Laboratory’s Banbury Conference Center located on the north shore of Long Island. All participants stay within walking distance of the Center, close to tennis court, pool and private beach.

This course is supported with funds provided by the National Institute of Drug Abuse

Cost (including board and lodging): $1,700
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