Program Description and Target Audience

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded Research in Addiction Medicine Scholars (RAMS) Program aims to develop skills in addiction research among physicians from accredited Addiction Medicine and Addiction Psychiatry fellowship programs across North America.

The RAMS Program is intended to make important contributions to the development of the next generation of addiction physician researchers in order to provide better care for patients with and at risk for substance use disorders.

Target Audience:

Applicants must be Addiction Medicine or Addiction Psychiatry fellows in a 1- or 2-year program (or equivalent) with a research component.  They will be able to apply and attend the Boston and CPDD retreats with an accompanying faculty mentor.

Program Objectives:

1) To provide clinical research training over two years to 5 addiction subspecialty physicians interested in addiction research, selected annually.

2) To augment institutional mentoring of addiction subspecialty physicians on research projects and career trajectories by nationally recognized researchers (RAMS National Advisory Committee [NAC]) over a 2-year period.

3) To facilitate the development of a robust research training infrastructure as part of an Addiction Medicine or Addiction Psychiatry fellowship by providing training to RAM Scholars’ institutional mentors.

4) To provide leadership training for addiction subspecialty physicians that will be woven into the existing 2-year curriculum by combining didactic sessions with experiential learning at the annual retreats and through dedicated webinars.

5) To build a network of physicians trained in Addiction Medicine research by establishing a RAMS alumni network and providing guidance on research career development grant award applications (e.g., NIDA K awards).