Postdoctoral Training Program

Our Postdoctoral Training Program aims to produce the next generation of addiction scholars focused on innovative research, advanced dissemination and implementation strategies, and public education.  Supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA; 5T32AA007459-35) since 1986 and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA; 5T32DA016184-18) since 2003, the program typically has 12 postdoctoral fellows in residence.

Administered through the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) – an internationally recognized home for leading addiction research - the fellowship emphasizes that intervention should be guided by sophisticated and fully developed theory that considers biological, social, and cultural influences and contexts. We also stress the importance of integrating theory, research, and the latest technologies to advance prevention and intervention strategies across development.

Distinctive features of our program include its interdisciplinary nature, focus on training in early intervention and treatment along a continuum with attention to crucial health disparities, and emphasis on highly individualized opportunities to develop competitive grant applications and by doing so, contribute new knowledge to the base of alcohol- and other substance-related dysfunction and treatment.

The goals of our training program are:

1. To recruit a diverse group of early-career behavioral, medical, and social scientists, as well as health care professionals who want to conduct high quality research in the early intervention and treatment of alcohol and other drug problems
2. To provide fellows with rigorous interdisciplinary training in addiction science and grant writing through a combination of didactic and practical training and individualized mentorship from leading researchers and clinical scientists
3. To ensure fellows reach their own individual scientific career objectives by tailoring training opportunities to their unique goals and needs  

While at CAAS, fellows receive mentorship from expert mentors who are members of the Brown community; develop skills in research project development; author and co-author scholarly publications; engage in hands-on research learning  from experienced investigators; including submission of their own grant research proposals; participate in interdisciplinary curricula in such fields as social work, public health, psychiatry, biostatistics, genetics, and economics; and attend national addiction, social work, and public health conferences as learners and presenters.

Training faculty are drawn from CAAS and various departments and teaching hospitals affiliated with Brown University. They are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competencies in conducting research related to alcohol and substance abuse and their enthusiasm for mentoring early career scientists.