The Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, known as CDAP, is one of the nation’s premier academic centers for the study and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse. In 2006, U.S. News and World Report recognized CDAP as being the 9th best drug and alcohol abuse academic program in the United States. The Center is based in the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The Center provides the latest in effective treatment for addiction, while working to advance current knowledge about the treatment of substance abuse through basic and clinical research. It also serves as a state-of-the-art training center for future addictions scientists and clinicians. CDAP is directed by Dr. Raymond F. Anton and staffed by highly trained addiction professionals, including nationally and internationally known researchers and clinicians. The center occupies 33,000 square feet of dedicated space for research, education, and clinical treatment in the IOP. The Center administers a comprehensive and integrated clinical and basic laboratory research program. Ongoing educational and research colloquia involve both clinical and basic scientists. CDAP occupies the entire fourth floor of the North Tower of the IOP, and has offices and/or basic science laboratories on the second, third, and fifth floors. Included on the fourth floor is a 23-bed, inpatient facility. CDAP also has an outpatient clinic located at the Leinbach Clinic in West Ashley. The outpatient clinic provides treatment for patients suffering from addiction to alcohol or other drugs. CDAP opened to the public on March 29, 1995. Construction funds were supplied by a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and over $4.0 million in matching funds from revenue-generating bonds from the State of South Carolina. CDAP is really two separate but related organizations, Clinical and Research. 1. Clinical As a clinical program, CDAP is one of the nation's premier facilities for the treatment of addictions resulting from alcohol and other drugs of abuse. CDAP boasts of an outstanding staff, including psychiatrists who are among the best doctors in the country in the treatment of addictions. All treating physicians in CDAP have passed their Addiction Medicine specialty boards as well as their general psychiatry/neurology boards. In addition to outstanding physicians, CDAP's clinical programs are staffed by other highly educated professionals, including clinical psychologists, social workers, and addiction counselors, all with at least a master's degree. Further, all of these individuals have received specialized training or certification in the addiction field. CDAP staff have specialized training to assess and treat co-existing psychological problems in the context of substance abuse treatment. This emphasis on staff training and education, including passing national specialty exams in Addiction Medicine, is one of the unique features of CDAP which sets it apart from most other treatment facilities. 2. Research CDAP, as a research organization, has had a long history of involvement in research to advance knowledge in substance use disorders. Some of the most well-known and respected leaders in the field of alcohol and chemical dependency research are conducting studies at CDAP. Examples of some of the interdisciplinary topics under study are cravings for alcohol or cocaine, treatment of withdrawal symptoms, characterization of the alcohol withdrawal phenomenon, alcohol and social anxiety, and mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorders which coexist with substance use. CDAP researchers work on a number of research projects or grants funded by the Federal government, primarily the National Institutes of Health, and to a much lesser extent, foundation or private enterprises (e.g., pharmaceutical companies). Each project is headed by a faculty leader, commonly called a Principal Investigator (P.I.). Each project typically has a Co-investigator, supervisory Research Specialist, and other Research Specialists involved in many aspects of conducting the research outlined in the aims of the project. CDAP has a long history of involvement in research to advance knowledge in substance abuse disorders. Interdisciplinary topics under study include: - Cravings for alcohol or cocaine
- Treatment of withdrawal symptoms
- Relapse prevention using new medications
- Treatment of co-existing psychiatric disorders (social anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder) and substance abuse
- New medications for smoking and nicotine dependence
- Maintaining abstinence from cocaine
- Cellular and animal research on how abused substances affect the brain
- Biological markers of heavy alcohol use
In addition, CDAP has enhanced its brain neuroimaging infrastructure and initiated collaborative efforts in the study of genetics and alcoholism. Interdisciplinary collaborations on substance abuse research are ongoing among faculty at CDAP and those in the Department of Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology and the Department of Biometry and Epidemiology. In addition to its research on campus, CDAP collaborates with colleagues at the best academic institutions around the country in such projects as the multi-site NIAAA-supported COMBINE study, investigating the efficacy of combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral counseling. The cornerstone of CDAP is the Charleston Alcohol Research Center (ARC). Directed by Dr. Carrie Randall and funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, the ARC is one of a small group of centers nationwide that constitutes the National Alcohol Research Centers Program. The Center’s focus is on pharmacotherapy and comorbidity for alcohol abuse and alcoholism. The Center's research projects focus on alcohol treatment and treatment implications. The treatment research theme has its foundation in advances achieved by complementing clinical research with basic research in behavioral science. There are five interdisciplinary research components and three core components within the Charleston Alcohol Research Center. For more information on the Alcohol Research Center, visit the website at http://www.musc.edu/arc. In addition, CDAP has enhanced its brain neuroimaging infrastructure and initiated collaborative efforts in the study of genetics and alcoholism. Interdisciplinary collaborations on substance abuse research are ongoing among faculty at CDAP and those in the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, Department of Radiology and the Department of Biometry and Epidemiology. In addition to its research on campus, CDAP collaborates with colleagues at the best academic institutions around the country in such projects as the multi-site NIAAA-supported COMBINE STUDY, investigating the efficacy of combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral counseling. CDAP also holds NIH sponsored training grants from both NIDA (drug abuse) and NIAAA (alcohol) that offer individuals advanced training in research related to addiction. Postdoctoral research training in alcohol abuse has been ongoing since 1987 when an Institutional Training grant from NIAAA was awarded. A second training grant funded by NIDA was awarded in 1991. Dr. John Woodward serves as the Director of the NIAAA Training Grant and Dr. Jacqueline McGinty serves as the Director of the NIDA training grant. The goal of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Postdoctoral Research Fellowships is to produce scientists knowledgeable in the field of substance abuse to conduct independent substance abuse research. The fellowships use a multidisciplinary mentor-apprenticeship model and training is complemented by seminars on substance abuse, the neurosciences, grant writing, statistics, ethics, and exposure to treatment strategies. | |
