The Ohio Valley Node of the Clinical Trials Network (CTN-0153)

Project Summary (Abstract): This study is part of the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative to speed scientific solutions to the national opioid public health crisis. The NIH HEAL Initiative bolsters research across NIH to improve treatment for opioid misuse and addiction. Since its establishment in 2000, the Ohio Valley Node (OVN) has been one of the most productive of NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network (CTN) nodes, both in leading and participating in multi-site trials. The OVN includes successful partnerships with six healthcare systems, three practice-based research/pharmacy networks, and eight addiction specialty/ infectious disease programs. These collaborating sites span a ten-state region including five of the top ten states for drug overdose mortality (WV, TN, KY, OH, IN). The OVN includes Midwestern, Appalachian, Upper South, and Native American components, which broadens the geographical and cultural scope of the CTN. The OVN Research Core is the driving force of the OVN and is led by Dr. Winhusen, one of the foremost experts in conducting multi-site addiction clinical trials in clinical practice settings. The OVN investigators have extensive expertise in substance use disorders (Winhusen, Brown, Burlew, Montgomery, Lofwall, Walsh), research with groups facing barriers to care (Brown, Burlew, Montgomery, Warne) and data science (Xu). The six members of the OVN research-implementation team bring > 75 years of combined experience conducting CTN clinical trials. If funded, our overall goal would be to utilize the wealth of experience and expertise gained over the past 24 years to conduct the research needed to address public health care crises, including the opioid use epidemic and the alarming increase in stimulant use. To this end, we would work with our healthcare partners to engage a broad range of patients and service systems in areas highly impacted by substance use in CTN research. We would also contribute our expertise in conducting efficacy, effectiveness, and implementation trials testing the full range of interventions, from medications to behavioral interventions and health service innovations, for opioid, stimulant, and cannabis use disorders. Moreover, we would contribute our expertise in developing the evidence base for treating substance use disorders in populations facing barriers to care. In sum, we seek to continue providing scientific leadership, particularly on studies that could meaningfully impact clinical practice, and to effectively collaborate with a variety of professionals including treatment providers, investigators from a variety of institutions, and staff of the Center for CTN (CCTN), clinical coordinating center (CCC) and data and statistics center (DSC) in support of the CTN mission.