Welcome to the UC College of Medicine
Center for Addiction Research (CAR)
As a national leader in addiction research, UC COM has expanded its scope by establishing the Center for Addiction Research (CAR), including investigators working on opioid, stimulant, cannabis, and alcohol use disorders.
Our investigators are known as leaders in addiction research for their work on multi-center cooperative research programs including the Ohio Valley Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network and the Healing Communities Study. The CAR encourages collaborations that are cross-disciplinary
and span the translational science spectrum to accelerate scientific progress.
Three main areas of Addiction Research
- Addiction treatment development and testing
- Perinatal addiction and developmental consequences
- Population health and health services
Research Resources:
The University of Cincinnati offers a number of research resources, with their Core Facilities.
CAR Director
Dr. T. John Winhusen is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati where he serves as the Vice Chair for Addiction Sciences and the Donald C. Harrison Endowed Chair in Medicine. Dr. Winhusen has conducted National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA)-funded research for the past 20 years devoted to improving the treatment of substance use disorders including cocaine, tobacco, and opioid use disorders. He is the PI for the Ohio Valley Node of NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and is
one of the foremost experts in conducting multi-site addiction clinical trials, having been the national PI for six NIDA CTN-funded multi-site clinical trials. He is currently serving as the Co-PI for the Ohio Healing Communities Study
(HCS), which will evaluate the impact of implementing evidence-based interventions on opioid overdose deaths in 19 Ohio counties.
Center for Addiction Research Leadership
From left to right: Dr. Stephanie Merhar, Perinatal Addiction/Developmental Consequences core lead, Dr. Andrew Norman, Addiction Treatment Development and Testing core lead, Dr. Shauna Acquavita and Dr. Caroline Freiermuth, Population Health and Health
Services core co-leaders, and Dr. T. John Winhusen, CAR Director.
CAR Vision, Mission and Principles
CAR Vision
To be an international leader in research to prevent addiction and addiction-related consequences and to improve outcomes for individuals struggling with addiction, their families, and their communities.
CAR Mission
To accelerate scientific progress in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders and their consequences by fostering research collaborations across:
- UC departments, colleges, and centers including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
- Local, regional, and state community and governmental partners
- Other academic institutions and industry
The CAR includes three research concentrations (cores):
The mission of the Addiction Treatment development and Testing (ATT) Core is to develop and test interventions to address gaps in evidence-based treatment and to optimize outcomes for individuals struggling with addiction.
The mission of the Perinatal Addiction/Developmental-consequences (PAD) Core includes evaluating risk factors for the development of adverse developmental and behavioral outcomes in children with intrauterine substance exposure and identifying optimal approaches to treating: a) pregnant women with substance use disorder; and b) newborns with intrauterine substance exposure.
The mission of the Population Health and Health Services (PHHS) Core is to conduct the research necessary to place addiction in context, prevent the condition when possible, and limit the consequences of addiction when it does occur. Core investigators multidisciplinary and highly synergistic interests range from surveillance and epidemiology, primary and secondary prevention intervention, operations and implementation, and outcomes assessment. These categories apply both to addiction itself and related co-morbidities.
CAR Principles
- Collaboration - We encourage productive collaborations that are inclusive of investigators from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
- Accountability - We hold ourselves accountable for conducting rigorous research that adheres to the principles of health equity and social justice.
- Respect – We respect, and give credit for, contributions by our collaborators and our research participants.
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