Why does a person choose to use an addictive substance? What are the consequences of their decisions? And how, if necessary, can researchers intervene?
These are some of the questions at the heart of Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences Alexander Sokolovsky’s research in polysubstance use within Brown’s Center for Addiction and Disease Risk Exacerbation. The center, known as CADRE, was established within the School of Public Health as a research hub focused on substance use and chronic disease manifestations in vulnerable populations. Now, thanks to a renewed federal grant of $12.3 million, CADRE projects which were in development including Sokolovsky’s can commence.
CADRE, founded in 2019 as a National Institute of Health-recognized Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, is part of a federally funded effort seeking to improve Rhode Island’s research infrastructure.
When it comes to the development of research facilities, not all states are created equal. According to Sokolovsky, COBRE’s Institutional Development Awards are a “mechanism designed by the NIH for states that have lower funding or lower infrastructure for research” to help develop frameworks and offer services to scientists seeking to work in the state.
These NIH-recognized centers around the country unroll grants in three five-year phases, with the goal of creating a state-of-the-art, self-sustaining research facility for the benefit of the whole state.
According to Peter Monti, one of the leads of CADRE and a distinguished professor of alcohol and addiction studies at SPH, the success of such grants is partially measured by the number of scientists who then secure other sources of funding.
“Six out of the seven early-career scientists that we worked with are now funded by,” their own independent grant, Monti said, attributing CADRE’s “fantastic success rate” as part of the reason for the funding’s renewal.
According to Monti, the grant’s use in SPH affords researchers the “opportunity not only to do basic science research to answer questions about obesity, smoking and alcohol use, for example, but also to implement change on a broad scale for the health of individuals.” Monti also emphasized the importance placed on community engagement in all CADRE projects.
Sokolovsky’s research, which initially focused on individual substances, studies polysubstance use and the numerous, diverse factors that might drive people to make decisions about substance use and misuse. More specifically, his team will use day-by-day evaluations and passive biosensors to look at the impact of cannabis use on depression.
The goal for CADRE is to continue to expand research capabilities and for Phase 3 to begin around 2029, Monti said. COBRE Phase 3 grants serve to strengthen research facilities for longitudinal productivity beyond NIH funding. His hope is for the infrastructure to live on beyond the grant itself and to be a resource for Brown and Rhode Island researchers for years to come.
While all CADRE projects are different, Sokolovsky said, “one of our shared goals is to create a repository of shared measures so that we can answer bigger questions that span substances, that span populations, that try to address bigger issues.”
When studying substance use and how it influences chronic disease, Monti explained, “the nature of the problems that we’re dealing with really require collaboration and understanding from lots of different perspectives.”
Ranjana “Jaanu” Ramesh is a Bruno Brief-er, photographer and Senior Staff Writer covering science & research. She loves service, empathetic medicine and working with kids. When not writing or studying comp neuro, Jaanu is outside, reading, skiing, or observing Providence wildlife (ie: squirrels).
