Yale Researcher Receives Over $3 Million in Grants for Substance Abuse Research

Yale School of Medicine researcher David A. Fiellin, M.D., associate professor of medicine, has received over $3 million in grants from The National Institutes of Health and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance his research on substance abuse.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded Fiellin $2.9 million over five years to support the study “Counseling for Primary Care Office-Based Buprenorphine.” His five-year study will evaluate whether on-site cognitive behavioral therapy drug counseling coupled with routine physician counseling will lead to increased adherence to buprenorphine treatment and reduced illicit drug use.

“The results of this study will help define the role of professional evidence-based drug counseling in the effort to expand access to treatment with buprenorphine,” said Fiellin.

Fiellin also received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to investigate state Medicaid and public funding for buprenorphine treatment.

Fiellin will receive the Nyswander-Dole Award from the American Association of the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) in April 2006. The Nyswander-Dole Award recognizes extraordinary work and service in the field of opioid treatment.

AATOD was founded in 1984 to enhance the quality of patient care in treatment programs by promoting the growth and development of comprehensive methadone treatment services throughout the United States.

Fiellin’s work is focused on the recognition and treatment of substance abuse disorders in office-based, primary care and HIV specialty settings. He has studied primary care topioid agonist treatment, quality of care for patients with alcohol problems and prognostic factors in alcohol withdrawal syndrome. His studies examine strategies for primary care and HIV specialty-based opioid agonist treatment with buprenorphine.