Planning the Way Forward for NIDA Prevention Science: Let’s Ask the Most Important Research Questions So We Get the Most Useful Answers

In August 2012, NIDA’s Prevention Research Branch (PRB) convened a strategic planning meeting on Prevention Science.  Eleven extramural investigators and three federal officials from NIH and SAMHSA joined PRB and other NIDA staff to discuss the state of Prevention Science and to generate new ideas for pursuing the research questions capable of yielding the most innovative outcomes in the next five to ten years.  This Roundtable brings together as Discussants representatives from the extramural prevention scientists who served on the panel, as well as NIDA staff, to describe the major themes and recommendations that emerged from this meeting.  One aim of the roundtable is to engage in a dialogue with the broader prevention science community regarding a strategic plan for the prevention research program at NIDA that builds on the successes and accomplishments of the field over the last 15 years.  Included among the major themes to be covered are: Type 1 research (translating basic science findings in neurobiology, genetics, etc. to inform the development and testing of prevention interventions); Type 2 translational research (dissemination and implementation research);  development and utilization of new and innovative technologies, including smartphones, apps, social networking and geospatial technologies; understanding mechanisms of change;  innovative research methodologies; targeting health care settings as platforms for delivering and studying prevention interventions; and the potential for advancing prevention science in the context of health reform.