Office of the Scientific Director

Contact

Location:
Biomedical Research Center
251 Bayview Boulevard
Suite 200, Room 04A521
Baltimore, MD 21224

Phone: 443-740-2886

Email: anewman@intra.nida.nih.gov

Staff

Scientific Director: Amy Hauck Newman, Ph.D.

Administrative Assistant to the Scientific Director: Brenna Swider

Deputy Scientific Director: Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D.

Administrative Assistant to the Deputy Scientific Director: Max Dennis

Associate Director for Technology: Marisela Morales, Ph.D.

Associate Director for Diversity and Inclusion: Yeka Aponte, Ph.D.

Scientific Program Coordinator and NIDA Technology Development Coordinator: Janette Lebron, M.A.

Special Assistant to the Scientific Director: Wendy Marshall

Management Analyst: Deon Harvey, Ph.D.

Management Analyst: Megan Bollinger

Regulatory Affairs Officer: Leslie Premo, M.P.P., M.S.

Overview

The Office of the Scientific Director provides scientific, program, and administrative leadership for the Division of Intramural Research; promotes an environment conducive to productive research; and coordinates activities, establishes priorities, and analyzes and evaluates progress.

Office of Education and Career Development

Training programs at the NIDA Intramural Research Program are designed to train the next generation of leaders in basic and clinical drug abuse research.  NIDA provides research training opportunities for high school, undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, graduate, medical, and postdoctoral students.

Director: Christie Brannock, M.B.A.

Board of Scientific Counselors

The Boards of Scientific Counselors (BSCs) were established at the NIH to assist the Scientific Directors in evaluating the quality of the intramural research programs for which they are responsible. The NIDA BSC is composed of individuals who themselves have outstanding scientific credentials and who are committed to providing rigorous, objective reviews of the intramural research program of NIDA.

Animal Care and Use Program

The Animal Care and Use Program of the Office of the Director is responsible for oversight of animal care and use at the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and provides animal research support services to intramural investigators. The Program also provides advice, guidance, and consultative services to scientific and administrative staff of the Institute.

Director: Quentin Wilson, DVM, DACLAM

Designer Drug Research Unit

The main goal of the DDRU is to collect, analyze and disseminate the most up-to-date information about the pharmacology and toxicology of newly-emerging designer drugs of abuse, more formally known as new psychoactive substances (NPS).  NPS include synthetic drugs which mimic the effects of stimulants (e.g., “bath salts”), cannabinoids (e.g., “spice”), hallucinogens (e.g., “NBOMes”) and opioids (e.g., fentanyl analogs).  These substances are specifically engineered to circumvent drug control laws and are often misused as a means to avoid detection of drug use.

Director: Michael H. Baumann, Ph.D.

Medication Development Program

The Medication Development Program’s mission is to develop potential medications to treat substance use disorders from target identification and assay development through licensing NIDA/IRP technology. Our objective is to provide services, training, resources and advice to Investigators who are working on Medication Development projects and can benefit from our skills and expertise.

Director: Amy Newman, Ph.D., Deputy Director: Gianluigi Tanda, Ph.D., Associate Director for Clinical Research: Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D.

The Translational Analytical Core

The mission of the Translational Analytical Core (TAC) is to create a NIDA IRP-wide platform and mechanism for new, innovative translation and reverse translational collaborations, with a special emphasis on novel molecular approaches and analysis (e.g.: protein, lipids, small molecules). The TAC oversees and manages the bench laboratory located in the NIDA IRP BRC, 01B216.