January 13, 2017

ISMART and IHART2

In late fall 2016, IWRI veteran and Indigenous Substance Abuse, Medicines, and Addictions Research Training (ISMART) Program Director Anastasia Ramey assumed another position with the UW School of Social Work. She is now Program Coordinator with the Northwest Leaders in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Program. The mantle of ISMART Director has been assumed by Meg Meneghel MacDonald. Dr. MacDonald will continue to serve as Project Director with the Indigenous HIV/AIDS Research Training Program 2, Lauhoe (IHART2).

Both IHART2 and ISMART will be enrolling new fellows early in 2017 for the upcoming Fellowship year. IHART2 fellowships are open to PhDs and MDs beginning with Postdoctoral researchers and up to mid-level scholars. The training period is 24 months long, and fellows receive up to $20,000 to conduct a pilot research program around HIV/AIDS and co-morbid factors in indigenous communities. The ISMART program is a structured, mentored research training and career development program for Indigenous and underrepresented minority scholars.

The ISMART program aims to contribute to efforts to reduce substance abuse-related health disparities in Indigenous communities by supporting the development of historically underrepresented scholars with a commitment to addressing substance abuse and addiction, health, and mental health disparities in Indigenous communities. The program offers seed funding to fellows to support their research and career development and the fellows are also paired with a mentor who supports their interest in substance abuse and addictions-focused research. ISMART is open to graduate students with an interest in health research.
For more information, contact Meg MacDonald, PhD, at mmacdo@uw.edu.