PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to build and sustain the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose at Rhode Island Hospital and affiliated research institutions. The motivation for this effort lies in the tremendous need for greater scientific understanding of the mechanisms underpinning vulnerability to opioid use disorder and a need for more effective interventions to treat and prevent opioid misuse and overdose. We will approach these challenges through ongoing, cooperative partnership among senior scientists and early career investigators across several complementary disciplines. We propose a unique and innovative mentoring strategy that, in addition to primary project advising, will provide junior faculty members with specialized mentorship and services that empowers investigators to influence policy and practice through their research. Moreover, we will build four interdisciplinary cores that will provide infrastructure, consultation, and additional support services to ensure the successful career development of our Project Leaders. The long-term goal of the Center is to develop and sustain a critical mass of investigators specializing in opioids and overdose that benefits affected populations and enhances the competitiveness of affiliated investigators. The objective of this proposal is to establish and build the COBRE Center and to support the research activities of junior Project Leaders to ensure their transition to R01-funded scientists. There are two Specific Aims—one related to the establishment of a new disease-specific research center, and one encompassing four Research Projects that are linked by the themes of opioids and overdose. Aim 1: Establish the cores needed to develop and sustain a thematic multidisciplinary center of research excellence on opioids and overdose. Four cores will be created to achieve this aim: an Administrative Core, a Data and Research Methods (DRM) Core, a Translational and Transformative (T2) Core, and a Special Populations (SP) Core. Aim 2: Support the selection, mentorship, and career development of early career faculty Project Leaders. The four initial research projects are: Project 1: (Beaudoin) “Informed opioid prescribing for acute musculoskeletal pain after motor vehicle collision: A support tool for assessing risks and benefits of analgesic medications before prescribing (STAAMP),” Project 2: (Claborn) “Prevention of Opioid Overdose following Incarceration: Leveraging Mobile Health Technology,” Project 3: (Becker) “Contingency Management in Combination with MAT for Opioid Use Disorders,” and Project 4: (Czynski) “Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS): Fetus to First Years.” The proposed center will bring together an interdisciplinary group of accomplished senior scientists, promising junior investigators, and distinguished advisors and collaborators to work closely together to establish a center of excellence in an area of clinical research that is of critical public health importance.

PROJECT NARRATIVE The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose will establish the cores needed to develop and sustain a vibrant interdisciplinary center of research excellence on opioids and overdose. The COBRE will also support the selection, mentorship, and career development of an initial cohort of junior faculty Project Leaders. The proposed center will bring together an interdisciplinary group of accomplished senior scientists, promising junior investigators, and distinguished advisors and collaborators to work closely together to establish a center of excellence in an area of clinical research that is of critical public health importance.