by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
UNM research scientist Bill Miller said scientists at the University often have vast research on addiction, but they are confined within their department.
Miller was part of a two-day summit at UNM on Tuesday focusing on collaborative research in addiction. The summit was hosted by UNM's Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addiction.
Miller said the summit is a way of communicating with researchers from other departments.
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"This is to get out of our silos and work together," Miller said.
UNM has an international reputation for addiction research, he said, and the summit is a way to improve that research.
The summit was held for collaboration on any addiction, including pornography, gambling, alcohol and drugs.
Gambling addiction is becoming a big issue in New Mexico, said Michael Dougher, interim director of CASAA.
"The state is becoming very interested," Dougher said. "There are important questions to ask."
There aren't any national institutes researching gambling addiction, he said. Researchers want to know if alcohol plays a role in a gambling addiction, he said.
It is impossible to get answers for questions about addiction if departments don't collaborate together in research, Miller said.
Forty-three researchers from various departments were part of the collaboration. The researchers were able to participate in nine table conversations of their choosing.
One of the tables focused on substance abuse in health care.
Miller said people often don't want to seek health care that specializes in addiction and would rather see a family doctor. The researchers at the table discussed what family physicians could do to help people with their addiction, he said.
Miller said an addiction specialist should have close communication with family physicians.
UNM has hosted summits with international researchers, but it was the first time a summit was held for University departments, Miller said.
Great ideas were derived from the summit, Dougher said.
"Now we just got to get them done," he said.
If the summit were never held, those ideas would never have been brought to the attention of large groups of people, he said.
UNM researcher Dan Savage was the moderator for a table discussion about neuroscience. Savage said researchers from different departments were a part of the conversation.
The table conversations helped formulate views from different sides of the spectrum, he said.
Today at the summit, researchers will be talking about the obstacles of doing collaborative research. It will also focus on the logistics of grant writing.
The next step after the summit is to follow up with the ideas and see if anything can be changed in collaborative research at UNM, Dougher said.
There is no certainty that a summit will be held next year. Dougher said it all depends on the outcome of this year's summit.
