Research

The faculty members have carried out several research projects funded by national and internationally recognized agencies like Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Finance, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Science and Technology (DST), WHO (India), WHO (Geneva), and United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The centre has several sophisticated equipments to carry out tests on health damage and detection of drugs of abuse in body fluids, pre clinical laboratory experiments and behavioural pharmacology on drugs of abuse among animals. Some of the research projects have resulted in publications by the centre.

Some of the important research projects are listed below.

Projects

Project sponsored by United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Regional Office for South Asia (UNODC, ROSA) and United Nations Inter regional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)

·        Global study on Illegal Drug Markets-A Multi-centred Project

Project sponsored by UNODC and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India
 

·        National Survey on Extent, Pattern and Trends of Drug abuse in India
 

 Projects sponsored by UNODC ROSA
 

·        Oral Substitution Treatment with buprenorphine. (November 2005 – ongoing)

·        Collaborative study of creation of a database on drug abuse and HIV/AIDS (December 2003– ongoing)

Projects sponsored by WHO (Geneva):
 

·          Alcohol policy in developing countries
 

·          Development and validation of ASSIST
 

·          Development of methodology to study determinants of sexual behaviour among alcohol users in diverse cultural settings
 

·          Alcohol and Sexual behaviours across cultures: A Literature review from 7 countries
 

·          Identification and Management of Substance Use disorders in Primary Care Settings using ASSIST
 

·          International Randomised Controlled Trial of Brief Intervention in Substance Use Disorders

Projects sponsored by WHO (India) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India:
 

·          A survey of prevalence of drug dependence and co-morbidity in the general population of Thrissur

·          Evaluation of government de-addiction centres in the country

·          Advanced Statistical Analysis of National Survey data and AIIMS Survey data on drug abuse using new methodologies without the addition of new data

·          Tobacco as a gateway drug and the prevalence of substance use behavioural disorders including tobacco in Metropolis Delhi

·          Rapid Assessment Survey Project on Alcohol, Tobacco and other substances in the Districts of Darjeeling, Kohima, Aizwal

·          Rapid Assessment Survey Project on Alcohol, Tobacco and other substances in the districts of North Goa, Jodhpur, Madras

·          Buprenorphine maintenance programme in Kohima district

·          Identification and Management of Alcohol Use Related Disorders in two Districts Hospital in Goa

·        Workshop on strengthening of De-addiction centers

·        Workshop on streamlining of Opium registry in India

·        Workshop on managing alcohol use in primary care settings in India
 

Project sponsored by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India

·        Community based pilot project: Multi-centred Project at Mandsaur (MP), Barabanki (UP) and Imphal (Manipur)
 

Project sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India

·        Health Status of Workers at Government Opium and Alkaloid Factory, Ghazipur, U.P.
 

Project sponsored by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India:

·        Opioids in autonomic control: Effect of physical training.
 

Projects sponsored by Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India:

·          Role of dopamine in experimentally induced nicotine tolerant rate

·          Role of Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitors in Modifying Nicotine Withdrawals in Rats
 

Project sponsored by other agencies:

·          Post-marketing Surveillance of Higher Strength (0.4 & 2.0mg) Buprenorphine

·          Post Marketing Surveillance of Addnok-N (combination of Buprenorphine and Naloxone), sponsored by Rusan Pharma, June 2006

·          Genetic basis of Alcohol Induced Pancreatic Disorders. with Dept of Gastroentrology, AIIMS, funded by ICMR

·          Phase – 2 clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ESD-27 in patients of chronic primary insomnia. Interdepartmental project with Dept. of Neurology (Neurophysiology Section), Funded by Himalaya Drug Company.

·          Distribution of alleles at the human ALDH2 and ADH2 Loci in North Indian subjects

·          Size estimation of IDU at 300 sites in India, in collaboration with SPYM, New Delhi, funded by DFID (UK)

·          Size estimation of IDU at Punjab and Haryana, in collaboration with SPYM, New Delhi, funded by UNAIDS

Project sponsored by AIIMS:
 

·          Concurrent and discriminant validity of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in Urban Community and De-addiction centre Sample.

·          Blocking of Enhanced Sensitivity to Behavioural Effects of naloxone Induced by Narcotic Agonists in Rats

·          Effects of the NMDA Receptor Antagonist (Ketamine) to the Operant Decrement produced by naloxone in Morphine-treated Rats

·        Brief Intervention in Alcohol Use: A community based comparative study

Others: