FEB/MAR 2008
Volume 14 - No. 1
Book Review: The Cigarette Century
Book Review: The Science of Real-Time Data Capture
Book Review: Public Health Advocacy and Tobacco Control: Making Smoking History
Research Activities at a Featured Program: Twin and Family Research
SRNT Newsletter
Advancing Science & Health
February/March 2008, Volume 14, Number 1
SRNT’S 14th Annual Scientific Meeting
The 14th Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco was held in Portland, Oregon, USA, at the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower from February 27- March 1, 2008. A total of 912 registrants from numerous countries attended the meeting, making this the largest North American meeting of SRNT to date!
On February 27th, one full-day pre-conference satellite meeting was held entitled “The 4th Annual Symposium for Research to Inform Tobacco Control. This pre-conference meeting was presented by a partnership of Canadian researchers, policymakers and funders and represents an ongoing effort to support the tobacco control research community and practice in Canada. On February 27, two half-day pre-conference meetings were held. The first half-day meeting was entitled “The Strategic Dialogue on Tobacco Harm Reduction: A Vision and Blueprint for Action.” This meeting involved a discussion of the recommendations derived from key tobacco control researchers and policy makers to develop a strategic blueprint for research, policy, and communications to reduce the harm from tobacco. The second half-day meeting was entitled “Global Tobacco Control Research Funding: Opportunities and Priorities”. This meeting focused on the need for global tobacco control research and existing opportunities for funding.
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Dr. Martin Jarvis accepting the John Slade Award |
Later that evening, the formal scientific program began with the opening remarks and awards ceremony. SRNT President Ray Niaura welcomed attendees and thanked the many people involved in planning the meeting. Neal Benowitz, Chair of the Awards Committee then presided over the award presentations. Three SRNT awards were then presented. The John Slade Award which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to public health and tobacco control through service-based public policy and public advocacy was given to Martin Jarvis. (introduction by Robert West). The Russell-Jarvik Young Investigator Award which honors scientists early in their careers who have made extraordinary contributions to nicotine and tobacco research was given to Jonathan Winickoff (introduction by Nancy Rigotti). Lastly, the Doll-Wynder Award which honors scientists who have made groundbreaking advances in public health, public policy or epidemiological research was given to David Burns (introduction by Donald Shopland). In honor of his award, Dr. Burns then addressed the attendees with a presentation entitled “Cigarette Smoking: Is the Problem Hardening, Softening or Imploding?” A reception with music, food and drinks followed Dr. Burn’s address to celebrate the award winners and the start of the 14th annual meeting.
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Neal Benowitz delivering the keynote lecture |
One of several highlights of the meeting was the plenary addresses by the 2008 Keynote and Theme lecturers. On Thursday morning, Rachel Tyndale introduced the Keynote Speaker, Neal Benowitz. Dr. Benowitz, Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, delivered the Keynote Address, entitled “Nicotine Addiction: Pharmacology, Clinical Research and Public Policy.” Later that afternoon, Timothy Baker, Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, delivered the Clinical Theme lecture entitled “Nicotine Dependence: Distilling the Phenotype.” On Friday morning, Marina Picciotto, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurobiology and Pharmacology at Yale University, delivered the Preclinical Theme Lecture entitled “Of Mice and Men: How can Rodent Studies Inform our Understanding of Human Smoking?” Finally, Friday afternoon, Martin Jarvis, Professor Emeritus of Health Psychology at University College, London, delivered the Public Health/Epidemiology Theme lecture entitled “Perspectives on the Behavioral Epidemiology of Nicotine Dependence.” In addition, Stanton Glantz, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco delivered the first Emerging Policy Theme lecture entitled “Innovative Approaches to Harm Reduction.”
The Program Committee reviewed twenty-three symposia submissions, and those considered the timeliest, of the highest quality, and most integrative across the diverse interests among SRNT members were included in the scientific program. The titles of those symposia presented at the meeting were as follows:
1. Translating Nicotinic Effects on Cognition: From Basic Science to Clinical Populations and Back Again
2. Defining the Role of Nicotinic Receptors in the Development of Nicotine Dependence
3. Integrating Laboratory, Field, and Observational Methods to Examine the Social-Emotional Contexts of Adolescent Smoking
4. Mechanisms of Change in Smoking Cessation Treatment
5. Reducing Nicotine in Tobacco Products: A Feasible Harm Reduction Approach?
6. Pharmacogenetics of Nicotine Addiction Treatment
7. Understanding Alcohol-Tobacco Associations: An Epidemiological Perspective
8. REAIM NRT: The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of Different Methods of Free NRT Distribution
9. What Effects have “Fire Safer” Cigarette Laws Shown?
10. Advances in Tobacco Product Labeling and Health Warnings: Evidence to Inform FCTC Article 11
11. Addressing Challenges in Special Populations Research
12. A Different “Unlevel Playing Field” – The Relative Evidence Basis for NRT vs. Tobacco Product Regulation
Applying similar criteria, 14 oral paper sessions were organized around the following themes:
1. Insights from Animal Models
2. Alcohol and Nicotine Comorbidity
3. Genetic Variation in Nicotine Metabolism, Withdrawal, and Dependence
4. Cravings and Cues
5. Second Hand Smoke Exposure
6. Harm Reduction
7. Adolescent Smoking
8. Tobacco Control in Special Populations
9. Pregnancy/Post-partum Smoking
10. Methods for the Evaluation of Medications for Nicotine Dependence
11. Potential Nicotine Dependence Phenotypes
12. Genetic Variation: SPECT, PET, and GWA
13. Pharmacotherapy for Nicotine Dependence
14. Clinician Training and Practices
There were also five poster sessions, with 460 presentations that spanned the breadth of nicotine and tobacco research. The poster sessions provided an excellent format for discussing research in a less formal setting, with increased opportunity for interaction between scientists and professional networking. Posters were arranged in a manner designed to increase interaction across disciplinary boundaries at the conference. Rapid response posters communicating late-breaking findings were presented in the fifth poster session, which was held on Saturday.
We recognized the contributions of outstanding young scientists in several ways. As noted above, Jonathan Winickoff received the 2008 Russell-Jarvik Young Investigator Award. As part of a Young Investigator plenary session (chaired by Jodi Prochaska, last year’s recipient of the Young Investigator award), Dr. Winickoff presented an address entitled “The Clinical Effort Against second Hand Smoke Exposure.” In addition to Dr. Winickoff’s address, three New Investigator Travel Award recipients presented their work during this session. The award recipients were Dikla Shmueli (U.C. San Francisco), Joseph McClernon (Duke University), and David Evans (Moffitt Cancer Center, University of South Florida). Lastly, the American Legacy Foundation Travel Scholarship to Increase Diversity in Nicotine and Tobacco Research was awarded to 13 graduate students, post-doctoral trainees, and assistant professors. The scholarship, administered by the Tobacco-Related Health Disparities Committee of SRNT, and funded by the American Legacy Foundation and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, was designed to increase the diversity of researchers interested in nicotine and tobacco research and promote collaboration and intergenerational and interdisciplinary networking.
Thanks again to the SRNT Training Committee; this year’s annual meeting also provided an opportunity for graduate student and post-doctoral attendees to network with each other. A graduate student reception was held Thursday evening to provide a casual atmosphere for trainees to meet and interact.
Two additional workshops were held in conjunction with this year’s meeting. The first workshop was moderated by Michael Fiore of the University of Wisconsin and was entitled “2008 Public Health Service Guideline – Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: A First Look.” The second workshop was moderated by Kathleen Stratton of the Institute of Medicine and was entitled “Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Future”.
The SRNT Member’s Meeting included a Presidential report by Ray Niaura, and reports from the chairs of several of the SRNT committees, including Policy, Global Network, Finance, and Publications. Notably, it was announced that the incoming President-Elect is Susan Curry. The SRNT Presidency was transferred from Ray Niaura to Scott Leischow. Mira Aghi was reelected to her position as Member Delegate representing Africa, Asia, Oceana, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Laura Klein was reelected Secretary/Treasurer. Janet Audrain-McGovern (2008 SRNT Program Chair) provided a summary of the conference, thanked the SRNT Board of Directors, Program Committee, Eric Donny (2007 Program Chair) and her Co-Chairs Bernard Le Foll and Robert Schnoll. The 2009 Program Chairs Dr. Bernard Le Foll and Dr. Marcus Munafo then promoted the next joint conference of SRNT and SRNT-Europe, to be held in Dublin, Ireland, April 27-30, 2009.
In summary, the 2008 SRNT meeting was extremely successful in bringing together nicotine and tobacco researchers from diverse disciplines, scientific perspectives, and geographic regions. Colleagues from academia, government, and industry interacted with one another and heard about the latest and most important research findings in the nicotine and tobacco field. Sessions were well-attended, and participants collectively expressed enthusiasm for the plenary lecturers and other sessions.
The next SRNT meeting will be a joint conference of SRNT and SRNT-Europe, to be held in Dublin, Ireland, April 27-30, 2009 at the Citiwest Conference, Leisure & Gulf Resort. The 10th Annual SRNT European meeting will be held September 23rd – 26th, 2008 at the Atahotel Villa Pamphili in Rome, Italy. In addition, the 1st Asian Regional SRNT Conference will be held October 28-31, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Please plan to attend! As always, be sure to check out www.srnt.org for up-to-date conference information.
About the Author: Janet Audrain-McGovern, Ph.D. was the Chair of the SRNT 14th Annual Meeting held in Portland, Oregon.