The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, is pleased to co-sponsor with the American Psychological Society a daylong symposium on Adolescents and Alcohol Abuse: New Knowledge, New Challenges. The symposium will convene on Thursday, June 14 at the Sheraton Toronto Centre Hotel and will feature presentations by leading investigators in this important area of research and a summary of NIAAA's related extramural research portfolio. The symposium represents NIAAA's continued commitment to bring current research findings to the field.

Alcohol use continues to be widespread among U.S. adolescents during high school and college years. Not only does abusive drinking behavior at these ages have serious acute consequences but it can have long-term health consequences. In an effort to protect our nation's youth from the severe consequences of alcohol abuse and dependence, NIAAA has initiated in recent years programs of research on the biology, epidemiology, prevention, health services and treatment of alcohol problems among adolescents. This symposium will provide a summary of current knowledge and new research initiatives underway in several critical areas, including the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain, the neurocognitive and biological effects of alcohol use, and development of effective prevention and treatment interventions for adolescents with alcohol problems.

The objectives of this symposium are to:

• Delineate the effects of alcohol on biological, cognitive and social functioning in adolescence.
• Identify salient dimensions of developmentally and contextually appropriate preventions and treatment interventions for adolescents with alcohol problems.
• Establish a transdisciplinary perspective from which future research on alcohol in adolescents can be examined.

The ultimate importance of this work is to enhance our prevention and treatment efforts with this vulnerable population.

To register for this free symposium, please contact Karen Ellis at (301) 294-5551 or kellis@hq.row.com. CEUs will be provided by the University of Missouri Extension Service.

NIDA Offers Young Investigators Grants and Awards
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) supports Institutional Training Grants (T32) and individual Fellowship National Research Service Awards (NRSA, F30, F31, F32) to support young investigators interested in the complex neurobiological, behavioral, and social components of drug abuse and addiction. NIDA encourages and supports multidisciplinary research and groundbreaking research training in neuroscience, genetics, informatics, and clinical research. Novel studies of prevention research and medical consequences of the drug abuse including HIV/AIDS and other medical diseases are welcome. Suitable combinations of these and other subject matter allied with drug abuse research are also encouraged. For announcements, contact persons, and types of applications, forms, and deadlines see the NIDA Web site: www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchTraining/Traininghome.html

Head Start's 6th National Research Conference Invites Proposals
The Program Committee for Head Start's Sixth National Research Conference, "The First Eight Years: Pathways to the Future," invites proposals for presentations to this conference, to be held June 26-29, 2002 in Washington, DC. The goals of the conference are to identify and disseminate early childhood research and to foster partnerships among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. Research is welcome from all relevant fields including education, psychology, sociology, pediatrics, family medicine, public health, psychiatry, nursing, social work, dentistry, anthropology, law, epidemiology, economics, and allied health. Presentations may include either recent research, published or unpublished, or a synthesis of findings already in the literature. Symposia (two papers with one or two discussant[s]), roundtables (dialogue among up to four presenters), and posters (single paper) are invited. Online submissions are encouraged at www.headstartresearchconf.net (temporary login/password: guest/hsrc6). Mailed abstracts must be postmarked no later than June 15, 2001. For information on submissions or registration contact: Bethany Chirico, Ellsworth Associates, 703-821-3090 ext. 233, Fax: 703-821-3989, E-mail: bchirico@eainet.com. Visit the Head Start home page: www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/hsb.

South Carolina Bicentennial Symposium on Attention
The South Carolina Bicentennial Symposium on Attention will be held May 17th to 20th 2001 at The University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC on the theme "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Attention: New Approaches and New Questions.". This international symposium includes keynote speakers Robert Desimone, George Houghton, Glyn W. Humphreys, Nancy Kanwisher, James L. McClelland, Giacomo Rizzolatti, Daniel Simons, and Steven P. Tipper. For full details see www.cla.sc.edu/PSYC/faculty/richards/attconf.htm. Contact Gordon C. Baylis - PsycAttention@gwm.sc.edu, Gordon C. Baylis, D. Phil, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208 USA

2002 NARSAD Young Investigator Award
NARSAD is a private, not-for-profit organization which raises and distributes funds for scientific research into the causes, cures, treatments, and prevention of severe neurobiological disorders. Award opportunities of up to $30,000/year for up to two years (maximum of $60,000) are open to advanced post-doctoral fellows or assistant professors (or equivalent) and are offered to enable promising investigators to either extend their research fellowship training or to begin careers as independent research faculty. Predoctoral students are not eligible for this award. Basic and/or clinical investigators are supported, but research must be relevant to schizophrenia, major affective disorders or other serious mental illnesses including research with bipolar disease, borderline disorders with depression or suicide, and research with children. Applicants must have an on-site mentor who is an established investigator in areas relevant to schizophrenia, depression, or other serious mental illness. Guidelines and accompanying face sheet are available for download on June 1, 2001, at: www.narsad.org . Application submission deadline for 2002 is July 25, 2001. Earliest grant start date is July 1, 2002. Contact Information: Audra Moran Director, Research Grants Program NARSAD 60 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 404 Great Neck, NY 11021 516-829-5576 (phone) 516-487-6930 (fax) amoran@narsad.org (e-mail answered daily)