Corporate Headquarters Relocates

The FRI Corporate Headquarters has moved its office to the Social Research Center site effective November 1, 2009.  The new address is 1040 Park Avenue, Suite 103, Baltimore, MD 21201.  The phone number is 410-837-3977 and the fax number is 410-752-4218.  The main email address remains the same at fri@friendsresearch.org.

West Coast Administration Office Relocates

Effective December 29, 2009, the West Coast Administrative Office’s new address is 11835 W. Olympic Boulevard, Suite 755E, Los Angeles, CA 90064.  Phone and fax numbers remain the same.

Steven B. Carswell, Ph.D.

FRI Researcher Receives NIH Loan Repayment Award A Second Time

FRI is pleased to announce that Steven B. Carswell, Ph.D., Research Scientist/Vice President, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Loan Repayment Program (LRP). Dr. Carswell’s LRP award is funded through the NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) and focuses on health disparities research. The purpose of the Health Disparities Research LRP is to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals to research careers that focus on minority health or other health disparity issues.

This is the second time that Dr. Carswell has received this award. In exchange for a two-year commitment to a research career with FRI, NIH will repay up to $35,000 per year of Dr. Carswell’s qualified repayable educational debt, pay an additional 39% of the repayments to cover his Federal taxes, and may reimburse state taxes that result from these payments. To qualify for the LRP, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen and have a doctoral degree from an accredited institution. In addition, s/he must conduct health disparities research funded by a domestic nonprofit or U.S. Government entity.

In evaluating the applications, peer review groups comprised of non-NIH scientists are asked to consider the following criteria:
 

	Appropriateness of the applicant’s previous training and experience as preparation for a career in health disparities research;
	Suitability of the applicant’s proposed research activities in the two-year period to foster a career in health disparities research;
	Assessment of the applicant’s commitment to a research career as reflected by a personal statement of long-term career goals and the plan outlined to achieve those goals;
	Strength of recommendations attesting to the applicant’s potential for a health disparities research career;
	Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues to achieve and/or enhance the applicant’s research independence;and
	Quality and appropriateness of institutional resources and facilities.

FRI would like to congratulate Dr. Carswell for receiving this award a second time. Not only is this a great honor for him but this award will help him continue to pay off loans accumulated during his doctoral education.
 

CPDD Travel Award

Dr. Monique E. Wilson was awarded the CPDD Early Career Investigator Award. This is a competitive travel fellowship to attend the 2009 Annual Meeting in Reno/Sparks, Nevada and covers the cost of registration and up to $750 in travel expenses. Dr. Wilson’s presentation was entitled “HIV risk behaviors: Results from a randomized study of methadone maintenance for prisoners” and was presented as a poster at the annual meeting.

NIDA Travel Award

Dr. Wilson received the NIDA Women & Sex/Gender Junior Investigator Travel Award. NIDA awarded special travel awards up to $750 to 27 junior investigators whose CPDD abstracts were accepted for either a poster or oral session at the 2008 Annual Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. Wilson’s presentation was entitled “Gender differences in HIV risk: Results from a randomized clinical trial.”