Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2005

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

National experts on drug abuse in the Latino community will converge at the University of Houston for a
week-long conference to address current issues and research, and guide new scholars as they pursue study on the issue.

Sponsored by the UH Graduate School of Social Work’s Office for Drug and Social Policy Research, the National Hispanic Science Network’s Summer Research Training Institute on Hispanic Drug Abuse begins Friday, June 10, at the University of Houston-Hilton. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) are also sponsors of the event.

This is the fourth year UH has hosted the event, which will inform and train new scholars pursuing research on the factors that influence Latinos to abuse drugs. More than 20 pre- and post- doctoral fellows were selected to participate in the seminar, some coming from as far away as Puerto Rico and Maastricht.

Throughout the week, featured speakers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will answer questions and lead discussions about new research. In addition, faculty from Arizona State University will discuss the Historical, Culture and Social Influences on Substance Use among Latinos in the United States, and Identifying Research Needs and Gaps on Hispanic Drug Abuse: Prevention and Intervention among Adolescents.

For more information please contact Evelio Escamilla at the UH Graduate School of Social Work’s Office for Drug and Social Policy Research at 713.743.8345 or evelio.escamilla@mail.uh.edu

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.