UNM, University of Arizona awarded joint NIH grant to improve addiction treatment, rural health access

The University of New Mexico and the University of Arizona received a $43.6 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health to improve addiction treatment and rural health access in both states.

The joint grant, called the Clinical and Translational Science Award, will be paid over the course of seven years to help translational science, which is the implementation of research discoveries into patient care, officials at both universities said.

The award will go to the Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Innovation, or SW CACTI, according to UNM officials, a research institute shared by both UNM in Albuquerque and the U of A in Tucson.

“Arizona shares many similarities with New Mexico,” said Dr. Sally Radovick, director of the U of A’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. “Both states have significant Native American and rural populations. We share common challenges in health care delivery. A partnership broadens the reach of CTSA programs and expertise in the Southwest.”

The program will extend opioid care to rural hospitals in both states, and promote education on opioid addiction treatment, Radovick said.

Scientists will begin by studying a new addiction consult service at UNM Hospital to see if it makes patients more likely to seek outpatient addiction care after leaving the hospital, according to UNM professor Dr. Nancy Pandhi, SW CACTI’s contact principal investigator.

Researchers hope to improve recruitment for clinical trials, access to medical data and community engagement, Radovick said, adding that the program has doubled the number of clinical trials available in both Arizona and New Mexico.

“Implementing and disseminating health care strategies to rural areas are important CTSA priorities,” Radovick said.

This year, both universities have lost federal funding under the Trump administration via the NIH — the U of A had more than $326,000 rescinded, as reported by the Arizona Daily Star, and UNM also lost money under the NIH, according to UNM Health Sciences spokesperson Chris Ramirez, though the university did not have a complete total of the losses.

The grant also creates five positions at both universities to train early career scientists in translational research over five years, according to a UNM news release. SW CACTI also plans to apply for another NIH grant to support training for predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates in clinical and translational science, according to the release.

UNM and the U of A will track the economic, policy, clinical and public health results of their research over time, UNM officials said.