VCU-Chesterfield Community Services Board Substance Abuse Division research partnership receives award

A team of researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University and the Chesterfield Community Services Board Substance Abuse Division is one of 27 teams and organizations from across the country selected to receive a 2009 Science and Service Award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The team was recognized for its research and development of practices that have helped change and shape the quality of drug addiction treatment and recovery services in the Richmond area.

The annual award program, now in its third year, recognizes public and private sector organizations and community-based coalitions that have worked to improve their communities and the lives of individuals by providing the best addictions treatment services possible.

The Chesterfield Community Services Board’s Substance Abuse Services Program has had a partnership for more than 10 years with researchers from across VCU’s campuses and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as part of the Clinical Trials Network through the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dace Svikis, Ph.D., principal investigator for VCU, Ned Snead, manager of adult substance abuse services for the Chesterfield Community Services Board, and his team have been involved with three National Institutes of Health, multisite national studies on a variety of topics, the latest of which featured HIV counseling and testing for individuals with alcohol and other drug problems.