New Addiction Research Challenge to Develop Mobile App using Apple’s ResearchKit™

STSI partners with National Institute on Drug Abuse to facilitate future research

NIDA Addiction Research ChallengeOn November 3, 2015, the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) issued the “Addiction Research: There’s an App for That” Challenge. The Challenge calls on developers, data scientists and physicians to submit proposals for the development of mobile device applications designed to facilitate future addiction research. A total prize pool of up to $100,000 will be awarded to three app proposals.

“STSI is delighted to partner with NIDA on this exciting and novel Challenge. By working together, addiction researchers and app developers will be able to apply the significant capabilities of mobile technologies towards supporting important research into substance abuse and addiction,” said Dr. Steven Steinhubl, Director of Digital Medicine at the Scripps Translational Science Institute. Dr. Steinhubl, who supported the original design of the NIDA’s Request for Applications, will also help evaluate proposals once the submission deadline is reached on April 29, 2016.

Drug abuse and addiction impact many aspects of communities worldwide, including human health and wellbeing, as well as presenting significant social problems and economic costs. According to NIDA, the societal burden caused by substance use disorders exceeds half a trillion dollars annually. Leveraging the capacity of mobile technologies to recruit large numbers of participants and collect data on a broad range of variables will enable researchers to conduct essential studies that will help address these problems.

The Addiction Research Challenge requires the use of Apple’s ResearchKit™ framework, an open source software that allows medical researchers to more easily design and develop the apps that they need to conduct clinical studies.

Learn more about the details of the Addiction Research Challenge by visiting NIDA’s Challenge website.

 

Related links –

NIDA website

NIDA Challenge News Release

Apple’s ResearchKit