Photos courtesy of UAB.
UAB Hendricks & Lappan
UAB researchers Peter Hendricks and Sara Lappan are conducting a clinical trial to determine if the controlled use of the hallucinogen psilocybin can help treat cocaine addiction.
Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
NEW WAY TO FIGHT ADDICTION
Researchers in the School of Public Health are conducting a clinical trial to determine whether psilocybin -- the active compound found in hallucinogenic Psilocybe mushrooms -- can help cocaine addicts give up the drug, according to a UAB news release.
Peter Hendricks, an associate professor of health behavior in the SOPH, stressed that he and his fellow researchers are not advocating the uncontrolled use of psilocybin.
“What we are saying is that this drug, like every other drug, could have appropriate use in a medical setting,” he said in the release. “We want to see whether it helps treat cocaine use disorder.”
Participants are given a dose of psilocybin and then monitored for six hours. After the effects of the drug wear off, researchers track the participant’s use of cocaine.
Researchers think that psilocybin could have biochemical, psychological and even spiritual or transcendental benefits.
“If our hypotheses are supported, this has the potential to revolutionize the fields of psychology and psychiatry in terms of how we treat addiction,” said Sara Lappan, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Health Behavior.
UAB is one of only six universities in the world currently investigating the medicinal benefits of psilocybin, according to Hendricks.
Hendricks was also interviewed by author Michael Pollan in his new book, “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.”
Nearly 20 people are enrolled in the trial, but researchers are still seeking participants.
Participation is free, but the person must use cocaine and have a serious motivation to stop.
Those interested in participating should contact Lappan at 975-7721 or lappansa@uab.edu.
SPANISH AWARD
UAB graduate Cayla Hamilton has been awarded the Mario Vargas Llosa Award for 2018 by the National Spanish Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi, according to the organization's website.
The Mario Vargas Llosa Award -- named in honor of the Nobel Prize-winning Peruvian writer -- is given annually to one undergraduate student majoring or minoring in Spanish who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in all upper-division courses and exemplary involvement in language-related extracurricular activities.
A Montgomery native, Hamilton graduated summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and art history from the College of Arts and Sciences in April 2018 and plans to pursue a master’s degree in foreign language education.
Hamilton praised her teachers in the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
“They helped me learn and excel in every way,” she said in a UAB news release.
Hamilton will be recognized during an awards banquet at the 100th annual conference of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese in Salamanca, Spain, on June 27.
CANCER STUDIES
The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is enrolling lung cancer patients in two national clinical trials, the LUNG-MAP and The Adjuvant Lung Cancer Enrichment Marker Identification and Sequencing Trials (ALCHEMIST).
Lung cancer accounts for about 27 percent of all cancer deaths, and each year more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined, according to the American Cancer Society.
LUNG-MAP is a new type of clinical trial that uses a multidrug, targeted screening approach to match patients with sub-studies testing investigational new treatments based on the unique tumor profile.
The ALCHEMIST are a group of clinical trials for patients with certain types of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer that has been treated surgically.
The ALCHEMIST involves genetic profiling of tumor specimens removed during surgery and matching patients with specific gene mutations to trials evaluating drugs that target those specific mutations.
Patients with lung cancer are encouraged to talk to their doctors about which trial might be appropriate for them.
For more information and eligibility requirements for the studies, contact Liz Busby at 934-0337 or lizbusby@uab.edu.