Research:Pacific Addiction Research Center (PARC)
About Us:
Pacific Addiction Research Center (PARC®) is a Program of the University of Hawai‘i’s John A. Burns School of Medicine and is located at The Queen’s Medical Center. PARC® dwells in the Counseling Services Division, sited in the Kaheiheimalie Building near downtown Honolulu’s business district. The hospital itself was established in the original building as shown in 1859, and which still stands. PARC® was founded in 2000 partly in response to the increasing epidemic of substance use in Hawaii. The PARC® service mission derives from the participants’ recognition that progress in management of this lethal class of diseases has been less-than-dramatic, since 1935. The research sallies in Hawaii had previously been sporadic and uncoordinated. We aimed to ultimately correct this.
PARC® joined the Methamphetamine Clinical Trials group (MCTG) which was established by NIDA to facilitate development & testing of potential new medications & behavioral therapies of methamphetamine abuse treatment. Hawaii contributes a diverse culture with many ethnicities that includes Pacific Islanders (Hawaiian, Samoan, and Tongan). Although one of the most beautiful places in the world, Hawai‘i has also developed an adverse reputation for use and distribution of drugs. This probably derives from multiple causes that include: its function as a trade nexus, the service-level economy, and its role as a place of leisure and recreation.
Current Projects:
We are a collection of varying interests surrounding various projects. We are actively enrolling for clinical trials of agents that may have activity against methamphetamine use. Medications that have been explored or are in review include bupropion, ondansetron, topiramate, and modafinil. PARC® faculty have presented nationally and internationally, and have a developing body of literature from the research. Additionally, PARC® reaches out to the community through projects that include the Mayor’s Task Force on Drug Abuse, continuing medical education sessions, and the annual Hawai‘i Addiction Conference (last in May 2008). A recent service project is intervention with patients admitted onto the Trauma Service in Queens Medical Center with substance use disorders and begin the process of diversion (Ikehara, Rohr, Ewing with PIs Goebert & Haning).
We will again host our annual Hawai‘i Addiction Conference in May 2009. This conference will feature various experts in the field of addictions from various parts of the country. As this agenda is developed it will be posted on the Departmental CME page.
PARC® clinicians and staff:
Barry S. Carlton, Chris DeRauf, David Friar, Linda Chang, Thomas Ernst, (UCLA), Greg Ewing, Deborah Goebert, William Haning, Gilbert Ikehara, Tom Newton (UCLA), Stephanie Nishimura, Michael Palazzo, Rick Rawson (UCLA), Anne-Marie Rohr,. Associates: Hiroaki Harai (Japan), John Huh, Hao Chi Ho (QMC and JABSOM, Trauma Surgery), Tom Freese (UCLA).We hope to increase knowledge and to offer the community participation in trials of treatment that will increase the effectiveness of our efforts and improve life for the people of Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i’s visitors.