Julio Nunes, MD, third-year resident; Gabriel P.A. Costa, MD, postdoctoral associate; and Tiago Paiva Prudente, MD, affiliate of the Yale Cocaine Research Clinic, have been selected to receive 2025 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Travel Awards for Early Career Investigators.
The awards provide complimentary registration and up to $1,000 to defray costs associated with attending the CPDD Annual Meeting June 14-18, 2025, in New Orleans.
CPDD, formerly the Committee on Problems of Drug Dependence, was founded in 1929 and is the longest standing group in the United States addressing problems of drug use, misuse, and dependence.
Nunes is mentored by Joao De Aquino, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, at the Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Laboratory at Yale School of Medicine. His research examines the intersection of pain management, addiction, and healthcare disparities, with the goal of improving equitable access to care. He is also committed to medical education and mentorship, having been recognized with a teaching award from the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
Costa is a postdoctoral associate in the Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Lab, with research interests in addiction psychiatry and pain medicine. With a unique background in both medicine and engineering, he combines clinical research methods with data science approaches to investigate substance use disorders and chronic pain conditions. His research focuses on developing novel pharmacological interventions for these concurrent disorders through the integration of clinical insights and data-driven methods.
Prudente is mentored by Gustavo Angarita, MD, MHS, assistant professor of psychiatry and director of the Yale Cocaine Research Clinic. Prudente will be presenting a meta-analysis examining the effects of nicotine use disorder on sleep architecture. This research is part of a broader study investigating the impact of various substances on sleep patterns and outcomes, with the goal of advancing our understanding of substance-related sleep disturbances and their clinical implications.