Institute leads in substance-abuse research
By Meghan Youker
Staff Reporter

Dwayne Simpson, director of TCU’s Institute of Behavioral Research, says he does not feel neglected.

Though most of the TCU community is not aware of Simpson’s work, William Koehler, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the IBR has evolved into one of the top drug-abuse treatment research centers in the country.

“Students may not know about us, but the administration understands and approves of what we do,” Simpson said. “They see our recognition nationally and how we contribute to the rest of the field.”

The institute is investigating drug treatment systems in U.S. prisons and how to make them more efficient and cost effective, Simpson said. According to the institute’s 2002 annual report, the IBR was one of seven national centers selected to participate in the project, called the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies.

The institute’s distinction in the field of drug-abuse treatment is demonstrated by grants and contracts from federal agencies, such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is one of the National Institutes of Health, Koehler said.

Bryan Garner, a graduate student in cognitive psychology who assists IBR, said the institute’s reputation in substance-abuse treatment research led him to TCU.

“The IBR has been conducting substance-abuse research for over 40 years and has played a major role in several of the largest substance-abuse treatment studies conducted to date,” Garner said. “That makes the IBR one of, if not the leader, in the substance-abuse treatment field.”

Since the IBR was established in 1962, the institution’s research has focused on the effectiveness of various drug-abuse treatment programs and how they work, Simpson said.

Larry Adams, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the institute’s work is not only critically important to the health of the country, but it is also readily available for people to access online.

“The significance of the Web site is that individuals around the world can go to the Web site and extract information about studies the IBR has done,” Adams said.

Simpson said the most rewarding part of his work is seeing how his research is implemented and used in practice.

“There were 3,000 Web users to our site last week, and one-quarter of those stay and download materials for 20 minutes or longer,” Simpson said. “That means drug counselors are taking our information and putting it to use.”

Adams said IBR provides both research opportunities to graduate students in psychology and funding grants that the university uses to maintain the institute.

“The IBR expands the resources of the psychology department by providing training for graduate students,” Simpson said. “Our current work also has applications in criminal justice, business and economics, so there are opportunities for other programs to be involved.”

Simpson said the IBR’s budget is about $2 million a year and the IBR typically receives a $3 million to $5 million federal grant for a five-year project. The institute is now working on four different research projects, Simpson said.

Simpson said the institute’s specialized research gives TCU the research credibility it needs and IBR’s grants put the university on the map for receiving federal funding.

“Part of TCU’s mission is to be visible and recognized in the top rung of the science field,” Simpson said. “We help the university do that.”