Clinical Studies Unit
The Clinical Studies Unit (CSU) was established in 1996 to support those investigators involved in clinical trials research in the department. The Director of the CSU, Dr. Eric Devine, is a clinical psychologist who has also been engaged in clinical trials research for over fifteen years, specializing in alcohol and other substance use research. The CSU facilities, located within the Psychiatry Research Center, Robinson Building, are designed specifically to support clinical trials research and features dedicated office space, two clinical exam rooms with phlebotomy capability, a biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) laboratory and a double-locked room for storage of confidential research data.
Director:
Eric, Devine, PhD
Eric Devine, PhD, is the director of the Clinical Studies Unit in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Devine serves as Vice-Chair for the Boston Medical Center and Boston University Medical Campus Institutional Review Board, and he is the Director of the IRB Internship training program. He teaches addiction treatment courses for the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and also for the BU School of Social Work Professional Education Program. Dr. Devine is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). He has participated in numerous NIAAA and NIDA-funded multi-site trials testing medications for the treatment of substance use disorders and has had a role in two SAMHSA-funded grants focused on training and dissemination of SBIRT. Dr. Devine also had a role in the development of psychosocial treatments for addiction and has co-authored several treatment manuals and online behavioral platforms for use in multi-site trials testing medications for substance use disorders.
Special Interests: Medication development, clinical trials, psychosocial treatments for substance use disorder, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, universal screening for substance use, ethics of human subjects’ research, and manualized treatment approaches for substance use disorders.
Current Research Projects:
Current clinical trials include:
- Phase 2, Multi-Center Trial of Lorcaserin in the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder, funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- A Randomized, Multi-site Study Comparing Response with Aripiprazole Once-monthly and Standard of Care Oral Antipsychotics in Non-adherent Outpatients with Schizophrenia Identified using the Brief Adherence Rating Scale (BARS)
- A Randomized, Multicenter, Double-Blind Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of Basmisanil as an Adjunctive Treatment for Patients with Cognitive Impairment Associated with Schizophrenia
- A Phase II Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Orally Administered BI 409306 During a 52-week Treatment Period as an Early Intervention in Patients with Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim
- Task Sharing in Recovery Learning Communities: Implementation of Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) for PTSD. This study is a community engagement implementation-effectiveness pilot trial aimed at refining a cognitive-behavioral intervention package that can be delivered by certified peer specialists in non-traditional mental health settings. PI: Sarah Valentine, PhD. NIH identifier: 1UL1TR001430
- The Treatment of Depression with Yoga and Walking. The goal of the study is to understand the physiological mechanisms that lead to improved mood after exercise such as yoga and walking. Outcome measures include neuroimaging, heart rate variability and changes in mood.
- The Psychiatry Research Opportunities for Volunteer Enrollment (PROVEn) registry, please visit the Psychiatry Research Center homepage for more information.
For more information about any of our clinical research studies, please contact the Psychiatry Research Center at (617) 414-1990.