Mentoring in Substance Abuse Treatment Research: This K24 Mid-Career Investigator Award in Patient- Oriented Research will provide an intense phase of career development and mentoring in substance abuse treatment research, specifically in the areas of mechanisms of substance use disorders, development of therapeutic interventions, and clinical trials of specific treatments of substance use disorders. The application addresses two areas of need in clinical research: (1) increased patient-oriented research focused on gender differences in substance use disorders, and (2) the need for more clinical investigators committed to a career in substance abuse patient oriented research. More specifically, over the next five years, this K24 would allow the investigator to accomplish her near term career goals which are closely related to the specific aims of this K24 application: AIM 1: The investigator will focus her research efforts on substance abuse research projects that address gender differences in substance use disorders in terms of risks and disease mechanisms, treatment services use, and new and effective treatments; AIM 2: The investigator will provide more-intensive substance abuse patient-oriented research mentoring to Harvard Medical School adult and child psychiatry residents (PGI-VI), research fellows, and junior faculty of both clinical and nonclinical departments; and AIM 3: The investigator will develop specific expertise in qualitative research methodologies, including assessment of group process outcomes, to help enrich and deepen her research on gender differences in substance abuse treatment outcomes. Accomplishing these aims will increase the knowledge base of substance abuse treatment research through both the investigator's enhanced productivity in patient oriented research in gender differences in substance use disorders, and also her mentoring of junior investigators who will acquire both the fascination and research skills to go on to productive careers in substance abuse treatment research.