Eiden named chair of NIH study section

Rina Das Eiden, senior research scientist in UB’s Research Institute on Addictions, has been named chair of the Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention Study Section in the National Institute of Health’s Center for Scientific Review.

Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations to NIH advisory councils or boards, and survey the status of research in their fields of science. As chair, Eiden will assure the quality of the NIH peer-review process, as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of the review group. She will serve as chair for a two-year term beginning July 1, 2017, and ending June 30, 2019.

“The NIH’s selection of Dr. Eiden as chair of Risk and Prevention Study Section is a testament to the quality of her research achievements and leadership in her field,” says Kenneth Leonard, RIA director.

Eiden’s research focuses on understanding the association between parental risk factors, such as substance abuse, and children’s developmental outcomes; the developmental processes in children that promote resilience in the face of risk; the etiological processes in the development of underage drinking, substance use and violence/aggression; and the implications of these issues for early intervention or prevention programs for at-risk children.

Since 2005, Eiden has been awarded more than $13 million in grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She has published more than 90 scholarly articles for academic journals, is a fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) and an adjunct research faculty member in UB’s departments of Pediatrics and Psychology.

Eiden received a doctorate from the University of Maryland and master’s degrees from Purdue University and the University of Delhi, India.