We here at The Bridges Network are pleased to announce the launch of our interactive social media Extranet !!!! The Extranet will serve as the central network for all our clients. It will provide an efficient medium for our clients to communicate with one another, as well as with all of us at The Bridges Network. Through our established social network, we strive to maintain excellent customer service as well as provide essential resources that will promote a successful recovery program.

Director’s Perspective
Vol. 22, No. 3 (April 2009)

NIDA Director, Dr. Nora D. Volkow

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, aims to restore the Nation to economic health. To establish conditions for lasting prosperity, the stimulus package will invest in research to protect and improve the physical and mental health of our citizens. The National Institutes of Health is receiving a one-time stimulus infusion of $10.4 billion to support groundbreaking studies, modernize the research infrastructure, and engage more people in scientific endeavors. All the projects must create and preserve jobs and be completed within 2 years.

To fund programs that will yield the greatest payoff in improved public health, NIDA has set two overarching priorities. Its first is to make progress toward eradication of smoking addiction. Smoking causes an estimated 400,000 premature deaths in the United States annually and costs the economy hundreds of billions of dollars in medical care and lost work. NIDA’s second priority is to elucidate the ways that genes affect brain development and structure. Such knowledge will advance our ability to treat addiction and many other conditions.

NIDA plans to apply stimulus funds to advance several strategic approaches to yield powerful therapeutic interventions. These include (1) conducting safety and efficacy studies of new medications to treat addiction and prevent relapse; (2) accelerating followup studies on anti-addiction vaccines and augmenting immunotherapy development; (3) developing biomarkers—screens for drug exposure and addiction vulnerability—that practitioners can use to target anti-addiction efforts; (4) identifying new targets for treatment by discovering genetic variations that affect behavioral hallmarks of addiction; (5) determining how chronic drug exposure and other environmental factors activate or silence genes; and (6) learning to use genetic profiles to tailor therapy to individual patients.

Stimulus package resources will allow NIDA to support many skilled scientists, including some in small laboratories, whom it would otherwise not have the resources to fund. The new funding will also enable science teachers and students to participate in summer projects in NIDA-funded labs.

NIDA plans to allocate its stimulus funding to applications previously reviewed as well as to new proposals submitted under three grant programs:

• The Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities (GO) program (www.nida.nih.gov/Recovery/gogrants.html) will fund large-scale research projects to accelerate breakthroughs, support early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and develop approaches to improve interactions among multidisciplinary research teams.
• Challenge Grants in Health and Scientific Research (www.nida.nih.gov/Recovery/NIDAChallenge.html) are designed to yield quick advances by filling knowledge gaps, spurring new technologies, and strengthening methodology.
• Core Center Grants (www.nida.nih.gov/Recovery/p30corecenters.html) are for faculty recruitment to enhance research resources through the multidisciplinary biomedical research core centers.

Posted August 4, 2009

By NIDA Director, NORA D. VOLKOW, M.D.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol22N3/DirRepVol22N3.html

We at The Bridges Network are pleased to announce that on Monday June 22nd we are officially on line!!!!!  Clients may now navigate to the website and access their designated schedules via the website Log In.  In order to better serve our clients the sessions available for viewing on the website calender are only accessible to those clients that have registered with us at  The Bridges Network.  For more information on the registration process please view our website and fill out the get started registration form.  Once the registration form is completed someone will contact you to answer any questions.  We would like to say “Welcome” to all prospective clients and look forward to a fulfilling and helpful relationship with each and every one.

Thanks for visiting The Bridges Network.  We are a team of dynamic individuals dedicated to sustaining a successful recovery plan for those that suffer from Alcohol and Substance abuse issues.  To learn more about our founders and staff visit the website and read about our team under About The Bridges Network.

Online Alcohol and Drug Recovery Program at Forefront

IF marketing & advertising today announced a new partnership with The Bridges Network in order to promote an innovative new recovery assistance program that will provide online support and services in the transition from treatment to ongoing recovery. IF marketing & advertising will work to better develop the brand identity and corporate name of The Bridges Network while increasing their consumer outreach and e-commerce capabilities.

“Every day, The Bridges Network helps to change the lives of people and families dealing with recovery of alcohol and substance abuse,” said Jeff Novak, CEP of IF marketing & advertising.  “We are honored to be a part of the amazing work that they are doing.”

The Bridges Network is an online alcohol and drug recovery program where participants find the support and guidance needed for a successful transition back to everyday life.  The Bridges Network provides structure and accountability for their participants through virtual classrooms, group sessions, individual mentoring and advocacy services.  The company will go to market in June with the launch of its website, www.thebridgesnetwork.com.

“IF marketing & advertising will help us better communicate with the public and with our consumers through their exceptional creative know-how and overall customer experience knowledge,” said Tony Messbarger, President of The Bridges Network.  “We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship.”

About IF marketing & advertising

IF marketing & advertising is a rapidly growing full-service marketing company, based in Georgetown, Texas, that combines innovative designs, strategic leadership, and up-front accountability to deliver traditional and Internet marketing solutions. Leveraging marketing expertise and trendsetting creativity, IF helps clients build brand strategy and market presence that generate qualified demand and quantifiable results. Ranked 5th largest web design ad agency in Austin and named one of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal in 2007, IF provides innovative marketing solutions to businesses from start-up to Fortune 500.  For more information, visit their website at www.yourIFteam.com & www.ifdevelopment.com.