A special issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Guest editors:
Joao P. De Aquino, MD — Yale University School of Medicine
Wendy J. Lynch, PhD — University of Virginia School of Medicine
Submission deadline: February 1, 2027
Addiction science has made remarkable progress in understanding the neurobiology of substance use disorders, yet a persistent gap remains between mechanistic discovery and clinical impact. This special issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence, originating from the CPDD 2026 "Real World of Addiction" special track at the 88th Annual Scientific Meeting, features research aimed at closing that gap.
The issue is organized around four boundary conditions that shape how laboratory findings are applied to patients:
- Phenotype heterogeneity — approaches to defining categories and designing trials that capture clinically meaningful subgroups, including polysubstance use, co-occurring pain or trauma, sex and gender differences, and developmental stage
- Model-to-life alignment — strengthening the ecological validity of laboratory models, self-administration paradigms, and translational biomarkers so they reflect the conditions under which patients actually use substances
- Recovery-oriented outcomes — developing and validating endpoints that capture what matters to patients, including functional recovery, quality of life, and patient-centered measures alongside abstinence
- Environment and healthcare systems — understanding and addressing how policy, access to care, rural vs. urban settings, stigma, insurance, and workforce capacity shape whether effective treatments reach the populations that need them
Articles may address a single boundary condition or examine how several interact. The scope is substance-agnostic and contributions are welcome from preclinical, human laboratory, clinical, and implementation science perspectives.
Submit via Editorial Manager, selecting the article type "VSI: Translation in Addiction." All submissions deemed suitable for peer review will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers.