GIFT project is pleased to share that Co-I Dr. David Otiashvili, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Medicine, Ilia State University has received the Distinguished International Scientist Collaboration Award (DISCA) from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
The award supports a collaborative research visit to Yale University where Dr. Otiashvili will work closely with Professor Frederick Altice on the development of a protocol for a comprehensive systematic review. The planned project, “A New Agenda for Implementation Research: A Systematic Review for the Modern Era of Substance Use Treatment,” will examine how implementation fidelity is defined and measured across contemporary treatment and service delivery interventions, including medication-based approaches and digital health models.
GIFT collaboration is a multi-year partnership between Ilia State University and Yale University aimed at strengthening local capacity in implementation science and biostatistics. Faculty members and doctoral scholars supported through GIFT will actively contribute to the systematic review, gaining hands-on experience in advanced evidence synthesis, study design, and analytic methods.
The initiative highlights how international research exchange, combined with structured training programs like GIFT, can create meaningful opportunities for early-career researchers and faculty to engage in high-impact scientific work while advancing implementation-focused research capacity in Georgia.