“Alcohol and Drug Addiction: The Gain in the Brain is the Pain”
12pm, Monday, March 11, 2019
DeWeese Auditorium, McKnight Brain Institute
Dr. Koob is an internationally-recognized expert on alcohol and stress, and the neurobiology of alcohol and drug addiction. He is the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), where he provides leadership in the national effort to reduce the public health burden associated with alcohol misuse. As NIAAA Director, Dr. Koob oversees a broad portfolio of alcohol research ranging from basic science to epidemiology, diagnostics, prevention, and treatment. His work has advanced our understanding of the physiological effects of alcohol and other substance use and why some people transition from use to misuse to addiction, while others do not. He has authored more than 650 peerreviewed scientific papers and is a co-author of The Neurobiology of Addiction, a comprehensive textbook reviewing the most critical neurobiology of addiction research conducted over the past 50 years. He is the recipient of many prestigious honors and awards for his research, mentorship, and international scientific collaboration including the E.M. Jellinek Memorial Award (2018), election to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2017), and the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor, government of France) (2016).