Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
National Institute on Drug Abuse

Biographical Sketches

National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse Members - 2007

Louis E. Baxter, Sr., M.D.

Dr. Baxter is President and Executive Medical Director, Professional Assistance Program of New Jersey, Inc., Princeton, New Jersey and Medical Director, Division of Addiction Services, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Dr. Baxter is also Instructor in Medicine, Thomas Jefferson School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He maintains a private medical practice, Recovery Care Medical Associates. Dr. Baxter earned his M.D. in 1978 from Temple University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency in 1981 at Cooper Hospital, University Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey. He specializes in addiction medicine and internal medicine. He serves or has served on numerous committees including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Drug Testing Advisory Board, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; the Food and Drug Administration National Advisory Council; and the National Football League Substance Abuse Committee. Dr. Baxter is a member of several professional societies including the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Medical Association. He has received numerous honors and awards, and he is President Elect and Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Baxter has published on evidence based treatment practices for substance use.

Warren K. Bickel, Ph.D.

Dr. Bickel is Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in the College of Medicine and College of Public Health (COPH) and holds the Wilbur D. Mills Chair of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Prevention. He serves as Director of the UAMS Center for Addiction Research and as Director, COPH's Center for the Study of Tobacco Addiction at UAMS. In these roles, he oversees the development of research addressing addiction and tobacco dependence. Dr. Bickel received his Ph.D. in developmental and child psychology in 1983 from the University of Kansas, completed post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1985, and then joined the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1987, he relocated to the University of Vermont where he became a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and Interim-Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. He serves as Principal Investigator on several NIDA grants. His recent research includes the application of behavioral economics to drug dependence with an emphasis on the discounting of the future and the use of information technologies to deliver science-based prevention and treatment. Dr. Bickel is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), the Young Psychopharmacologist Award from the Division of Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse of the American Psychological Association, and a NIH Merit Award from NIDA. He served as President of the Division of Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse, American Psychological Association and as President of CPDD. Dr. Bickel was Editor of the journal, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, has co-edited three books, and published over 200 papers.

Debra K. DePrato, M.D.

Dr. DePrato is Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC). She serves as the Project Director for the Louisiana Models for Change, a juvenile justice reform initiative grant funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Dr. DePrato received her M.D. in 1984 from the Louisiana State University School Medicine, LSUHSC, completed her adult and child psychiatry training at Albert C. Chandler Medical Center in 1991 and completed her forensic psychiatry fellowship in 1992 at Yale University. She joined the faculty of the LSUHSC in 1992, where she developed programs such as the Child Forensic Psychiatry Clinic and Training Programs for Child Forensic Psychiatry. She has served and currently serves on numerous committees including co-chairing an advisory committee for the Louisiana Office of Addictive Disorders and serving as a Member of the American Psychiatric Association's Council for Law and Psychiatry. Dr. DePrato is a Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association. She has received several awards and honors including the 2005 Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the Nation's Voice on Mental Illness for her work on mental illness and the criminal justice system. Dr. DePrato has served as an expert in forensic and child psychiatry in Federal Courts, Civil Courts, Criminal Courts, and Juvenile Courts.

Igor Grant, M.D

Dr. Grant is Professor of Psychiatry and Executive Vice Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego. Dr. Grant is also Director of the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center, the California NeuroAIDS Tissue Network (CNTN) and the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. He is the Program Project Director for NeuroAIDS: Effects of Methamphetamine, a NIDA-funded program project and Director of CHARTER, CNS HIV AntiRetroviral Therapy Effects Research. Dr. Grant is the founding Editor of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society and founding co-editor of AIDS and Behavior. He currently serves on the editorial board of four journals. Dr. Grant received his M.D. in 1966 from the University of British of Columbia and completed his residency in psychiatry in 1971 at the University of Pennsylvania. His present research includes HIV studies to examine neuropsychological, neuroradiological, neurological, psychiatric, and neuropathological change in persons with HIV infection; the combined effects of methamphetamine and HIV on the brain; and alcohol and the brain, a study of younger alcoholics. Dr. Grant is a member of several professional societies, including the Society for Neuroscience, the American Psychosomatic Society, the Society for Behavioral Medicine, and the International AIDS Society and is Distinguished Life Fellow, American Psychiatric Association. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2005 Annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of California, San Diego. Dr. Grant lists over 400 published peer review articles, chapters and books and over 170 abstracts. His teaching activities have included organizing and developing core courses for medical students, including teaching major portions of the psychopathy sequence.

Mark T. Greenberg, Ph.D

Dr. Greenberg is Bennett Endowed Chair in Prevention Research, College of Health and Human Development and Director of the Prevention Research Center for Promotion of Human Development, Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University. The Prevention Research Center aims to promote the well being of children and youth and to reduce the prevalence of high-risk behaviors and poor outcomes for children, families and communities through collaborative research training assistance to Pennsylvania communities and provision of policy-relevant information. Dr. Greenberg received his Ph.D. in development psychology from the University of Virginia. His research interests include the developmental processes in risk and non-risk populations with a specific emphasis on aggression, violence, and externalizing disorders. Much of his work has been devoted to understanding ways to promote healthy social and emotional development and better school-based prevention programs. Since 1981, Dr. Greenberg has been examining the effectiveness of school-based curricula (The PATHS Curriculum) to improve the social emotional, and cognitive competence of elementary-aged children. Since 1990, he has served as an Investigator in Fast Track, a comprehensive program that aims to prevent violence and delinquency in families. Dr. Greenberg has served on NIH review committees, received both NIH and private funding for his research and is widely published.

Bankole Johnson, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor Johnson accepted a joint appointment to the Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1998. Appointed as the William and Marguerite S. Wurzbach Distinguished Professor, Bankole Johnson is also Deputy Chairman for Research and Chief of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Addiction. Professor Johnson graduated in Medicine from Glasgow University in 1982, and trained in Psychiatry at the Royal London and Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals. Additional to his medical degree, Professor Johnson trained in research at the Institute of Psychiatry (University of London), and conducted studies in psychopharmacology for his doctoral thesis (degree from Glasgow University) on the Medical Research Council unit at Oxford University. His primary area of research expertise is the psychopharmacology of addictive medications. Professor Johnson is a licensed physician and board-certified psychiatrist throughout Europe and in the U.S. Professor Johnson is the Principal Investigator on National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research studies utilizing neuroimaging and molecular genetic techniques. Professor Johnson's clinical expertise is in the fields of addiction, biological, and forensic psychiatry. Honors include service on numerous NIH review and other committees including special panels. Professor Johnson is the 2001 recipient of the Dan Anderson Research Award for his "distinguished contribution as a researcher who has advanced the scientific knowledge of addiction recovery". He received the Distinguished Senior Scholar of Distinction Award in 2002 from the National Medical Association. Professor Johnson also is an inductee of the Texas Hall of Fame in 2003 for contributions to science, mathematics, and technology.

Herbert D. Kleber, M.D.

Dr. Herbert Kleber is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division on Substance Abuse at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, a division he co-founded with his late wife, Dr. Marian Fischman, in 1992. In addition, until 2001, he was Executive Vice-President and Medical Director of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), a policy center he and Joseph Califano founded in 1992. Dr. Kleber received his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College, medical training at Thomas Jefferson Medical School and his psychiatric residency at Yale University School of Medicine. Following his residency, he spent two years at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. He then returned to Yale, where he was Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and founder and director of a substance abuse treatment and research unit. Dr. Kleber then served as the first Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Bush and Director Bill Bennett. Dr. Kleber is the author or co-author of more than 200 papers, chapters, and books dealing with all aspects of substance abuse and the co-Editor of the American Psychiatric Association Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment. He has received numerous awards, two honorary degrees, was selected as one of the "Best Doctors in America," is on the editorial board of several scientific journals, and was elected in 1996 to be a member of The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science. He has been the Principal Investigator on numerous NIH research projects and is a Fellow in several professional associations including the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and the American College of Neuropsychopharmaoclogy.

Barry M. Lester, Ph.D.

Dr. Lester is Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Professor of Pediatrics at Brown Medical School. He is also founder and Director of the Infant Development Center at the Women and Infants Hospital and Bradley Hospital and Brown Medical School. The Center provides research and clinical services for infants at risk and their families as well as research and clinical training. Dr. Lester received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Michigan State University. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. His specialty is developmental processes in infants at risk, including infants with prenatal substance exposure. Dr. Lester is particularly interested in the interplay between biological parenting and social environmental forces that drive development. He is also interested in the translation of research into social policy. Dr. Lester has served on many NIH study sections and his research has been supported by NIH grants for over 30 years. He is past president of the International Association for Infant Mental Health. He is the author of more than 200 scientific publications and 16 books.

Thomas E. Lucking EdS

Thomas E. Lucking EdS is a consultant who specializes in system design and organizational development for community-based behavioral-care systems. He has helped community-based providers develop clinical and administrative systems that meet the demands of competitive markets, help which included assistance with the development provider-sponsored networks. Mr. Lucking has trained the leaders of substance-abuse treatment organizations to develop organizational cultures and systems that support the application of evidenced-based practices. At the same time, he has helped public purchasers develop service systems that are more capable of delivering evidenced-based care. Recently he has helped facilitate the consolidations of state departments and provider organizations to help all parties become more efficient and capable of treating persons with multiple disorders. Mr. Lucking has worked with substance abuse systems in twenty-seven states during the past decade. He has an EdS in counseling from Western Michigan University with a specialty in substance abuse. Before becoming a consultant, Mr. Lucking was director of a nonprofit organization that became the largest provider of substance abuse treatment in western Michigan.

Patricia Isbell Ordorica, M.D.

Dr. Ordorica is a consultant to the Addictions Research of the Roskamp Institute where her research interests include genomic and proteomics approaches in drug abuse research. She is a nationally recognized expert in addictive disorders. She previously held the position of Associate Professor and Director, Addictive Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of South Florida and Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences at the Central Florida Veteran's Administration Healthcare System where she led an interdisciplinary clinical, training and research enterprise committed to innovations in treatment and scientific discovery. Dr. Ordorica is a graduate of Rice University and received her M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She was chief resident at Baylor College of Medicine where she completed her residency in psychiatry. She was chosen as an American Psychiatric Association/NIMH Minority Fellow and served as their representative to the APA's Board of Trustees. Dr. Ordorica is former President of the National Association of VA Psychiatrists in Administration and Leadership and former Chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Addiction Psychiatry. She has led efforts to promote and improve clinical services, education, training and research in the addiction psychiatry field. She has served as Principal Investigator on research projects, including a National Institute on Drug Abuse/VA Cooperative Study on office-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence. She has published in the field and has also been active in community efforts on the problems of drug dependence. Dr. Ordorica's many awards include the American Psychiatric Association's Jeanne M. Spurlock, M.D. Award (2003) and recognition as an "Exemplary Psychiatrist" for 2002 by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Daniele Piomelli, Ph.D

Dr. Piomelli is Professor of Pharmacology and Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Neurosciences, Departments of Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine. Dr. Piomelli earned his degree of Doctor of Pharmacy in 1982 from the University of Naples, Italy and received his Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1988 from Columbia University. After a postdoctoral stint at the Rockefeller University, Dr. Piomelli worked at the INSERM in Paris, France and at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego. He joined the University of California, Irvine in 1998. He has a long-standing interest in neuropharmacology and has made significant contributions to this area, including establishing the role of arachidonic acid as an intracellular second messenger and revealing the molecular mechanisms by which this compound regulates neural activity, elucidating the pathways involved in the formation and inactivation of brain cannabis-like substances, and uncovering physiological functions and potential pharmacological uses of these compounds. Dr. Piomelli has received both NIH and private funding for his research and has authored more than 150 papers for journals such as Nature, Science and Nature Neuroscience, as well as three books. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Dargut and Milena Kemali Prize in Neuroscience and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Distinguished Investigator Award. Dr. Piomelli is a member of several professional societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is an editor for Neuropharmacology and has done editorial work for over two dozen journals including Nature and the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Linda Porrino, Ph.D.

Dr. Linda Porrino is currently Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine where she conducts research on the long-term effects of chronic drug use in humans and animal models. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from New York University and postdoctoral training with Patricia Goldman-Rakic and Louis Sokoloff at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Porrino remained at the NIH until she joined the faculty at Wake Forest where she is also Director of the Neuroimaging Laboratory. Dr. Porrino and is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications. She serves as a reviewer and is on the editorial boards of several journals in the field of neuroscience, including the editorial board of the Journal of Neuroscience. Further, she has served on NIH review committees, received a number of NIH grants, and is a frequent presenter of her work at professional meetings. Her research interests include the use of brain imaging methods to visualize the effects of substances of abuse on structure and function in the central nervous system and to relate those effects to the behavioral changes that accompany the use of these substances. She is also interested in the use of brain imaging techniques to evaluate the functional consequences of lesions of dopaminergic systems and the evaluation of the effects of pharmacological and surgical replacement therapies in animal models of dopamine deficiency.

John P. Rice, Ph.D.

Dr. Rice received his Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine with a degree in mathematics. He has been in the Department of Psychiatry since 1975 and is currently Professor of Mathematics in Psychiatry, with joint appointments in Biostatistics and Genetics. His research interests focus on methods development for linkage and association analysis, and the analysis of complex traits such as nicotine dependence, depression, alcoholism and schizophrenia. More recently, he has become interested in the use of SNPs to help identify disease genes and is part of the new NIH HAPMAP initiative to construct a dense haplotype map of the human genome. He has stressed close links with the medical community given the multidisciplinary nature of statistical genetics research and the opportunities to tackle theoretical problems arising from clinical studies. He has received grants and contracts for the NIDA, NIMH and NIA genetic repositories and is committed to data sharing as an important avenue for rapid progress. Dr. Rice has served on NIH review committees, is widely published and is the past president of the International Genetics Epidemiology Society, a member of several editorial boards and principal investigator of a T32 training grant. His current research is in the development of methods to include covariates in linkage analysis, the formulation of new measures for the quantification of linkage disequilibrium between genetic markers, and the application of these methods for the identification of susceptibility genes for complex traits.

Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, Ph.D.

Dr. Rotheram-Borus is Bat-Yaacov Professor in Child Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She directs the UCLA Global Center for Children and Families. Dr. Rotheram-Borus received her Ph.D. in 1977 in clinical psychology, with an emphasis in child and community psychology, from the University of Southern California. She has spent the past 30 years developing, evaluating, and disseminating evidence-based interventions for children and families. She has worked extensively with adolescents, especially those at risk for substance abuse, HIV, homelessness, depression, suicide, and long-term unemployment. Dr. Rotheram Borus has directed and implemented more than 15 intervention studies that have demonstrated the benefits of providing behavior change programs and support to families in difficult life circumstances. Several of these programs have received national and international recognition, including designation as model programs by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Psychological Association, and the American Medical Association. Dr. Rotheram Borus has authored or co-authored more than 200 journal articles. She has received both foundation and NIH grants to design prevention programs for children and families at high risk for HIV, mental health problems, suicide, and substance abuse.

Ellie E. Schoenbaum, M.D.

Dr. Schoenbaum is Director of AIDS Research, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Montefiore Medical Center. She is also Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, Medicine and Obstetrics-Gynecology and Women's Health and Vice Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM). She received her M.D. from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in 1979. After completing her postdoctoral training, Dr. Schoenbaum was Assistant in Medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Her research focuses on HIV, drug use and women's health. She has been supported with federal epidemiologic grants since completing her infectious diseases fellowship at AECOM in 1986. She was Principal Investigator on the multi-center HER Study of HIV disease progression in women and obtained funding from NIDA to study HAART adherence in depth among the HERS participants. Recently, Dr. Schoenbaum obtained NIDA funding to prospectively study the natural history of menopause in HIV infected . Dr. Schoenbaum has served on several NIH committees including the Phase III evaluation committee for the 2005 NIH Director's Pioneer Award. She has mentored many young investigators and received the first "Mentor of the Year" award from AECOM's Clinical Research Training Program and as July 2006 will assume directorship of this master's program. She has a major interest in promoting clinical research and career development for young investigators.

Marina E. Wolf, Ph.D.

Dr. Wolf is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Dr. Wolf received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 1986 from Yale University. From 1987-1990, she trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Cell Biology at Sinai Hospital of Detroit. After completing her postdoctoral training, Dr. Wolf was Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Wayne State University until moving in 1992 to the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Dr. Wolf's research on the role of neuronal plasticity in drug addiction has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) since 1992. She is currently the recipient of an Independent Scientist (K02) Award and a Merit Award from NIDA. She has also received support from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association Foundation (PMAF), and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). Dr. Wolf has served as a regular member of NIH review panels. Other honors include Phi Beta Kappa, predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships from NSF, PMAF and NIH, the Board of Trustees Research Award (Chicago Medical School), and election to the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She is a Field Editor for Neuropsychopharmacology and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurochemistry.

Janet Wood, M.B.A., M.Ed.

Ms. Wood, Director of Behavioral Health Services, Colorado Department of Human Services, is both the Single State Agency (SSA) Director and the Mental Health Commissioner for the State of Colorado. Ms. Wood is responsible for a combined budget of approximately $83 million and overall leadership including planning, policy development, and oversight of contract management, monitoring and evaluation for the behavioral health system in Colorado. From 1997 to February, 2006 Ms. Wood served as the Director (SSA) for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. Prior to that position, she served as Director of Program Services for the Office of Health and Rehabilitation Services within the CDHS. From 1990-1994, Ms. Wood was Deputy Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities for the Program Development and Program Evaluation and Information Services Sections. She has twenty-seven years of experience in human services management, fifteen of those years in state government. Ms. Wood received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Master's Degree in Education from Lewis and Clark College, Portland. She is a governor's appointee to the Justice Assistance Grant Advisory Board, a member of the Supportive Housing and Homelessness Advisory Board, a former member of the National Dissemination Sub-Committee of the NIDA's Clinical Trials Network and member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Rocky Mountain Node, and Co-Chair of the Co-Occurring Advisory Committee for Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders.

Xiaoyan Zhang, Ph.D.

Dr. Zhang is President and CEO, KIT Solutions, LLC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. in sociology in 1989 from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a recognized expert in designing and implementing data systems that measure performance, outcomes, and results-based accountability. He has over 20 years of experience in conducting evaluation research for numerous social service programs funded by national, state, and local governments and extensive expertise in combining social science research principles and practice with the state-of-the-art information technology. He has assisted 12 states in implementing a statewide prevention data infrastructure with KIT Prevention, a web-based, intelligent, and knowledge-based data service that integrates all phases of substance abuse prevention, assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Zhang and his company developed and implemented the Coalition Outcome Management and Evaluation Tool (COMET), a web service that enables the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) to manage over 700 drug free community grantees across the nation for the implementation of SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). Dr. Zhang served as a member of the technical advisory committee for the National Evaluation of Community Partnership Grant funded by SAMHSA between1991-1993. He is currently a member of the External Review Group for the Drug-Free Communities National Evaluation.