Grantee Honors

Dr. Gilbert Botvin received the 2008 Special Recognition Award from the Society for Prevention Research, for service to the society as founding editor of the Prevention Science journal and Editor-in Chief from 2002-2006. Dr. Botvin is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Institute for Prevention Research at Weill Medical College, Cornell University.

Beth Dannhardt, Director of Triumph Treatment Services in Yakima, Washington, and the alternate CTP representative for the Pacific Northwest Node, has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 Nichols Leadership Award. The Nichols Leadership Award is presented annually by Residence XII, a specialty chemical dependence treatment program for women and families in Kirkland, Washington, and one of the Pacific Northwest Node's CTPs, to an individual, or group, who has consistently demonstrated community leadership to better meet the needs of chemically dependent women and their families. Triumph Treatment Services operates the oldest gender-specific chemical dependency treatment program for women and their children in the state of Washington. Beth was honored with a reception and award presentation at Residence XII on May 30, 2008.

Dr. Marion Forgatch, Oregon Social Learning Center, received the 2008 International Collaborative Prevention Research Award from the Society for Prevention Research, for contributions to the field of prevention science in the area of international collaboration.

Dr. Mark Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University, received the 2008 Friend of ECPN (Early Career Preventionist Network) Award from the Society for Prevention Research, for supporting and encouraging early career persons or issues.

Shelly Greenfield, M.D., M.P.H. (Co-PI of the Northern New England Node) recently received the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society 2008 Outstanding Psychiatrist Award for Research. Dr. Greenfield received the honor in recognition of her contributions to the field of substance abuse research, with a particular focus on gender differences in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.

Dr. Michael Hecht of Pennsylvania State University presented a paper at the 2008 Annual International Communication Association Convention in Montreal, Quebec, Canada held May 22-26 2008. The paper by Matsunaga, M., Ndiaye, K., Hecht, M.L., & Elek, E.E. (May 2008), "Punctuated Equilibria of Ethnic Identity Development: The Case of Mexican-Heritage Youth in the United States," received an award as the top paper in intercultural communication.

Dr. Stephen T. Higgins, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology and Director of the Substance Abuse Research and Treatment Center at the University of Vermont has received the distinguished honor of being invited to present a G Stanley Hall lecture at the 2008 Annual APA Conference. His lecture will be on Reinforcement and Substance Use Disorders.

Dr. Sheppard Kellam, American Institutes for Research and Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, received the 2008 Presidential Award from the Society for Prevention Research, for a major lifetime contribution to prevention science research.

Dr. Stefan Kertesz was invited to serve on a federal panel to advise HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation regarding evaluation of a novel service model for homeless persons: medical respite services.

Dr. Stephanie Lanza, Scientific Director of the NIDA-funded Penn State University Methodology Center (P50) and PI for the Methodology Center's annual Summer Institute on Longitudinal Methods (R13), was presented the Early Career Prevention Network (ECPN) Early Career Award at the annual meeting for the Society for Prevention Research in San Francisco, CA on May 29, 2008. This award is bestowed to someone who has shown a commitment to prevention science through outstanding research, policy or practice.

Edythe London, Ph.D. gave the Marian Fischman Memorial Award Lecture entitled "Brain Imaging and Addiction" at the College on Problems of Drug Dependence on June 16, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dr. Thomas E. Prisinzano, Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas, received the 2008 Matt Suffness Award from the American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP). He accepted the Award and presented a lecture at the 7th Joint Meeting of AFERP, ASP, GA, and PSE August 3 - 8, 2008 in Athens, Greece. Dr. Prisinzano's studies have shown that structural modification of natural ligands from S. divinorum can lead to potential new medications for the treatment of drug dependence and pain. His group is now working to identify, synthesize and evaluate biased agonists for opioid receptors as potential analgesics with reduced side effects. Salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic mint plant native to Oaxaca, Mexico. The award is presented to young natural product scientists within 12 years of receiving their doctorate and within 10 years of gaining their first independent position and is intended to provide a special, timely forum for them to present their research. The Award also recognizes and honors the memory of Dr. Matt Suffness. Dr. Suffness served as the Society's President in 1989-1990, during which time he initiated the "Young Investigator's Symposium" which now bears his name. Dr. Suffness is best known for his commitment to the development of taxol as an anticancer drug. He edited the book entitled Taxol - Science and Applications, which was published shortly before his death in 1995.

Dr. Richard Spoth, Iowa State University, received the 2008 Prevention Science Award from the Society for Prevention research, in recognition of a significant body of research that has applied scientific methods to test preventive interventions or policies.

Dr. Melissa Tibbits, Dr. Michael Cleveland, Dr. Monique Faulk, and Dr. Amy Syvertsen, current and former fellows on the NIDA supported Prevention and Methodology Training program at Pennsylvania State University, along with pre-doctoral student Joche Gayles won the 2008 SPR Sloboda & Bukoski Cup, an annual Society for Prevention Research competition where independent groups of scientists, each working with the same data set prior to the conference, conduct a study that is presented at SPR and evaluated by a panel of judges and audience members on the quality of the research and presentation.