Major Milestones

The history of the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies is one of continued development and expansion of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the causes, prevention and treatment of substance abuse. Over time, the research program has evolved to include a wide array of topics (both basic and applied), research on a growing number of different substances and a diverse group of faculty from across the university. Some of the major milestones in the history of IDAS are presented below.

1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

1993
The Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies is established. The center later evolves into the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies.

1995
VCU is chosen by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to be one of its regional centers for training providers of substance abuse treatment. This VCU center is then promptly asked to become the National Coordinating Center for all of the regional centers. There have been various changes in the mission of this center over the years, including an expansion of its field of work to the entire mid-Atlantic region through what is now the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Technology Transfer Center, still housed at VCU and directed by Dr. Paula Horvatich.

Dr. Robert Balster, IDAS Director, is elected president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (1995-1996).

Dr. Imad Damaj, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, is named Outstanding Young Investigator by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
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1997
The Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies receives base funding from VCU and becomes one of nine institutes established to facilitate multidisciplinary research, drawing on faculty from throughout the university. It is renamed the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies.
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1998
Dr. Robert Balster, Director of the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, is named the Editor-in-Chief for one of the leading scientific journals for addiction research, Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The main editorial office for the journal moves to VCU.

Dr. Billy Martin, Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and IDAS faculty member, is elected president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (1998-1999).

In a joint recruitment with Pharmacology and Toxicology, Drs. Laura Sim-Selley and Dana Selley join the VCU faculty from Wake Forest University. Dana Selley is a neuropharmacologist and Laura Sim-Selley is a neuroscientist with interest in neuroimaging.
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1999
VCU teams with The Johns Hopkins University to be one of the first regional coordinating centers for the new Clinical Trials Network of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This network of community-based substance abuse treatment programs, linked to regional universities, conducts research on the effectiveness and feasibility of new science-based treatments for addictions. This project is coordinated by VCU faculty associated with the Institute of Drug and Alcohol Studies and the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Technology Transfer Center. VCU’s portion of this five-year project is supported by over $5 million in grant funding.

Core faculty of the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies for the first time achieved over $10 million annually in grant support for their research. This includes support for basic research in the pharmacology and neurobiology of addictive drugs, behavioral research on vulnerability to addictive diseases, and research on drug treatment, especially of pregnant women with substance abuse problems.

Two prominent addiction scientists join the VCU faculty. Recruited by the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Dr. Roy Pickens, former director of the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Baltimore, brings his expertise in research on vulnerability to substance abuse and in research administration to assume a position as Professor and Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Vice President for Research for VCU. At the same time, Dr. Dace Svikis is recruited from the faculty of Johns Hopkins University to become Associate Professor of Psychology at VCU. She is a clinical psychologist and a leading expert on the treatment of pregnant women with substance abuse problems.

Dr. Roy Pickens receives the J. Michael Morrison Award for lifetime service to the profession from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence.
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2000
Dr. William Dewey, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, receives the Nathan B. Eddy Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. This is CPDD’s highest award in addictions research, given for lifetime achievements in this field.

Dr. Robert Balster, Butler Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, receives the first mentoring award given by the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. This award is for training and mentoring young scientists at VCU.
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2001
Dr. Keith Shelton, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology is recruited in a joint effort with the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He joins VCU from Wake Forest University with a interest in behavioral pharmacology research.

The Division of Addiction Medicine program moves fully into the Department of Psychiatry and is renamed the Division of Addiction Psychiatry.

Dr. Billy Martin, Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, receives the Mechoulam Award from the International Cannabinoid Research Society.

Begun in 1988, funding for the Center for Drug Abuse Research is renewed for another five years by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Directed by Dr. Billy Martin, the NIDA Center receives direct funding of over $1 million a year for basic research on addiction. Many projects funded by this Center grant have become individual grants to VCU faculty.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded training program on the pharmacology of abused drugs is renewed. Directed by Dr. William Dewey, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, this was NIDA’s first science pre- and postdoctoral training grant. Over the years, this program has trained many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who went on to become leaders in addictions research.

In a joint recruitment with Pharmacology and Toxicology, a leading alcohol researcher was added to the faculty as associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology. Michael Miles, M.D., Ph.D. comes to VCU from the University of California, San Francisco Medical School and brings expertise in molecular biology and cellular genetics.
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2002
Joint recruitment with the Department of Psychiatry to bring Elinore McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D. as chair of the newly created Division of Addiction Psychiatry. McCance-Katz is a widely known addiction psychiatrist with active research programs in pharmacotherapy of addictions, treatment of HIV/AIDS in substance abusers and clinical pharmacology of drugs of abuse.

Through funding provided by the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation, IDAS establishes the Virginia Youth Tobacco Project to conduct and coordinate a multi-university research effort addressing the causes and prevention of youth tobacco use.

Dr. Louis Harris, Harvey Haag Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, is elected president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (2002-2003).

Dr. Laura Sim-Selley, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, receives the Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence.
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2003
J. Randy Koch, Ph.D. hired as the first Executive Director of IDAS. Dr. Koch brings over 20 years of professional experience in behavioral health research and research administration to the Institute.

IDAS recruits a full-time business manager, Stephanie L. Hart, M.B.A. This position provides IDAS with the capacity to support faculty in grants preparation and management, and will help the Institute develop a long-range plan for ensuring its financial stability and growth.

VCU becomes the home to the Virginia Health Practitioners' Intervention Program, directed by Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, chair of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry. HPIP provides assessment, treatment planning, referral, monitoring, and blood and urine screens for impaired health professionals in the state.

Dr. Guy Cabral, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology is elected president of the International Cannabinoid Research Society.
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2004
IDAS is the home to the editorial offices of one of the leading international addiction research journals, Drug and Alcohol Dependence. This year Drug and Alcohol Dependence went “online,” allowing scientists to submit manuscripts via the internet. The entire editorial process is then handled by email and web software. This has already led to a striking increase in submissions to the journal as it joins the ranks of other leading journals that have moved to the internet.

Several IDAS faculty, including Robert Balster, J. Randy Koch, Ellie McCance-Katz, and Paula Horvatich, were invited to serve on a new “Research Advisory Panel” convened by the Office of Substance Abuse Services, Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. This furthers the Institutes efforts to establish strong partnerships with public substance abuse services system.

Dr. Robert Balster, IDAS Director, is named to Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in the South and Southwest; Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare; and Who’s Who in Science and Engineering.

Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, Professor and Chair of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry and IDAS faculty member, is elected Vice President of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.
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