CPDD is proud to announce the 2022 Annual Meeting Presidential Symposia speakers. J. David Jentsch, Ph.D. and Dr. Katie Serafine will address the #CPDD22 audience on Sunday, June 12 in Minneapolis.
"Attending CPDD over the years has had a formative impact on my career evolution as an addictions scientist," shared Dr. Jentsch. "I am excited to attend the upcoming meeting in Minneapolis and share some thoughts about why now is such a crucial time for us all to advocate for addiction science research, including animal-based studies."
The Historical Role of Animal Research in Addiction Science
Katherine M. Serafine, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at El Paso
Animal research has served as an essential component in our understanding of substance use disorder, and factors that contribute to disease etiology, vulnerability, addiction liability and potential treatments. Understanding the historical impact of animal research in addiction science is essential for those advocating for continued investments in this life-saving field of study. This presentation will focus on an overview of the historical and current roles of animal research in exploring the neurobiology of addiction and vulnerability factors, as well as the development of effective pharmacotherapeutics for substance use disorders including methadone, naltrexone and varenicline. This presentation will also describe how these historical examples can be used to advocate for the critical role of animal research to further understand and treat human diseases, including substance use disorder.
The Future of Animal Research on Addictions: Promise and Perils
David Jentsch, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University
Though animal research has been crucial to the effort to identify the mechanisms of action of drugs with addiction liability, the discovery of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying addictions and the successful translation of those biological mechanisms into actionable treatment targets, there clearly is much left to do if we are to address many currently unmet needs. The animal research community is developing more powerful, rigorous and sophisticated approaches that have exceptional promise for closing the remaining gaps, yet a number of forces place those advances at risk. Because of the actions of animal rights extremist groups, politically connected lobbyists and elected officials themselves, this vital research is at peril. This presentation will focus on the future for animal research on addiction and the need for a broader set of actions we must all take to support it.
For more conference information, visit www.cpdd.org/annualmeeting. Register before April 21 to receive this year's early bird registration rates.