Twelve new members have joined NIDA's National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, which provides overall scientific and policy direction to NIDA. The Council meets three times a year to oversee the Institute's programs and to provide the second and final level of review for grant applications.
In 1995, NIH Director Dr. Harold Varmus approved a NIDA proposal to amend the Council's charter to increase the size of the Council from 12 to 18 members. The number of experts in health and scientific disciplines related to drug abuse was increased from 9 to 12. The number of public members who are experts in public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management was increased from 3 to 6. The Council retained 5 nonvoting ex officio members: the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Veterans Affairs Chief Medical Officer, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, or their designated representatives, and the NIDA Director, who serves as chair of the Council. (For more information, see Expanded National Advisory Council Steers NIDA in New Directions," NIDA NOTES, January/February 1996)
To replace members who retired in 1994 and 1995 and bring the expanded Council's membership up to its full roster, NIDA recommended 12 people who have been approved for appointment by HHS Secretary Dr. Donna Shalala. The new members, who include one reappointment, are:
- Dr. Lawrence S. Brown, Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation, Brooklyn, New York;
- Thomas Hedrick, Jr., Partnership for a Drug-Free America, New York City;
- Dr. Reese T. Jones, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco;
- Nancy J. Kaufman, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey;
- Dr. George F. Koob, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California;
- Dr. Alan G. Marlatt, Addictive Behaviors Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle;
- Dr. A. Thomas McLellan, Center for Studies of Addiction, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia;
- Dr. June E. Osborn, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;
- Dr. Kathy Sanders-Phillips, School of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles;
- Linda S. Slattery, Falls Church, Virginia (reappointment);
- Catherine A. Stevens, Washington, D.C.; and
- Dr. Lei Yu, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis.
The 6 continuing members of the Council are:
- Dr. R. Lorraine Collins, Research Institute on Addictions, Buffalo, New York;
- Dr. Linda B. Cottler, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis;
- Dr. William L. Dewey, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond;
- Dr. Marian W. Fischman, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York City;
- Dr. Horace H. Loh, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; and
- Dr. Rafaela R. Robles, Mental Health and Anti-Addiction Services Administration, Research Institute, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
The expanded Council - Standing, left to right: ex officio member Dr. Terry Schultz (representing the assistant secretary of defense), Dr. Lei Yu, Dr. Reese Jones, Dr. Linda Cottler, Dr. Marian Fischman, Nancy Kaufman, NIDA Deputy Director Richard Millstein, Dr. Lorraine Collins, Dr. June Osborn, Dr. George Koob, Dr. Rafaela Robles, Dr. Horace Loh, Dr. Alan Marlatt, and Linda Slattery. Seated, left to right: Catherine Stevens, Dr. Thomas McLellan, Council Executive Secretary Eleanor Friedenberg, NIDA Director and Council Chair Dr. Alan Leshner, Dr. Lawrence Brown, Thomas Hedrick, Jr., Dr. Kathy Sanders-Phillips, and Dr. William Dewey.