New Council Members (From left): Drs. Caryn E. Lerman, Jon-Kar Zubieta, and (far right) Steven M. Wolinsky with NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow.Three scientists have joined NIDA's National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. The new members, presented at the council's February meeting, are:
- Caryn E. Lerman, Ph.D. , a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Annenberg Public Policy Center and scientific director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lerman has extensive expertise in research on nicotine dependence, including behavioral pharmacology, pharmacogenetics, medications development, and, more recently, neuroimaging. She was recently elected president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
- Steven M. Wolinsky, M.D. , a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Wolinsky's research focuses on the evolutionary mechanisms underlying host-pathogen interactions and their role in the emergence, spread, and containment of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS. He also considers how viral genetic variation, driven by host genetics and immunity, affects HIV infection dynamics and epidemic behavior.
- Jon-Kar Zubieta, Ph.D., M.D. , a research professor in the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, a professor in the departments of psychiatry and radiology, and director of the Neuroimaging Core at the University of Michigan. Dr. Zubieta's research focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the regulation of stress responses. He has extensive experience in the use of imaging technologies for the quantification of metabolism, blood flow, and neuroreceptor sites in human subjects.