ADDICTION
This year's general theme is profoundly relevant to our modern life: addiction as a construct and its far-reaching impact. From the intricacies of neurobiology to the crucial strategies in prevention and intervention, we will explore addiction from multiple perspectives.
This conference will provide a comprehensive understanding of how addiction shapes our society, challenges our healthcare systems, and influences individual lives. Join us as we delve into the science, prevention, and treatment of addiction, seeking innovative solutions and fostering dialogue among experts from various fields.
MULTIPLES FACES OF ADDICTION
NEUROBIOLOGY
NEUROPSYCHIATRY
PHARMACOLOGY
BEHAVIOURAL
INTERVENTION
PREVENTION
Speakers
Prof. Kent Berridge
Prof. Kent Berridge currently gives lectures as James Olds Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. He is granted many awards with his contributions to the field and elected as one of the last members of the National Academy of Sciences in 2024.
Berridge Lab aims to improve understanding of neural mechanisms of emotion, motivation, learning and reward, including the topic of psychology and neurobiology of pleasure and desire, with implications for motivational disorders such as drug addiction and eating disorders.
Thomas Boraud
Dr. Thomas Boraud, MD, PhD, is a neuroscientist specializing in decision-making, action selection, and procedural learning within the cortex-basal ganglia loop. His research combines electrophysiological recordings across species with computational analysis, focusing on neural network evolution and disorders like Parkinson’s and OCD. Joining CNRS in 2001 and becoming Directeur de Recherche in 2008, he established his research team in 2011, publishing over 80 papers and securing funding from organizations like the Michael J. Fox Foundation. He has served as President of the International Basal Ganglia Society and is an editor for PLoS ONE and Frontiers in Neuroscience. His awards include the CNRS Prime d’Excellence Scientifique. Dr. Boraud explores the ethical responsibilities of scientists and authored “How the Brain Makes Decisions.” Since 2012, he resumed clinical work at Bordeaux University Hospital and leads the Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease.
Dr. Mark Griffiths
Dr. Mark Griffiths, a Chartered Psychologist and Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction at Nottingham Trent University, is also the Director of the International Gaming Research Unit. With 37 years of experience, he is an internationally recognized expert on gambling, gaming, and behavioral addictions. He has published over 1,500 peer-reviewed research papers, six books, more than 200 book chapters, and 1,500 other articles. His work has earned him 25 national and international awards, including the John Rosecrance Prize (1994), Joseph Lister Prize (2004), US National Council on Problem Gambling Lifetime Research Award (2013), and the ISSBA Lifetime Achievement Award for Behavioral Addictions (2023). Dr. Griffiths is also a prolific freelance journalist, having appeared on over 3,500 radio and TV programs and written over 400 articles for various media outlets.
Molina Fernández, Phd.
Antonio Jesús Molina Fernández, PhD in Social Psychology, general health psychologist and social anthropologist. Professor in the Department of Social, Work and Differential Psychology at the UCM and tutor professor at the UNED in the MadridSur center, subject Philosophical Anthropology. Collaborator in official masters on addictions (with and without substances) and adolescents at risk. He has been director, coordinator, supervisor and evaluator of centers, programs and networks for intervention in addictions, both recovery and harm reduction, including care services and for people with dual pathology. Trainer, researcher and evaluator in international projects and forums (DG Justice, European Commission, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Civil Society Forum against Drugs).
Tom Carpenter
Dr Tom Carpenter is a resident doctor in Psychiatry based in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh after initially studying Human Sciences (University of Oxford), completing a Master’s degree in research in Animal Behaviour (Newcastle University) and having a brief career in marketing. He has worked in a specialist addictions service in Glasgow and currently works in an early intervention in psychosis service. He has current research and engagement projects around the usefulness and impact of evolutionary psychoeducation for mental health clinicians.
Brian Fuehrlein
Dr. Fuehrlein, an M.D./Ph.D. graduate from the University of Florida, completed his psychiatry residency at UT Southwestern and addiction psychiatry fellowship at Yale. Currently an Associate Professor and Director of the psychiatric emergency room at VA Connecticut, he focuses on addiction psychiatry and education. He has received the Irma Bland Award (2017) and the Clerkship Faculty Teaching Award (2018) for excellence in teaching. Dr. Fuehrlein is also recognized for his work on opioid use disorder in emergency settings and was inducted into the American College of Psychiatrists in 2019.
Erica N. Grodin
Dr. Grodin is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. She earned her PhD in neuroscience from Brown University and NIH through NIH’s Graduate Partnerships Program and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA’s Addiction Laboratory. Her research focuses on understanding the neural and behavioral mechanisms of alcohol use disorder (AUD) to develop effective treatments. Dr. Grodin’s work includes studies on medication development, phenotypes and biomarkers for targeted treatments, and the role of inflammation and the gut microbiome in AUD. She has received awards from several societies and authored over 80 publications in clinical neuroscience and AUD.
Dr. Daniele Caprioli
Dr. Caprioli, an associate professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Sapienza University of Rome, holds an MSc in General and Experimental Psychology and a PhD in Pharmacology. He has worked as a research associate at the University of Cambridge and a post-doctoral fellow at NIH Baltimore. His expertise lies in the pharmacology and neuroscience of drug addiction, focusing on the behavioral, environmental, and neural mechanisms of drug relapse. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, he combines behavioral, cognitive, neuropharmacological, and anatomical techniques in rats, and leads several clinical trials. He has received awards including a Researcher Award from Regione Lazio and a Fellows Award from NIH.
Rafael Maldonado
Professor Rafael Maldonado, founder of the Laboratory of Neuropharmacology (NeuroPhar) at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in 1999, has an extensive research background from his 11 years in France and the USA. His work focuses on the neurochemical and anatomical mechanisms of drug dependence, particularly opioids, cannabinoids, and nicotine, and also extends to affective disorders, neuropathic pain, and eating disorders. With over 380 published scientific articles, Prof. Maldonado serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for several journals, and collaborates with public authorities and private companies on research policy, drug abuse, and pain management.
Estelle Barbier
Estelle Barbier, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Docent at Linköping University in Sweden. Her research integrates multidisciplinary methods to study alcohol use and anxiety disorders at behavioral, circuit-specific, and transcriptomic levels, with a focus on epigenetic mechanisms. Notably, she discovered the role of the enzyme PRDM2 in both alcohol- and anxiety-related behaviors, suggesting its involvement in their comorbidity. She began her graduate studies at the University of Picardie Jules Verne in France, studying early-life alcohol exposure, and conducted postdoctoral research on epigenetic mechanisms at NIH. Since 2014, she has led a team at Linköping University investigating the neurobiology of alcohol use and anxiety disorders.
Zeinab A. Abbas
Zeinab A. Abbas holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from the Lebanese University, a Master’s in Clinical Pharmacy and Epidemiology, and a Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Montpellier. She currently works in the Narcotics Department of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, contributing to the National Opioid Substitution Treatment Program, and is a postdoctoral research fellow at LAU’s School of Medicine. Previously, she lectured at the Lebanese International University and the Addictovigilance Center in France. Her research focuses on substance use, addiction behavior, and addictovigilance, with numerous publications on substance use and mental health.
Dr. Vera Tarman
Dr. Vera Tarman, is an addiction physician and Medical Director of Renascent, one of Canada’s largest treatment centres for drugs and alcohol abuse. She has been speaking, teaching and writing about the clinical aspects of food addiction for the last 15 years. She is author of Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction, co host to Food Junkies Podcast, moderator of a free vibrant Facebook group, I'm Sweet Enough: Sugar Free for Life. You can also check out her videos on YouTube: veratarman md. She is also a food addict in recovery for over 15 years.
Schedule
Day 1
Join us as we unravel the neurobiology of addiction, understanding how the brain is affected by substance abuse and behavioral dependencies. Discover cutting-edge research that paves the way for innovative treatments.
Dr. Daniele Caprioli
Associate professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of Sapienza University of Rome
Dr. Caprioli is an associate professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of Sapienza University of Rome. Following an MSc in General and Experimental Psychology, he received his phD in Pharmacology from Sapienza University of Rome. He then joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge as a research associate. After this, he earned a position as a post-doctoral fellow at the Behavioral Neuroscience Branch of NIH Baltimore (USA).
His academic expertise is in the pharmacology and neuroscience of drug addiction, with a focus on neurobiology drug relapse, particularly the behavioral, environmental, and neural mechanisms underlying drug relapse. This interest is rooted in the fact that research on neural substrates of drug relapse has yet to be translated into significant advances in addiction treatment.
His multidisciplinary approach combines behavioral, cognitive, neuropharmacological, chemogenetic, and anatomical techniques in rats. He furthermore has experience in the techniques required to complete standard behavioral neuroscience projects both at a preclinical and clinical level, in fact he is the PI also in several clinical trials.
He has received awards and honours from several societies, including a Researcher award from Regione Lazio, and a Fellows Award for research excellence from NIH (Bethesda, USA).
Brian Fuehrlein
Associate Professor of Psychiatry; Director, Psychiatric Emergency Room, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Dr. Fuehrlein graduated from the M.D. Ph.D. program at the University of Florida in 2008, adult psychiatry residency program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2012 and addiction psychiatry fellowship at Yale University in 2013. He is currently an Associate Professor and the director of the psychiatric emergency room at the VA Connecticut. Dr. Fuehrlein has a strong interest in medical student and resident education, particularly surrounding addiction psychiatry and serves on multiple local and national committees in this role.
In 2017 he was awarded the Irma Bland award for excellence in psychiatry resident education through the APA. In 2018 he was awarded the Clerkship Faculty Teaching Award for Outstanding Medical Student Educator and Role Model. He is also passionate about emergency psychiatry and substance use disorders and has presented and published his work surrounding opioid use disorder in the emergency room setting. In 2019 he was inducted into the American College of Psychiatrists, an organization that recognizes excellence in clinical practice, research, academic leadership, or teaching.
Erica N. Grodin, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California Los Angeles
Dr. Grodin is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California Los Angeles. She received her PhD in neuroscience from Brown University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of NIH’s Graduate Partnerships Program. After completing her PhD, she joined the Addiction Laboratory at the University California Los Angeles as a postdoctoral fellow training with Dr. Lara Ray.
Dr. Grodin’s research seeks to identify the neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of AUD in order to develop novel and efficacious treatments for this disorder. Dr. Grodin is involved in several research projects, including studies of medication development for alcohol use disorder, studies identifying phenotypes and biomarkers for which targeted treatments can be developed, and studies investigating inflammation and the gut microbiome in AUD.
She has received award and honors from several societies including the American College on Neuropsychopharmacology, Research Society on Alcoholism, Winter Conference on Brain Research, and Society for Biological Psychiatry. Dr. Grodin has authored over 80 publications in the fields of clinical neuroscience and alcohol use disorder.
Prof. Rafael Maldonado
Professor and Founder of Laboratory of Neuropharmacology-NeuroPhar at the University Pompeu Fabra
The Laboratory of Neuropharmacology (NeuroPhar) was founded in 1999 by Prof. Rafael Maldonado at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). Prof. Maldonado conducted research for 11 years in both France and the USA, focusing on the neurochemical and anatomical basis of drug dependence, including opioids, cannabinoids, and nicotine. His research also covers affective disorders (such as depression and anxiety), neuropathic pain, and eating disorders. With over 380 scientific articles, he serves as a reviewer and member of the editorial boards for several scientific journals. Additionally, he has collaborated with public authorities and private companies on research policy and pharmaceutical development related to drug abuse and pain management.
Dr. Zeinab A. Abbas
Doctor and Phd
Opioid Substitution Treatment: Insights from Lebanon's National Program
Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) is a well-established method for treating and managing opioid
dependence in Europe, the United States, and other developed regions. It is supported by a robust evidence base and has a positive safety record. However, the dissemination of OST practices, alongside the acceptance of harm reduction as an effective approach, remains limited especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Lebanon stands out as one of the first nations in the MENA region to implement such a program, despite facing a challenging socio-political environment. After years of advocacy from clinicians and the voluntary sector, the Lebanese government launched a national opioid substitution program in 2011, utilizing buprenorphine as the substitution substance.
The Lebanese experience with opioid substitution has been encouraging thus far and could serve as a model for other countries in the region considering expanding their services to address heroin addiction and related substances.
Day 2
Explore the roots of addictive behavior with our expert speakers as they delve into the psychology and societal factors driving addiction. Gain insights into effective prevention strategies that can change lives.
Prof. Kent Berridge
James Olds Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Prof. Kent Berridge currently gives lectures as James Olds Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. He is granted many awards with his contributions to the field and elected as one of the last members of the National Academy of Sciences in 2024.
Berridge Lab aims to improve understanding of neural mechanisms of emotion, motivation, learning and reward, including the topic of psychology and neurobiology of pleasure and desire, with implications for motivational disorders such as drug addiction and eating disorders.
Estelle Barbier, Ph.D
Associate Professor and Docent at the Linköping University in Sweden.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major global health issue, characterized by persistent alcohol consumption despite negative consequences, known as compulsive alcohol use. This behavior is modeled in rats using a footshock-punished alcohol self-administration procedure. Prior research identified increased activity in central amygdala (CeA) neurons expressing PKCδ during compulsive alcohol use, with chemogenetic inhibition reducing alcohol intake. In this study, we explore the molecular mechanisms underlying this activation and find that compulsive alcohol intake is associated with upregulated expression of the histone methyltransferase EZH2 in the CeA. Knockdown of EZH2 via viral vector or its pharmacological inhibition reduces punishment-resistant alcohol intake in "compulsive" but not "sensitive" rats, highlighting EZH2’s critical role in compulsive drinking behavior.
Antonio Jesús Molina Fernández
Professor in the Department of Social, Work and Differential Psychology at the UCM
Drug use and addictions are and have been one of the great social problems that have happened from the 80s until now. Throughout the XXIst century, various speculations and prospects about the future of addictive behaviors, their main problems, their consequences and implications for different social contexts. Much of these analyses have been carried out based on biases and fallacies inherent to research on drugs and addictions carried out in the XXth century, especially taking as reference the "Heroin epidemic" of the 1980s. This study provides a literature review of the past and present of the opiates substance use, to be able to make an estimate about the future of the drug use; the social, clinical and epidemiological Impact of opiates, especially the unexpected effects and the Social Impact; Finally, a past-present-future connection proposal on consumer use, abuse and addiction of substances derivatives of opium and their implications.
Day 3
Learn from leading professionals about the latest intervention techniques and recovery models. Today’s sessions focus on practical tools for helping individuals overcome addiction and rebuild their lives.
Tom Carpenter
Dr. in Psychiatry University of Glasgow
Evolutionary perspectives on substance and behavioural addictions: Distinct and shared pathways to understanding, prediction and prevention
Addiction is a significant social, health, and criminal issue, with moderate heritability and early-life impact posing an evolutionary paradox: why are humans predisposed to addictive behaviors? This paper reviews biological and psychological mechanisms underlying substance and behavioral addictions, offering evolutionary perspectives on their origins and functions. Ancestrally, addiction-related systems enhanced fitness via reward-seeking and self-medication. However, psychoactive substances and certain behaviors (e.g., video games, social media) now exploit these systems, leading to neglected life goals for immediate gratification. Evolutionary insights have implications for the stigmatization and criminalization of addiction, novel interventions, and emerging addictions from technologies like AI. The role of GLP-1 agonists in obesity suggests that satiation mechanisms may naturally counter reward system overactivation.
MD, Ph. D.
Thomas Boraud
Neural basis of decision making and gambling: an insight from a comparative approach in vertebrates.
Gambling has become a growing public health issue, largely due to biases in decision-making processes. Decision-making is controlled by a complex network involving the cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus. By studying this cortical-subcortical network across a wide range of vertebrates, including amphibians, birds, rodents, and primates, researchers have gained valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of decision-making, shedding a new light on how this network functions and contributes to behavioral disorders like gambling.
Dr. Vera Tarman
Addiction Physician and Medical Director of Renascent
Dr. Vera Tarman, is an addiction physician and Medical Director of Renascent, one of Canada’s largest treatment centres for drugs and alcohol abuse. She has been speaking, teaching and writing about the clinical aspects of food addiction for the last 15 years. She is author of Food Junkies: Recovery from Food Addiction, co host to Food Junkies Podcast, moderator of a free vibrant Facebook group, I'm Sweet Enough: Sugar Free for Life. You can also check out her videos on YouTube: veratarman md. She is also a food addict in recovery for over 15 years.
Dr. Mark Griffiths
Chartered Psychologist and Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction at the Nottingham Trent University, and Director of the International Gaming Research Unit
Dr. Mark Griffiths is a Chartered Psychologist and Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction at the Nottingham Trent University, and Director of the International Gaming Research Unit. He has spent 37 in the field and is internationally known for his work into gambling, gaming, and behavioural addictions.
He has published over 1500 peer-reviewed research papers, six books, over 200 book chapters, and over 1500 other articles. He has won 25 national and international awards for his work including the John Rosecrance Prize (1994), Joseph Lister Prize (2004), US National Council on Problem Gambling Lifetime Research Award (2013), ISSBA Lifetime Achievement Award for the Study of Behavioral Addictions (2023). He also does a lot of freelance journalism and has appeared on over 3500 radio and television programs, and written over 400 articles for national and international newspapers and magazines.
Strategic Partners
Scientific committee
Florin S. Piscociu M.Sc. Sapienza University, Léa Chibany Ph.D. Candidate Université de Bordeaux, Nafise Shabani M.Sc. Sapienza University, Luana Aldea M.Sc. Sapienza University, Hebatalla Kamaluddin Nurdin Universitatea din București, Victoria Nanau M.Sc. University College of London, Virginia Spagnuolo M.Sc. Sapienza University, Elinor Pelleg M.Sc. Tilburg University, Fatemeh Nassabeh M.Sc. Sapienza University, Ghazal Afsary M.Sc. Sapienza University.