INFORMATION FOR
George Koob, an internationally recognized expert on the neurobiology of alcohol and drug addiction and the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, will lecture at William Paterson University on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. The lecture, “Neurobiology of Addiction: A Negative Reinforcement View,” will be held from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in Science Hall East 2064. The lecture is open to the public.
As director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Dr. Koob provides leadership in the national effort to reduce the public health burden associated with alcohol misuse and oversees a broad portfolio of alcohol research ranging from basic science to epidemiology, diagnostics, prevention, and treatment.
Koob began his career investigating the neurobiology of emotion, particularly how the brain processes reward and stress. He subsequently applied basic research on emotions, including on the anatomical and neurochemical underpinnings of emotional function, to alcohol and drug addiction, significantly broadening knowledge of the adaptations within reward and stress neurocircuits that lead to addiction. He has authored more than 650 peer-reviewed scientific papers and is a co-author of The Neurobiology of Addiction, a comprehensive textbook reviewing the most critical neurobiology of addiction research conducted over the past 50 years.
He is the recipient of many prestigious honors and awards recognizing his contributions to research, mentorship, and international scientific collaboration, including his election to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017. Koob holds a doctorate in behavioral psychology from Johns Hopkins University.
