Research key to developing quality addiction care programs

Newswise Philadelphia, PA (May 30, 2012) Dr. Frank Vocci has been named as the third Co-Editor of Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). He joins Senior Editor Dr. George F. Koob and current Co-Editors Dr. Shannon C. Miller and Dr. Martha J. Wunsch. Dr. Vocci, PhD, is President and Senior Research Scientist of Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Vocci previously served as Director, Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and Chief, Drug Abuse Staff, Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He is President-Elect of The College on Problems of Drug Dependence.

Dr. Vocci joins Journal of Addiction Medicine at a critical time, with the journal experiencing such recent changes as inclusion in PubMed, a commitment to increase issue count from four issues to six issues a year, and an addition of electronic publication ahead of print.

We are excited to welcome a leader with such stature to our Journals editorial team. Dr. Voccis background in the development of medications and clinical trials as well as his interest in blending research with practice makes him ideal for this post, stated Dr. Lori D. Karan, Treasurer and Publications Council Chair, ASAM.

Dr. Vocci has worked on cutting edge clinical research in the areas of addiction disorders, substance abuse disorders, and the medical consequences of drug abuse. His clinical experience includes studying an implantable form of buprenorphine (PROBUPHINE), evaluating the effects of depot naltrexone (VIVITROL) on formerly opiate dependent prisoners before their release from prison and then for six months following release, and ensuring that the Friends Research Institutes Torrance clinic participates in multi-center trials evaluating treatments for methamphetamine and cocaine dependence.

He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the field of addiction medicine, including a Meritorious Executive award from President George Bush for his management of the NIDA medications development program, a Distinguished Service Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence for his work on the development of buprenorphine as a treatment for opiate dependence, and the Vernelle Fox Award from the California Society of Addiction Medicine. He also received the FeDerSerD (Italian Addiction Society) award.

Dr. Voccis research interests include developing medications for treating nicotine and stimulant dependence and evaluating best practices for treatment of opiate users with criminal justice involvement. He is beginning two new projects this year. The first is collaboration with UCLA to evaluate the effects of buspirone on the subjective effects and craving associated with methamphetamine. The second is a pharmacokinetics project with a new formulation of nicotine. The pharmacokinetics project with this new nicotine formulation presages a smoking cessation trial.

Dr. Vocci maintains a keen interest in improving the quality of clinical trials that evaluate treatments for substance abuse disorders. The use of adaptive clinical trial designs, improvements in medication adherence, and discovery of markers of sustained improvement that predict post-treatment outcomes are three areas he believes will become more prominent in clinical trials in substance abusing populations in the near future.

According to Drs. Koob, Miller, and Wunsch, bringing Dr. Vocci on board as a Co-Editor will be a wonderful new direction for the journal. Besides his prominence in the field of addiction medicine, his vast expertise in clinical trials will help strengthen the journals content, which is key to improving the quality of addiction care.

Journal of Addiction Medicine is the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. It is currently in its sixth year of publication and features peer-reviewed articles focused on developments in addiction medicine as well as on treatment innovations and ethical, economic, forensic, and social topics.

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Leading Clinical Researcher Frank Vocci Joins Journal of Addiction Medicine