Multidisciplinary initiative to advance addiction treatment and research

The University of Missouri launched the Missouri Center for Addiction Research and Engagement (MO-CARE) during the Science of Addiction Symposium on Dec. 6, 2018, at Mizzou’s Bond Life Sciences Center.  

MO-CARE brings together researchers and clinicians from across the University of Missouri System to advance evidence-based approaches to preventing and treating addiction through research, community engagement, and training. By connecting expertise across disciplines and campuses, the center creates a coordinated response to one of Missouri’s most pressing public health challenges. 

Missouri faces a severe addiction crisis resulting in opioid and fentanyl overdoses, alcohol misuse, and widespread methamphetamine use. Hundreds of thousands of Missourians need treatment. MO-CARE helps address those challenges by translating research into improved prevention and care. 

The symposium featured keynote presentations by nationally recognized addiction researchers Sandra A. Brown, vice chancellor for research and distinguished professor, University of California San Diego, who discussed alcohol, drugs, and the adolescent brain, and Robert Messing, MD, director of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research at the University of Texas at Austin, whose keynote presentation highlighted advances in understanding addiction and emerging treatments. 

Researchers from across the University of Missouri System presented work on neuroscience, public health, behavioral interventions, training, and translational science, highlighting the expertise that will shape MO-CARE's future collaborations.

The Science of Addiction Symposium: Recap 

https://youtu.be/1PFVrwzlWjM?si=3EXzPKjWAVi0LjU6 

Science of Addiction Symposium: Full Event 

https://youtu.be/NsEJkPid-T4?si=G1EWanaGzEi8Izuz

Keynote Speakers 

Sandra A. Brown 
Vice Chancellor for Research 
Distinguished Professor, Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry 
University of California, San Diego 
Alcohol, Drugs and the Adolescent Brain 

Robert Messing, MD 
Director, Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research 
Professor, Department of Neurology 
Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin 
New Compounds for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder 

Drugs and Society 

Facilitator: Denis McCarthy, professor of psychological sciences, clinical psychologist in addiction research, University of Missouri 

Yi Shang 
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Missouri 
Director of the Distributed and Intelligent Computing Lab 

Kenneth J. Sher 
Curators' Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri 
Etiology and Course of Substance Use Disorders: An Overview 

Timothy Trull 
Curators’ Distinguished Professor, University of Missouri 
Byler Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences 
Director of the Personality and Emotions Laboratory 
Ambulatory Assessment of Substance Use and Addiction 

Rachel Winograd 
Assistant Research Professor of Psychological Sciences 
Missouri Institute of Mental Health, UMSL 
Missouri’s Response to our Opioid Crisis: What We’re Doing and Why 

Basic Translational Research 

Facilitator: Chris Pires, Associate Dean for Research, University of Missouri 
 
Ian Gizer 
Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri 
Director of the Gene-Brain-Behavior Relations Lab 

Anil Kumar 
Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Toxicology 
School of Pharmacology, University of Missouri-Kansas City 
“HIV-1 gp120 and Methamphetamine-Mediated Toxicity in the Brain” 

Elizabeth Parks 
Professor of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri 
Associate Director of the Clinical Research Center, Institute for Clinical Translational Science 
“The Tailgate Study: Synergies Between Alcohol and Food” 

Wendy Slutske 
Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri 
Director of the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory 
“Behavior Genetic Approaches to Studying Alcohol Use Disorder” 

Intervention and Training 

Facilitator: Matt Martens, Associate Provost for Academic Programs, University of Missouri 

Leigh Tenkku Lepper 
Associate Research Professor of Social Work, University of Missouri 
“Addressing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders through Alcohol Education and SBIRT Training of Health Care Providers” 

Mary Beth Miller 
Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, University of Missouri 
“Targeting Sleep in Alcohol Prevention and Treatment” 

Patricia Stilen 
Program Director in the Collaborative to Advance Health Services 
School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City 
“Using ECHO Clinics to Promote Capacity Building and Improve the Quality of Addiction Treatment” 
  

Flash Talks 

Facilitator: Jamie Arndt, Chair of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri 

Bruce Bartholow 
Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of Psychology, University of Missouri 
Brain Responses to Drug Cues and Risk for Addiction 

Amber Henslee 
Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences, Missouri University of Science and Technology 
“Campus Traditions and Event-Specific Alcohol and Cannabis Use” 

Jeannette Porter 
Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication, Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri 
“This Dark Diction: Our Changing Addiction Conversation and the Future of Addiction Science” 

Shivendra D. Shukla 
Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri 
Director of the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory 
Binge Alcohol Drinking: A Menace to the Liver and Beyond 

Mahesh Thakkar 
Professor of Neurology, University of Missouri 
“Treating Insomnia and Sleep Disturbances in Alcoholic Mice”