The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in Collaboration with Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Public Health Announces the Formation of a New Addiction Research and Policy Center

NEW YORK, June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- To address the nation's addiction problem, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASAColumbia®), in partnership with Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Public Health, announces the formation of a research and policy center, set to be the preeminent resource for addiction.

The new Yale-CASA collaboration will establish a center-of-excellence in New Haven, Connecticut that will connect experts on substance abuse research, public policy and education across the two organizations. The initiative, which will be led by Samuel A. Ball, PhD, president and CEO, CASAColumbia and professor of psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, will support new and existing faculty positions at Yale in psychiatry and public health with expertise in neuroscience, clinical trials, health care policy, biostatistics and other areas of medicine.

"Globally, addiction is the most significant cause or contributor to cancer, AIDS, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, diabetes, accidents, violence, crime and poverty," said Dr. Ball. "Addiction experts at Yale are uniquely positioned to provide the leadership that will shape research agendas, health care practice and public policy. Yale-CASA and similar partnerships with premier academic institutions will improve our collective ability to reduce the stigma attached to the disease of addiction and improve the lives of those affected."

Planned Yale-CASA initiatives include expansion of work on behavioral addictions, such as gambling and food, a university-wide pilot project program, and the evaluation of adolescent substance abuse treatment in collaboration with the APT Foundation and Yale Child Study Center. The collaboration will also establish an addiction data analytic and policy research program, building on Yale resources within the Departments of Biostatistics and Health Policy and Management within the School of Public Health and the Yale Center for Analytical Science, that will focus on health care reform related to mental health and addiction services.

"Combining the resources and talent of Yale, a leading source of research findings in almost every aspect of addiction, with CASAColumbia, an institution on the cutting-edge of translating scientific findings and disseminating information, is a momentous achievement in the fight against the disease of addiction," said Jeffrey B. Lane, Chairman of CASAColumbia.

Two key collaborators on the initiative will include Marc Potenza, MD, PhD, who will conduct research on addictive disorders and behavior involving gambling, sex and the Internet, and Carlos Grilo, PhD, who will lead research on binge eating disorder, food addiction and obesity. Dr. Potenza is professor of psychiatry, in the Child Study Center, and of neurobiology at Yale. Dr. Grilo is professor of psychiatry and of psychology at Yale.

About CASAColumbia
CASAColumbia is a national nonprofit research and policy organization focused on improving the understanding, prevention and treatment of substance use and addiction. Founded in 1992 by former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., our interdisciplinary experts collaborate with others to promote effective policies and practices. We conduct and synthesize research, inform and guide the public, evaluate and improve health care, and analyze and recommend policies on substance use and addiction. For more information, visit www.CASAColumbia.org.

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SOURCE CASAColumbia