Alcohol, Drugs and Gambling Are Featured in RIA Seminar Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) will present a fall seminar series on addictions-related topics featuring national experts beginning in September.

The four-part series is free, open to the public and held on designated Fridays at 10 a.m. on the first floor of the RIA building at 1021 Main Street on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

The opening presentation by Jalie Tucker, Ph.D. on Sept. 19 is titled "Behavioral Economics of Recovery and Help-Seeking in Problem Drinkers." Tucker is professor and chair of the Department of Health Behavior in the University of Alabama, Birmingham's School of Public Health. Her research combines expertise in substance abuse with clinical and public health strategies as a coordinated system of health care.

On Oct. 3, Barbara S. McCrady, Ph.D., will present "It Takes a Village to Resolve an Addiction … and Certain Kinds of Villagers." McCrady is professor of psychology and director of the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions (CASAA) at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Her research has focused on treatment, social environment and specific problems of women related to substance abuse disorders.

The seminars continue on Nov. 7 with a discussion of "Anxiety-Related Neuroadaptation in Addiction: Insights from Laboratory Drug Challenge and Drug Withdrawal Experiments" by John Curtin, Ph.D., associate professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His current laboratory research examines individual differences -- both acute drug effects and withdrawal -- to understand how genetic risk for the development of clinical alcohol and drug use disorders is conferred.

The series closes on Dec. 12 with a presentation on "Results from a National Survey of Youth Gambling" by John W. Welte, Ph.D. Welte is a senior research scientist at RIA and a national expert on the epidemiology of problem gambling and substance use. His current study examines gambling and substance abuse among youth ages 14-21. Welte's 1998 study of U.S. adult gambling found that problem drinkers are 23 times more likely to have a gambling problem than individuals without an alcohol problem, 82 percent of American adults gambled at least once annually and individuals who live within 10 miles of a casino or in a disadvantaged neighborhood are more likely to experience a gambling problem.

For more information about the seminars contact RIA at 887-2566.

The Research Institute on Addictions has been a national leader in the study of addictions since 1970 and a research center of the University at Buffalo since 1999.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.