National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
A professional organization dedicated to translating scientific knowledge from the field of prevention science into effective and sustainable practices, systems and policies.
Virtual Congressional Briefing Series
Protecting Federal Leadership in Addiction Science and Public Health
PART II REGISTRATION:
Thursday, February 5, 2026
2:30 - 4:00pm ET
The Addiction Science Defense Network (ASDN) is pleased to announce an upcoming series of six congressional briefings on the critical importance of sustained federal support for addiction research, prevention, treatment, and recovery services. This briefing series will consist of six sessions, approximately 2 weeks apart.
.png)
Part I – Federal Response to Addiction in the U.S.
This session took place on January 13, 2026. Speakers covered the impact of addiction on public health, the indispensable roles of the CDC and SAMHSA in combating substance use disorders by supporting treatment and prevention services, and the economic and human consequences of underfunding for states and constituents.
Part II – Scientific Foundations for Our Response to Addiction
Thursday, February 5th from 2:30-4pm ET | REGISTER for Part II
This session will highlight ongoing and future scientific advancements in addiction research, showcase NIH’s role in developing new treatments and preventive interventions, and emphasize the importance of ongoing federal leadership and investment in addiction science and services.
Part III – Connecting Science to Public Health Policy (TBD)
This session will focus on bridging scientific research with impactful public health policy, aiming to create a more effective and efficient system of services. The discussion will address the critical question: Do investments in research and evidence-based programs make a difference in public health outcomes?
Part IV – The Promise of Prevention (TBD)
This session will feature prevention scientists whose research has led to a better understanding of the causal mechanisms of substance misuse and addiction and strategies to prevent pathways to substance use in our youth.
Part V – The Criticality of Community Engaged Research (TBD)
This session will focus on the essential role that community involvement plays in advancing research related to substance use prevention, intervention, and recovery. Drawing on diverse expertise, the session will highlight how engaging communities not only enhances the relevance and effectiveness of research but also ensures that policies and interventions are culturally responsive and sustainable.
Part VI – The Aftermath: A Whole of Society Approach to Substance Use (TBD)
This session will feature a foremost authority from Alberta Canada who is transforming systems and mindsets through an understanding of how lifelong health is determined by more than just our genes: early life experiences change our brains in ways that make us more or less vulnerable to health problems in adulthood. A science-based roadmap will be presented for improving our physical and mental health, reducing vulnerability to addiction, and addressing related health problems across the lifespan.
Agenda & Speakers
Part II – Scientific Foundations for Our Response to Addiction
Moderator: Vani Pariyadath, PhD (formerly with NIDA/NIH)
Overview: The impact of NIH, particularly NIDA and NIAAA, in advancing our understanding of addiction, developing new treatments and preventive interventions, and supporting research that addresses the biological, psychological, and social drivers of substance use disorders.
Vani Pariyadath, Ph.D., most recently served as Chief of the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Branch at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). In that role, she led a multidisciplinary team overseeing a research grants portfolio, including large-scale initiatives such as the NIH HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study. She was also involved in multiple key programs such as the NIDA Racial Equity Initiative, the NIH BRAIN initiative, and the NIH Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. She brings deep experience in how federal research investments in neuroscience and behavior are designed, governed, and translated into real-world impact for people with substance use
disorders. Vani resigned from her role at NIDA in June 2025 and has written about the potential impact of recent changes in NIH priorities here and here.
Hedy Kober, PhD (Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley)
"Drug craving: From basic science to treatment development"
Overview: Clinical Perspective: Establishing biomarkers for phases within SUD using human imaging, cognitive, and psychological data, with applications to innovative treatments.
Dr. Hedy Kober is a Professor of Psychology at UC Berkeley, also appointed at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. Until recently, she was Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at Yale University. Dr. Kober completed her BA, MA, MPhil, and PhD in Psychology at Columbia University, with a focus on Affective Neuroscience. At both Yale and Berkeley, her laboratory has focused on substance use disorders – the most prevalent, costly, and deadly psychiatric disorders. Dr. Kober’s research has been funded by numerous NIH grants, has been published in high-impact journals, and has been very well cited. She has also won numerous awards and fellowships, including a NIDA/NIAAA Early Career Investigator Award, an Early Career Investigator Award from College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), an Outstanding Mentor Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Jacob P. Waltezky award from the Society for Neuroscience, and most recently, the Mid-Career Trajectory Award from the Society for Affective Science. Notably, Dr. Kober also completed a re-specialization in clinical psychology, and is a licensed clinical psychologist.
Hugh Garavan, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Psychology, University of Vermont)
"Addiction risk factors and consequences – insights from large longitudinal studies"
Overview: Dr. Garavan will discuss the purposes, findings to date, and implications for predicting and preventing substance use from the largest and longest neuroimaging study of adolescents in history: the NIDA-funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. He will also explain how large neuroimaging studies of adult users enable us to observe changes in the brain over time to gain insight into the progression of substance use disorders and their impact on cognitive and behavioral outcomes.
Hugh Garavan Ph.D is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont. He received his PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, completed postdoctoral fellowships at Cornell University and the Medical College of Wisconsin, and was an Associate Professor in Psychology at Trinity College Dublin prior to his move to Vermont in 2011. His research uses structural and functional neuroimaging to study cognitive control and reward processes with a particular focus on adolescent development, addiction and related mental health issues. He is a co-investigator on the IMAGEN project, a longitudinal neuroimaging-genetic study of over 2,000 teens in Europe. He is a site PI and Associate Director of both the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, a longitudinal neuroimaging-genetic study of over 11,000 children in the USA and the Healthy Brain Child Development study, a longitudinal study of over 7,000 pregnant people and their children from birth to age 10. He is PI on a T32 focused on complex systems methodologies for large neuroimaging datasets, is co-PI on two R25 grants that provide training on the ABCD and HBCD datasets to junior investigators and is co-founder of the ENIGMA-Addiction working group which is a global neuroimaging data pooling endeavor.
Martin Paulus, MD (Scientific Director and President, Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa Oklahoma; Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Diego; Professor of Neuroscience, University of Tulsa; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Tulsa Campus)
"More Than Just Neurons: The Surprising Role of the Immune System in Opioid Addiction"
Overview: Opioid use disorder is a widespread health crisis, and while most research focuses on brain neurons, we are investigating the role of astrocytes, which are crucial brain support cells linked to immune function and addiction behaviors. Using a novel technical approach, our group at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research have isolated tiny particles called extracellular vesicles that are released by these astrocytes into the bloodstream, effectively creating a non-invasive "window" to study brain biology. By comparing the proteins found inside these particles from patients with opioid use disorder versus healthy individuals, the study identified distinct differences suggesting that addiction involves increased inflammation and disrupted immune regulation in the brain. These findings highlight a biological link between the immune system and addiction, potentially opening the door for new treatments that target these specific neuroimmune mechanisms.
Martin P. Paulus, MD, is Scientific Director and President of the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) and holds academic appointments including Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego and Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Tulsa. His work integrates computational modeling, multimodal neuroimaging, and interoceptive science to identify neural mechanisms of anxiety, depression, and substance-use disorders and to develop predictive biomarkers supporting personalized psychiatry. He is Deputy Editor of JAMA Psychiatry and has authored more than 770 publications with a Google Scholar h-index of 132.
Henry Kranzler MD, Karl E. Rickels Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Studies of Addiction, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine:
"Pharmacotherapy of Addiction: Where Do We Go From Here?"
Overview: The presentation will discuss a new generation of medications approved for treating alcohol, opioid, and tobacco use disorders which tend to be under-prescribed, and promising drugs in development.
Henry Kranzler, MD, is the Karl E. Rickels Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Studies of Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. His research focuses on the genetics, neuroimaging, and treatment of substance use disorders, including pharmacogenetics. His work has been supported by the NIH and VA since 1987 and has yielded more than 700 publications.
Why Your Participation Matters
Federal leadership is essential to maintaining the scale, consistency, and vision necessary to address the complex challenge of addiction. The briefing will provide members of Congress, their staff, agency officials, national and community organizations, media, and the public with the latest data and real-world stories illustrating why robust support for NIH, CDC, and SAMHSA is vital to saving lives, fostering innovation, and promoting recovery nationwide.
Join ASDN as we advocate for continued and increased federal investment in addiction science and services. Together, we can ensure the future health and well-being of millions of Americans and sustain the progress our nation has made in the fight against substance use disorders.