Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: Principles of Communication and Recognizing Patient Needs

Mark S. Gold, MD, is a teacher of the year, translational researcher, author, mentor, and inventor, best known for his work on the brain systems underlying the effects of opiate drugs, cocaine, and food. He has worked as an advisor to many White House Drug Czars, White House NIDA and NIMH directors over his career of 40+ years. He is an author and inventor who has published over 1,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles, texts, and practice guidelines. This pioneering work started with detoxification studies using clonidine and lofexidine as a non-opiate detox followed by oral naltrexone at Yale in the late 70s and continued at the University of Florida (UF). Dr. Gold translated opioid studies using mouse, rat, and non-human primate models before developing his opioid withdrawal hypothesis with his Yale colleagues. He then led the first studies to demonstrate non-opioid treatment efficacy for alpha-2 agonists. He also led rapid detoxification and clonidine to naltrexone studies in the late 70s and early 80s. Dr. Gold, trying to find patients who would take oral naltrexone, began his studies of Impaired Health Professionals and employees in health and safety occupations.

Dr. Gold has received a number of national awards for his research, including the Lifetime Achievement Award of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Professionals, Foundations Fund Prize (APA), PRIDE Lifetime Achievement Award, DEA 30 Years of Service Pin, the McGovern Award for Lifetime Achievement (ASAM-ABAM 2015), National Leadership Award (NAATP), DARE Lifetime Achievement Award, Public Relations Society’s Silver Anvil Award, and China Academy of Sciences and DARE awards for his career in research and prevention (2015). More recently, he received the PATH Foundations Lifetime Achievement Award (2016) as one of the “fathers” of addiction medicine, presented to him by President Obama’s White House Drug Czar Michael Botticelli. Dr. Gold was awarded Distinguished Alumni Awards at Yale University, University of Florida, and Washington University in St. Louis as well as the Wall of Fame at the UF College of Medicine.

Dr. Gold was a Professor, Eminent Scholar, Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Alumni Professor, Chairman, and Emeritus Eminent Scholar during his 25 years at the University of Florida. His work is widely cited by his peers. It includes citation classics in cocaine neurobiology, opioid addiction neurobiology and treatment, and food and process addictions. He proved that cocaine was misclassified as safe, or the champagne of drugs, leading to revision in the DSM 3 and diagnosis of addiction. He has been called a groundbreaking researcher, father of medication-assisted recovery, the first to translate rat experiments into theory and treatments for human addicts, and mentor of the next generation of addiction researchers and clinicians. Working closely with Bart Hoebel at Princeton University, Dr. Gold helped develop the food addiction theory he posited in the 80s. With Nicole Avena, he worked on sugar self-administration models for hedonic overeating and developed new treatments for overeating and obesity. Kelly Brownell and Dr. Gold’s Food and Addiction, published by Oxford University Press, has been widely recognized as groundbreaking. Although working on food and drug-like reinforcement systems has been an important part of his work for 30 years, he has also worked on dual disorders, anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Dr. Gold worked closely with Al Rhoton and Bill Luttge to establish the UF Brain Institute. He was an original member of the McKnight Brain Institute and Director working to develop programs in Psychiatry, Addiction, Neurology, and Neurosurgery.

Since his retirement as a Director of the McKnight Brain Institute, Chairman, Distinguished Professor, and a full-time academic in 2014, Dr. Gold has continued his teaching, mentoring, research, and writing. He finished his 5-year State Department grant on opium smokers and the effects of second- and third-hand opium on children in Afghanistan. He has worked on de novo clinical addiction programs at the Medical College of Georgia, Northwestern, UF, and Tulane Lakeview Health. Dr. Gold regularly lectures at national and international meetings, medical societies, grand rounds around the United States, and international and national scientific meetings on his career, bench-to-bedside science in eating disorders, obesity, and addictions. Recently, he gave a keynote speech at the National Opioid Summit and Florida Opioid Summit as well as for the DEA-DOJ. He speaks regularly at medical schools across the United States, recently at Yale University, Mayo Clinic, Tulane, Washington University in St. Louis, Stanford, University of Connecticut (UConn), UCSF, Emory, Harvard-McLean-Borden Cottage, and UNC. He has given recent keynote addresses at American College of Psychiatrists, CADCA, ASAM, NAATP, APA, and Biological Psychiatry as well as a many states, medical, and psychiatric associations, dealing with the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Gold is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University and an active member of the Clinical Council at the Washington University School of Medicine’s Public Health Institute. He has Wash University mentees and works with them regularly. He is the Director of Research for the DEA Educational Association, working closely with DEA and moderating their quarterly educational events broadcast from DEA Headquarters around the world.

Dr. A. Omar Abubaker earned a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree (BDS) from University of Alexandria, Egypt in 1975. He also earned a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree and a Ph.D. in Anatomical Sciences from School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. He completed his residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh. He also completed a one-year research fellowship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery sponsored by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Dr. Abubaker was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the School of Dentistry, and at the Department of Surgery, school of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University in July 1991 with the rank of assistant professor. In 1996 he was promoted to associate professor with tenure and in 2002 to full professor. In 2002, he was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chief of Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the Department of Surgery, VCU School of Medicine and Chairman of Department of Dentistry at VCU Health System. In 2014 he was appointed as the Elmer Bear Endowed Chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at VCU School of Dentistry.

Dr. Abubaker co-authored two textbooks in oral and maxillofacial Surgery, over 50 chapters and over 40 scientific articles in peer review journals. He presented before many local, national and international scientific meetings.

In 2016, Dr. Abubaker earned a Graduate Certificate in Addiction Studies from the International Program in Addiction Studies from a coalition between Virginia Commonwealth University, The University of Adelaide, Australia and Kings College London, England. Over the past four years he has developed an interest in education and research in the field of addiction. Over the past two years he presented on the topic of substance use disorder, opioid epidemic and pain management to more than 50 local, regional and national groups and organizations.

Bill Alden has spent his entire distinguished career of nearly 50 years in the field of drug enforcement and abuse prevention, first as a DEA agent on the front lines, where he was the youngest agent ever promoted to front line supervisor, then, as the Chief of DEA’s Office of Congressional and Public Affairs. While heading the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, he was instrumental in raising public awareness of drug related issues through developing Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, and by appearing in the print and TV media to promote awareness of DEA’s mission. His diverse experience led him to become the Deputy Director of DARE America and later to operate his own consulting firm, The Alden Group, providing law enforcement and drug prevention services to organizations including DARE America, Noblis, Verint Technology Inc., and Lafayette Group.

In 2001, Mr. Alden proposed the concept of a DEA Educational Foundation which came to fruition through his efforts and of which he was first the president and is now the Chairman of the Board. He currently lends his talent and expertise to the Foundation in support of the DEA Museum soliciting sponsors and partnerships to allow the museum to develop state-of-the-art displays and traveling exhibits. One such traveling exhibit, Drugs: Cost & Consequences has been seen by more than 22 million teachers, students and parents in 14 cities across the country. Another exhibit was created to educate Afghans on the dangers of opium use. Thousands of students in Afghanistan have viewed the exhibits as they traveled the countryside.

The Foundation also supports the DEA Youth Dance Program which provides an afterschool dance program to children across the country giving them an alternative to drugs while teaching them to make healthy and smart choices. The DEA YDP is currently in 47 cities across the U.S. The DEA EF developed an Opioid Awareness strategy which focuses its efforts on educating the public on the dangers of Opioid misuse.

As these examples illustrate, Mr. Alden’s dedication to drug awareness and his wide range of experience and skills continues to be an invaluable asset to the Foundation.

Mr. Alden received his B.A. degree from Indiana University in 1966.