In 1995 Dr. Blum retired from the University of Texas Health Science Center giving up tenure to enter the world of business and biotechnology. In the second year, acting as manager of 1899 Limited Liability Corporation, his first weight management product grossed in excess of 60 million retail. His company Cyberpharm has launched a weight loss system with Rexall/Showcase which was launched early 1999. Dr. Blum continues to publish research articles, writes books (twelve), lectures, and is actively applying for numerous patents in the field of molecular genetics & nutrition. Dr. Blum is very active as Scientific Director of the Path Medical Foundation and former co-founder and Vice President of the American College of Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders. Dr. Blum is co-founder and Chairman& CSO of Impact Genomics and Managing Partner of IGENE, LLC. He is currently Chief Scientific Officer of G&G HealthCare Services, Inc. and Genomics HealthCare, LLC.  His concept of Reward Deficiency Syndrome is being embraced by world leaders in science and is part of the DSM –V, and the DRD2 gene discovery has been confirmed in over 4,000 publications from laboratories all over the world. He serves as Editor –in-Chief Omics Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy, Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy and Genetic Diseases & Genetic Reports, and is currently serving on twelve other prestigious journal’s editorial Boards. He has recently accepted the position of Chief Scientific Officer of Journal operations, Aperito, Publishing House.  Currently he has been named Volunteer Full Professor of the Department of Psychiatry & McKnight Brain Institute University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida and Adjunct Research Professor, Human Integrated Services Unit University of Vermont Center for Clinical & Translational Science, College of Medicine, Burlington, VT. He currently serves as neuroscience advisor for Dominion Diagnostics, LLC North Kingstown Rhode Island; G &G Holistic Addiction Treatment center, North Miami Beach Florida and Malibu Beach Recovery Center, Malibu Beach, California. Many consider him as the “Father of Psychiatric Genetics” and “Father of Neuro- Nutrient Therapy”. Dr. Blum received the Life Time Achievement Award from the National Institute of Holistic Addiction Studies 2011, the 2012 Scientific Achievement Award in a Gala Celebrity Event, Miami Beach Florida and Best Abstract Award from the American Society of Anesthesiology and Pain. He and Mark Gold recently signed with Springer as Series editor for Neuroscience of Addiction: A Reference Work which includes four volumes to be published in 2015. Dr. Blum has been notified by Research Gate that is Reputation Score is higher than 97.5% of all scientists in the network to date scoring 40.5. He has also accepted a distinguished appointment of Scientific Advisory Board of NVP's newly formed and funded portfolio company. 

Research Interest: Epidemiology of suicides and different aspects of alcohol and drug-related problems

Dr. Isabel C. Céspedes is associate professor at the Federal University of São Paulo-UNIFESP (São Paulo, Brazil) where she acts in teaching in morphofunctional area and as a researcher in the search line of neurophysiology of the stress and the addiction. She received her MD and PhD degrees at University of São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil) in morphofunctional sciences with focus in neuroscience. She conducts research focused on aspects involved in the development of dependence on alcohol and other drugs in humans and animals. She is professor of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Health Sciences. She has studied in humans the correlation between genetic and psychosocial factors in the development of addiction, and in animal the neurological profiles associated with vulnerability to addiction. Also, she has studied the effects of alcohol on the neurodegeneration in decision-making neural areas as well as the positive effects of physical exercises on this degeneration.

Research Interest: My research interest is associated with neurochemical factors and their correlation with environmental stimuli in the stress response, and how these factors are associated with vulnerability to drug abuse.

Research Interest: violent behavior and mental disorder; sexual crimes and mental disorder; personality disorders and violent behaviour

Biography:

Ray Niaura completed his undergraduate work at McGill University (Montreal, Quebec), his M.S. and Ph.D. at Rutgers The State University of New Jersey and postdoctoral clinical internships at Brown University (Rhode Island, USA).   Dr. Niaura has specialized in behavioral and prevention medicine of addiction disorders for more than thirty years.  During that time he has held a number of key positions including Professor of Psychiatry (Brown University), Director of Research, Miriam Hospital (Rhode Island) and Director of Science and Training, Steven A. Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies (Washington, DC).  He is currently Professor, Departments of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Epidemiology, New York University College of Global Publish Health (USA).

Because of his multidisciplinary training and expertise in behavioral medicine, Dr. Niaura has worked as a consultant to the American Psychiatric Association, the National Institute of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the US Federal Drug Administration.

Dr. Niaura is the author of more than 400 peer-reviewed articles, book chapter and monographs and principal or co-investigator on more than 70 National Institute of Health funded grants.  He is a former President of the Society of Nicotine and Tobacco Research and for many years was involved in pharmacological treatment approaches to smoking cessation.  He has actively contributed to prevention and treatment research in the Switzerland, Africa and with multiple federal and other agencies in the US.  Dr. Niaura is a Fellow (Psychopharmacology) of the American Psychological Association and the recipient of numerous honors and awards in recognition of his contributions to the field of addiction medicine.

Research Interest: Addiction, Tobacco, Smoking, Dependence, Treatment, Clinical Trials, Training

Grants:

1. Schedule of nicotine gum administration and smoking cessation (Goldstein).  Institutional Research Grant of the American Cancer Society.  Total costs: $7,500. 7/85 - 8/86. Co-Investigator.

2. Hostility and coronary artery disease: The mediating role of cardiovascular reactivity during behavioral challenge (Ahern). National Institutes of Health. Total costs: $8,300. 5/86 - 4/88. Co-Investigator.

3. Psychosocial stressors, smoking cessation, and cardiovascular risk. R01HL32318 (Abrams).  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Total direct costs: $465,418.  9/86 - 9/89. Co-Investigator.

4. Self-help smoking cessation and nicotine dependence (Goldstein).  National Cancer Institute. R03CA44022. Total direct costs: $35,000.  9/86 - 8/87.  Co-Investigator.

5. Interventional trial among Type II diabetics with borderline hypertension (Abrams).  Rhode Island Department of Health.  Total direct costs: $50,000. 4/87 - 3/88.  Co-Investigator.

6. Quality of life in congestive heart failure (Gorkin).  Merck, Sharp & Dohme. Total direct costs: $108,000. 7/87 - 4/88. Co-Investigator.

7. CAST experimental assessment of suppressor enrollment (Gorkin). RFANIH-87-H-09-P. Clinical Trials Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Total direct costs: $386,706. 1987 - 1990.  Co-Investigator.

8. The implications of pulmonary feedback in the prevention of smoking cessation relapse.  American Lung Association (Niaura). Total direct costs: $34,293. 7/88 - 6/90. Principal Investigator.

9. Effects of a psychosocial stress manipulation on levels of lipids and lipoproteins in Cercopithecus Aethiops (Niaura). SO7RR05818.  National Institutes of Health. Total costs: $4,570, 8/88 - 7/89. Principal Investigator.

10. High blood pressure/diabetes treatment program (Abrams). Rhode Island Department of Health. Total direct costs: $66,000.  9/88 - 9/89.  Co-Investigator.

11. Physician adoption of smoking protocols (Goldstein). P01CA50087.  National Cancer Institute. Total direct costs: $2,064,000. 7/89 - 6/94.  Co-Principal Investigator.

12. High density lipoprotein cholesterol during smoking cessation (Niaura). SO7RR05818.  National Institutes of Health. Total direct costs: $7,480.  8/89 - 7/90.  Principal Investigator.

13. Efficacy of clonidine as an aid to smoking cessation (Goldstein). R01DA05623.  National Institute of Drug Abuse. Total direct costs: $329,103. 9/89 - 9/92.  Co-Principal Investigator. 

14. Nicotine dependence and smoking relapse (Niaura). R01HL32318.  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  Total direct costs: $460,000.  4/91 - 3/94.  Principal Investigator.

15. Smoking, alcoholics' reactivity and treatment motivation (Rohsenow).  National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.  Total direct costs: $1,336,249.  7/91 - 6/96.  Co-Investigator.

16. Effects of behavioral challenge on lipids and lipoproteins (Stoney).  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 9/91 - 8/94.  Total direct costs: $816,768. Co-Investigator.

17. Smoking's effect on elicited reactions to alcohol cues among alcoholics.  Veterans Administration Merit Review Award (Monti).  Total direct costs: $287,320.  4/92 - 3/95.  Co-Investigator.

18. Coping style, stress responsiveness, and lipids (Niaura). R01HL46611.   National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  Total direct costs: $813,281. 4/92 - 3/96.  Principal Investigator.

19. Lipid profiles, adiposity, and psychosocial factors among modernizing Samoans (McGarvey).  Miriam Hospital Foundation. Total direct costs: $14,000.  7/92 - 6/93.  Co-Investigator.

20. Emotions, behaviors, and coronary heart disease (Engeberetson).  Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. Total direct costs: $8,200.  9/92 - 8/93.  Co-Investigator.

21. Coping style, stress responsiveness and lipids: Minority postdoctoral research supplemental award (Niaura). HL46611-01A1S1.  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  Total direct costs: $107,387.  9/92 - 4/95.  Principal Investigator.

22. Coping with depression in smoking cessation (Brown).  National Institute of Drug Abuse. Total direct costs: $1,450,502. 12/92 - 11/96.   Co-Investigator.

23. Coping, exposure & naltrexone treatment with alcoholics (Monti).  National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.  Total direct costs: $1,281,433. 6/94 - 5/99.  Co-Investigator.

24. Promoting cancer prevention in primary care (Goldstein).  National Cancer Institute.  Total direct costs: $1,374,654. 7/94 - 6/99.  Co-Principal Investigator. 

25. Effects of a high fat diet on plasma lipoprotein concentrations (Niaura).  Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. Total costs: $13,000.  7/95 - 6/96.  Principal Investigator.

26. Motivation and patch treatment for underserved smokers (Niaura).  National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs: $1,586,476.  7/96 - 6/99.   Principal Investigator.

27. Motivating alcoholics to quit smoking (Abrams).  National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse.  Total costs: $3,099,465.  7/96 - 6/01.  Co-Investigator.

28. Matching antidepressant treatment for smoking cessation (Niaura).  National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute.  Total costs: $1,548,724.  7/97 - 6/02.  Principal Investigator.

29. Coping with depression in smoking cessation (Brown).  National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs: $1,983,952.  7/97 - 6/01.  Co-Investigator. 

30. Smoking cessation in teens with comorbid psychopathology (Brown).  National Cancer Institute.  Total direct costs: $1,847,469.   9/97 - 9/01.  Co-Investigator.

31. Efficacy of depression skills treatment with alcoholics (Brown).  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.  Total costs: $1,885,712.  7/97 - 6/01.  Co-Investigator.

32. HIV and STD intervention research for young men in prison (Flanigan).  Centers for Disease Control. Total costs: $1,135,841.  9/97 - 8/02.  Co-Investigator.

33. Naltrexone and nicotine replacement effects on cue reactivity of smokers (Monti).  VA Merit Review Grant.  Total costs: $404,800. 12/97 - 12/01.  Co-Investigator.

34. Helping parents in the pediatric ER to quit smoking.  National Cancer Institute.  Total costs: $709,018.  4/97 - 3/01.  Co-Investigator.

35. Smoking cessation in the chest pain observation unit (Bock).  Department of Psychiatry Research Support Grant.  Brown University School of Medicine. Total costs: $12,500.  1998 – 1999.  Co-Investigator.

36. Information processing and cue reactivity between motivated and nonmotivated smokers (Hitsman).  American Cancer Society.  Total costs: $10,000.  1/98 – 7/99.  Co-Investigator. 

37. Moderate exercise to aid smoking cessation in women (Marcus).  National Cancer Institute.  Total costs: $1,284,961.  4/98 – 3/02.  Co-Investigator.

38. Infrastructure support for the Division of Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (Niaura).  Departmental Research Award.  Total costs: $12,500.  7/98 – 6/99.  Principal Investigator.

39. Immunizing against tobacco use in pediatric health care (Niaura). National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs: $1,468,289.  9/98 - 12/02.  Principal Investigator.

40. Smoking cessation in the emergency department (Bock). American Heart Association.  Total costs: $500,000. 1/99 - 2/01.  Co-Investigator.

41. Motivation and patch treatment for HIV+ smokers (Niaura).  National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs: $2,519,197.  1/99 - 12/04.  Principal Investigator.

42. A social cognitive theory of smoking and cessation (Brown).  National Cancer Institute.   Total costs: $587,886.  4/99 – 3/02.  Co-Investigator.

43. Psychophysiological and behavioral mechanisms of smoking (Hutchison).  National Cancer Institute, 7/99 – 6/01.  Co-Investigator. 

44. Motivating parents of kids with asthma to quit smoking (Borrelli).  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  Total costs: $1,903,603.  4/99 – 3/03.  Co-Investigator.

45. Smoking cessation interventions in the chest pain observation unit (Bock).  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Total costs: $1,377,260.  8/99 - 6/03.  Co-Investigator. 

46. Adolescent social cognition and cigarette advertising (Shadel).  National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs: $156,191.  9/99 – 8/01.  Co-Investigator.

47. Nicotine dependence: Risk and recovery over generations (Abrams). National Cancer Institute and National Institute on Drug Abuse (S.P.O.R.E.).  Total costs: $11,582,454.  10/99 – 9/04.  Co-Investigator. 

48. Adolescent progression of nicotine dependence (Niaura).  Project 2 of S.P.O.R.E.  National Cancer Institute and National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs: $1,387,924.  10/99 - 9/04.  Principal Investigator.

49. Biobehavioral Vulnerability to Early Smoking Relapse (Brown).  National Cancer Institute.  Total costs: $362,500.  9/00 – 8/01.  Co-Investigator.

50. Smoking Cessation in Mothers and Other Household Members of Babies Being Treated in the Special Care Nursery.  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Total costs: $192,648.  9/00 – 8/02.  Co-Investigator.  

51. Smoking cessation among methadone maintained patients (Stein). 5 R01CA84392-03.  National Cancer Institute.   Total costs: $2,000,000.   6/01-5/05.  Co-Investigator.

52. Transdisciplinary cancer control research training grant (Abrams).  National Cancer Institute.  Total costs: $2,671,251.  7/01 – 6/07.   Co-Investigator.

53. Prenatal neuroendocrine mediators of young adult smoking (Niaura).  National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  Total costs:  $432,103.  6/03-5/05.  Principal Investigator.

54. Sibling Influences on Smoking in Everyday Settings (Slomkowski). 5R01DA16795. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Total costs:  $438,068.  9/03 – 6/08.  Co-Investigator

55. Internet and Telephone Treatment for Smoking Cessation (Graham).  1R01CA104836. National Cancer Institute.  Total Costs:  $490,684.  7/04 – 6/09.  Co-Investigator. 

56. SES, health behaviors and early CVD in Vietnam-era Twins (McCaffery).  R01HL072819.  National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  Total Costs:  $150,000.  6/04 – 5/06.  Co-Investigator.

57. Reducing ethnic health disparities:  Motivating HIV + Latinos to quit smoking (Niaura). 1 RO1 DA018079-01. National Institute on Drug Abuse.  Total costs:  $2,970,209.  8/05-8/11.  Principal Investigator.

58. Tailored Exercise Support for Cardiac Patients.  R01HL075561.  (Bock) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  Total Costs:  $363,975.  7/04 – 6/08.  Co-Investigator.

59. Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) Nicotine Dependence: Phenotype,  Endophenotype & Contexts (Niaura). 5P50 CA84719-05.   National Cancer Institute.   Total costs:  $8,626,255.   8/04-8/10.  Principal Investigator.

60. Prenatal Smoking, Fetal Behavior and Infant Withdrawal (Stroud).  R01DA019558.  National Institute on Drug Abuse.  6/05 – 5/10.  Co-Investigator.

61. Sex differences in neural circuits of social rejection stress:  A mechanism underlying sex differences in depression (Stroud).  Brown National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.  Total costs: $20,000. 10/05 – 9/06.  Co-Investigator.

62. The Neural Network of Deep Brain Stimulation in OCD (Greenberg).  R01MH073111.  National Institute of Mental Health.  9/05 – 8/10.  Co-Investigator.

63. Diabetes Care in American Samoa (McGarvey). R18DK075371. NIDDK. 9/06-7/10. Co-Investigator.

64. Varenicline versus nicotine replacement for methadone-maintained smokers (Stein) 5R01CA129226-05 NCI 24-SEP-2008-31-JUL-2014 Co-Investigator.

65. Improving Adherence to Web-Based Cessation Programs: A Social Network Approach. (Graham) R01 CA 155489-01A1 National Cancer Institute. 07/1/2011 - 06/30/16 Co-Investigator.

66. National Longitudinal Survey of Tobacco Use - Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) National Institute on Drug Abuse/FDA Center for Tobacco Products HHSN 27120110027C (Abrams site PI) 09/19/2011 – 09/18/16 Co-Investigator.

67.          A smoking cessation trial in HIV-infected patients in South Africa 5R01DA030276-04, Golub (PI), Niaura (Co-I) 15-SEP-2011 - 31-JUL-2016

68. A Mixed Methods EMA Assessment of Cognition and Behavior among New ENDS Users. 1R21 DA 036472-01 (Pearson) 09/30/2013 – 08/31/2015 Co-Investigator.

69. Framing messages for teen smoking prevention in primary care. 5R03CA162839-02 NCI (Mays PI) 19/SEP/2012-31/AUG/2104 Co-Investigator.

70. Neuroimaging approaches to improve prediction of relapse during smoking cessation 5R21DA031269-03 NIDA (Sweet) 1-JUN-2013-1-JUN-2016 Co-Investigator.

71. Modeling the policy impact of cigarette and smokeless use on us mortality.

Levy, DT (PI). R01DA036497-03, NIDA, 30-SEP-2013-31-AUG-2017. Co-Investigator.

72. A Comprehensive Approach to Secondary HIV Prevention and Care Among Positives 3R01DA032217-02S1 NIDA through Johns Hopkins University (Latkin) 9/15/2012-5/31/2014 Co-Investigator.

71. Center for Evaluation and Coordination of Training and Research (CECTR) in Tobacco                Regulatory Science. NIH and FDA Center for Tobacco Products (U54) (Rosenthal), WESTAT/Legacy, 09/1/2014 – 08/31/19, Co-PI.

73. Behavioral Activation and Varenicline for Smoking Cessation in Depressed Smokers (Hitsman), 1 R01 CA184211-01, NCI, 22-SEP-2014 - 31-AUG-2019, Co-Investigator.

74. National Longitudinal Survey of Tobacco Use - Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) National Institute on Drug Abuse/FDA Center for Tobacco Products HHSN 27120110027C, 04/19/2016 – 03/31/26 (Niaura, site PI).

75. Integrating population and behavioral sciences to inform regulation of e-cigarettes. Individual Allocation from U01FD004319 (FDA), Mays (PI), Niaura (Co-I) 01/04/2016-12/31/2016.

76. Integrating evidence-based smoking cessation interventions into lung cancer screening programs: a randomized trial (TAYLOR, KATHRYN-PI), 1R01CA207228, NCI,1-SEP-2016 - 31-AUG-2021 (Co-I).