Koob Selected to Direct NIAAA

An APS Fellow and internationally recognized expert on the neurobiology of addiction has been selected to direct the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). George F. Koob will begin his duties in early 2014.

As director of NIAAA, Koob will administer a $458 million budget for research, policy development, and other programs related to alcohol.

Operating under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIAAA is the worldwide leader in funding research on alcohol and its effects on human well-being, and is a leading supporter of behavioral science. The Institute funds research spanning the areas of genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. APS has a long history of working with NIAAA to enhance its behavioral science portfolio. And NIAAA supports programs held at APS conventions.

Koob currently serves as Chairman, Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, and Director, Alcohol Research Center, at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. He has made important discoveries about the neurocircuitry and neuroadaptations associated with alcoholism and addiction.

In a statement, NIH Director Francis S. Collins, who announced Koob’s appointment, said, “With his distinguished reputation and vision, I am confident that George will encourage innovative ideas in the basic neurobiology of addiction, and will be dedicated to bridging the gap between our understanding of alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and addiction and developing new, targeted treatments”