June 14, 2018

Opioid epidemic focus of June 27 Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum

“America’s Opioid Epidemic” is the theme of the 27th annual Joel G. Hardman Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum, beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center.

“America’s Opioid Epidemic” is the theme of the 27th annual Joel G. Hardman Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum, beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III will participate in an afternoon breakout session on opioid policy with Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy and an expert on neonatal abstinence syndrome.

For a complete schedule and to register, pull down the Department Events menu on the Pharmacology Department website and click on the Student-Invited Pharmacology Forum.

Speakers include:

  • Stephen Loyd, MD, medical director of the JourneyPure at the River addiction treatment program in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and former medical director of Substance Abuse Services for the State of Tennessee;
  • Laura Bohn, PhD, professor of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida; and
  • Rob Gereau, PhD, director of the Washington University Pain Center, and Jose Moron-Concepcion, PhD, associate professor of Anesthesiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Vanderbilt participants in an afternoon breakout session on alternative therapies and addiction research include Erin Calipari, PhD, and Carrie Jones, PhD, assistant professors of Pharmacology; and Danny Winder, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research.

Another breakout session on clinical intervention will feature A.J. Reid Finlayson, MD, medical director, Vanderbilt Comprehensive Assessment Program; Tracy Jackson, MD, associate professor of Anesthesiology; Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, founding director, Vanderbilt Center for Tobacco, Addiction and Lifestyle; and Jessica Young, MD, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Other participants in the opioid policy breakout session include Kevin Eidson, PharmD, a member of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy and assistant professor in the Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy; and Andrew Finch, PhD, a national leader in recovery high schools at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

Following the talks, the 2018 Pharmacology Teacher of the Year award will be presented by the Pharmacology graduate students. The forum will conclude at 3 p.m. with a poster session and reception.

The forum is named for Joel Hardman, PhD, professor of Pharmacology, emeritus, who chaired the Department of Pharmacology from 1975 to 1990. For more information, contact Karen Gieg, Pharmacology education program manager, at 322-1182 or karen.gieg@vanderbilt.edu.