Nobel Conference 51Addiction: Exploring the Science and Experience of an Equal Opportunity Condition
Oct. 6 & 7, 2015

Addiction permeates our society. With the scourge of methamphetamine, increasing use of heroin, and the ubiquity of alcohol, addiction is an “equal opportunity condition.” The substances and behaviors to which people become addicted continue to grow as well, with investigations into the possibilities of addictions to food, the Internet, and sex. But what does it mean to be addicted? Is it a brain condition? A psychological and sociological problem? What are the treatment options available? How do the various understandings of addiction influence public policy decisions?

The 51st Nobel Conference at Gustavus Adolphus College, “Addiction: Exploring the Science and Experience of an Equal Opportunity Condition,” which is scheduled for October 6 & 7, 2015, will bring together experts in medicine, neuroscience, sociology, economics, and philosophy to explore the science and experience of addiction.

 

Presenters

Owen Flanagan, PhDOwen Flanagan, PhD
Philosopher

James B. Duke Professor and Faculty Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University, Durham, N.C.

Carl Hart, PhDCarl Hart, PhD
Neuroscientist

Associate professor of psychology in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at Columbia University, New York; director of Residential Studies and Methamphetamine Research Labs at the New York State Psychiatric Institute

Denise Kandel, PhDDenise Kandel, PhD
Medical sociologist

Professor of sociomedical science in psychiatry at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, New York; research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry and head of the Department of Epidemiology of Substance Abuse at the New York State Psychiatric Institute

Eric Kandel, MDEric Kandel, MD
Neuropsychiatrist

2000 Nobel laureate in physiology/medicine; University Professor, Kavli Professor of Brain Science, and professor of biochemistry and cellular biophysics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York; Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; founding director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia; director of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science and co-director of the Mind-Brain Behavior Initiative

Marc Lewis, PhDMarc Lewis, PhD
Developmental neuroscientist

Professor of developmental psychology at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; author of The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease

Sheigla Murphy, PhDSheigla Murphy, PhD
Medical sociologist

Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Studies, Institute for Scientific Analysis, San Francisco, Calif.

 

Panelists

William Cope MoyersWilliam Cope Moyers

Vice president of public affairs and community relations, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation; author of Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption and Now What? An Insider’s Guide to Addiction and Recovery

Michael V. Pantalon, PhDMichael V. Pantalon, PhD
Psychologist

Co-founder, Center for Progressive Recovery and senior research Scientist, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn..

Mark Willenbring, MDMark Willenbring, MD
Physician

Founder of Alltyr Clinic in St. Paul, Minn., and former director of the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research of the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.

Anne M. Fletcher, MS, RDAnne M. Fletcher, MS, RD
Author

Author of Sober for Good and Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth about Addiction Treatment and How to Get Help That Works