This session highlighted how researchers are coming together to advance addiction care by connecting foundational discoveries with real-world impact. The program featured four leading experts whose work spans the full translational spectrum, from innovative substance use models to clinical and population health studies. Together, they demonstrated how research across multiple levels accelerates breakthroughs and transforms care for substance use disorders. 

Chaired by physician-scientist Dr. Drew Kiraly, the panel facilitated a dynamic discussion that brought together perspectives from basic science, clinical practice, and public health while engaging attendees in conversations about emerging opportunities and future directions in addiction research. 

The session fostered collaboration among clinicians, scientists, health leaders, and community partners while emphasizing the transformative potential of integrating scientific discovery with real-world solutions. 

Speakers

Eric Christian Donny

Eric Donny, PhD

Professor and Vice Chair, Translational Neuroscience

Dr. Donny serves as the Founding Director of the Tobacco Control Center of Excellence and the Program Co-Lead for Cancer Prevention and Control at the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is an addiction scientist with extensive experience in nicotine and tobacco research that spans from pre-clinical to public health research. He is the Co-Director of an NCI-funded P01 focused on the impact of nicotine vaping on the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults and was previously the Director of a NIDA-funded U54 examining the potential impact of a low nicotine content product standard for cigarettes. He is also the incoming president for the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

Drew Kiraly

Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, Translational Neuroscience and Psychiatry; Co-Director, Center for Addiction Research

Dr. Kiraly is Associate Professor of Translational Neuroscience and Psychiatry and Co-Director of the Wake Forest Center for Addiction Research. A nationally recognized expert in addiction science, Dr. Kiraly’s research has transformed understanding of how gut-brain and neuroimmune pathways drive vulnerability to substance use disorders. His lab was first to uncover microbiome-based mechanisms in cocaine and opioid addiction, earning continuous NIH support, including the prestigious Avenir and CEBRA awards. His work is widely published in leading journals such as Nature Communications and Neuropsychopharmacology. At  Wake Forest University School of Medicine, he also conducts clinically focused research and mentors emerging scientists across neuroscience and pharmacology. 

Meade

Christina Suzanne Meade, PhD

Associate Professor, Translational Neuroscience 

Dr. Meade is a clinical psychologist with expertise at the nexus of substance use and HIV. Her translational research program strives to bridge the boundaries that have traditionally divided behavioral and biomedical research to optimize health outcomes. Her NIH-funded studies have investigated social determinants, neurobehavioral effects, and biological mechanisms that impact HIV prevention and care for people who use drugs, as well as interventions to improve mental health, substance use, and medical outcomes. Current work examines the role of neuroinflammation in the link between substance use and cognitive deficits, as well as longitudinal effects on the structural and functional brain networks. 

Nader

Michael Nader, PhD

Professor, Translational Neuroscience and Radiology; Co-Director Center for Addiction Research

Dr. Nader is Professor of Translational Neuroscience and Radiology and Co-Director of the Center for Addiction Research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. A behavioral neuropharmacologist, he has over 35 years of experience studying substance use and impulsive choice using nonhuman primate models and PET imaging. His research focuses on individual differences in drug effects, including sex, social rank, and drug history, and employs innovative models of drug self-administration and cognition. Dr. Nader has mentored numerous trainees and served on over 30 dissertation committees. He is a Fellow of CPDD and ASPET and recipient of multiple honors, including the CPDD Mentorship Award, the Peter B. Dews Lifetime Achievement Award in Behavioral Pharmacology, and the Wake Forest Mentorship Award. 

Kimberly Raab-Graham, PhD

Kimberly Raab-Graham, PhD

Professor, Department of Translational Neuroscience

Dr. Raab-Graham is a Professor of Translational Neuroscience and is a Project Co-Investigator in the Wake Forest Translational Alcohol Research Center (WF-TARC). Dr. Raab-Graham’s work is nationally and internationally recognized. Her groundbreaking discovery of how acute alcohol has rapid antidepressant properties has provided a molecular basis for the self-medication hypothesis where individuals treat their depression with alcohol. Her work is now addressing the molecular underpinning of how repeated alcohol exposure transitions from an antidepressant to a depressant leading to Alcohol Use Disorder. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, The Department of Defense, the Alzheimer’s Association, The Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) Alliance, and The Fragile X Syndrome Association (FRAXA). Her studies are published in high impact, peer-reviewed journals such as Science, Molecular Psychiatry, and Nature Communications.