Registration is open for Penn State Addiction Center for Translation’s fifth annual Penn State Addiction Symposium. This symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Junker Auditorium, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
This symposium will feature preclinical and clinical addiction research at Penn State campuses and build opportunities for collaboration through brief 5-10 minute data blitz-style faculty presentations, a poster session and a keynote address from nationally recognized experts in substance use.
“The major impetus behind the creation of the Penn State Addiction Center for Translation is to advance our educational, translational, clinical, and outreach missions in the study and treatment of substance use disorder and addiction,” Sue Grigson-Kennedy, center director, said. "This effort comes to a pinnacle this year with the symposium, where we will bring together government officials, industry leaders, health care leaders and providers, scientists and students to discuss the needs of our patient population and our ability to address those needs using evidence-based practice and cutting-edge basic, clinical and translational research."
Dr. Yngvild Olsen and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, authors of “The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know” will deliver the keynote, “Applying Science to Clinical Care – What it Really Means to Treat Addiction as a Chronic Illness," at noon.
“Drs. Olsen and Sharfstein are leaders in the field of opioid use disorder and will address the etiology of the opioid epidemic in the United States, efforts to effectively reduce the stigma associated with the disease, and life-saving, evidence-based treatment for patients suffering from an opioid use disorder,” Grigson-Kennedy said.
“The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know” provides an accessible, nonpartisan overview of the causes, politics, and treatments tied to the epidemic from all sides: the basic science of opioids; the nature of addiction; the underlying reasons for the opioid epidemic; effective approaches to helping individuals, families, communities, and national policy; and common myths related to opioid addiction. The first 100 registrants for the symposium will receive a copy of the book.
Check-in and light refreshments begin at 8:15 a.m, followed at 9 a.m. by Penn State featured speaker Yuval Silberman. Silberman will present “Stress Neurocircuitry and Addiction Across the Lifespan.” Data blitzes will be held at 10:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. A poster session featuring students, faculty and staff will be held at 1 p.m.
The keynote will be streamed online here.
Registration is requested. Lunch is provided for those who register by Dec. 3. CME and APA credits for Penn State Health employees are available.
The symposium is co-sponsored by Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Douglas W. Pollock Center for Addiction Outreach and Research at Penn State Harrisbug and Penn State Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse.
