Advisory Council

The ITN has recruited an Advisory Council (AC), which provides advice as to ITN Program priorities and strategies and conducts the primary external scientific review of projects proposed for funding. AC members reflect the range of disciplines relevant to the ITN mission of developing new medications and treatment protocols for SUDs. AC members are senior researchers and clinical caregivers with significant scientific, clinical, administrative and/or management experience. Additional scientific expertise is obtained from non-AC members as necessary. The ITN Advisory Council broadly advises the ITN Director, providing indications for important thematic areas and review and advice on the quality and mission relevance of research progress and proposals.

Individual members of the AC are assigned responsibility for primary, secondary and tertiary review of each application for ITN funding awards. Under certain circumstance when specific scientific or clinical expertise beyond that of the AC members is required, experts outside of the AC are added to provide additional review and advice as to the relevant application. The ITN staff coordinates collection of all reviews and scores, provides such information to the entire AC in advance of an in-person meeting of the AC, which is also attended by the ITN Director and staff, and representatives of TATRC, MOMRP and MRMC.

For all proposed projects the ITN review process emphasizes (1) scientific merit, (2) technical feasibility, (3) military priorities and needs, and (4) maintenance of a portfolio/pipeline of projects from earlier to later stages of medications development.

Currently, the advisory council consists of the following members:

Dr. Antonello Bonci is the Scientific Director at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is one of the world’s leading researchers in neuropsychopharmacology.

Dr. Charles Chavkin is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Washington and the Director of the Center for Addiction Research.

Dr. Ronald L. Hoover is the MOMRP Psychological Health Deputy Portfolio Manager for PTSD and a Staff Psychologist at the Veterans Health Administration.

Dr. Patricia H. Janak holds appointments in both the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological and Brian Sciences and the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Mary “Betsy” E. McCaul is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Mack C. Mitchell is a Professor and Vice-Chairman of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the President of ABMRF, The Foundation for Alcohol Research.

Dr. Charles Peterson, is a Senior Advisor at the Geneva Foundation in support of CDMRP.

Dr. Murray Raskind is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine and director of the University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. He is also director of the Mental Health Service at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

Dr. Orazio "Ray" Santullo is the Program Manager for the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Research Program.