
On April 11, I took part in an afternoon plenary session titled: “State of the Science: Updates from the National Institutes of Health.” Joining me on the stage were my NIH colleagues Nora Volkow, director, National Institute on Drug Abuse; and George Koob, director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. I was able to update everyone on the research progress being made by the NIH Helping to End Addiction (HEAL) Initiative. The initiative, through its support of more than 1,000 projects across the nation, aims to prevent addiction through enhanced pain management, while seeking better ways to improve prevention and treatment for opioid misuse disorder and addiction. The Rx and Illicit Drug Summit 2023 took place on April 11-13 at the Georgia World Congress Center. Credit: Pierce Harman, HMP Global, Malvern, PA.