NCRG Names Centers Of Excellence In Gambling Research
The University of Chicago and Yale University Will Each Receive Three-year Grant to Explore Gambling Disorders
Mar 14, 2013
WASHINGTON – The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) today named the University of Chicago and Yale University as the next NCRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research. The two institutions were each awarded a three-year NCRG Centers of Excellence grant in the amount of $402,500 to employ a long-term, institutional approach to conducting innovative and multidisciplinary research and education programs about gambling disorders. The announcement was made during a symposium, titled “Investing in Research, Responsible Gaming and the Community,” at the University of Chicago, which was held as part of the NCRG’s 2013 Annual Education Summit.
“During more than a decade of funding research in this field, the NCRG observed that substantial, multi-year research grants are the most effective way to produce foundational research on gambling disorders,” said Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., chairwoman of the NCRG’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and dean’s professor and chair for the department of epidemiology in the Colleges of Medicine and Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida. “Today, we are excited to award the NCRG Centers of Excellence grants to the University of Chicago and Yale University, and we look forward to the impact they will have on furthering our understanding of gambling disorders and the influence they’ll have on the field.”
The NCRG established the Center of Excellence in Gambling Research grant in 2009 to encourage innovative, multidisciplinary investigations of gambling disorders. These three-year grants are intended to provide funding for a stable, long-term institutional focus on a complex set of gambling-related problems. The grantees have provided leadership in the field by conducting cutting-edge investigations of gambling-related disorders, translating research findings for non-academic audiences and cultivating the next generation of gambling researchers by mentoring young investigators.
NCRG Center of Excellence at the University of Chicago
The NCRG Center of Excellence at the University of Chicago will be led by Jon E. Grant, J.D., M.D., M.P.H., professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago. Dr. Grant and his colleagues will expand on previous studies he led at the NCRG Center of Excellence at the University of Minnesota from 2009 to 2012. This research is helping to determine if scientists can identify young adults who may be at risk for developing a gambling disorder through Dr. Grant’s proposed susceptibility model of impulsivity. This understanding will aid in the development and implementation of effective prevention, intervention and treatment programs for this disorder, especially pertaining to ethnically diverse populations. Dr. Grant will conduct this work in conjunction with colleagues from the University of Minnesota.
NCRG Center of Excellence at Yale University
Marc Potenza, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, child study and neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine, will continue to lead the NCRG Center of Excellence at Yale University through its second three-year round of NCRG funding. Dr. Potenza and his colleagues will use a multidisciplinary approach to study the motivational and emotional factors that influence the development of gambling disorders in men and women, including the role of stress in gambling urges and cravings. With neuroimaging technology, this research team also will test medications to understand its role in the brain and potential effectiveness as a medication for gambling disorders.
The NCRG Centers of Excellence were awarded on a competitive basis under the leadership of the NCRG SAB. Composed of leading independent scientists with expertise in addiction and related topics, the SAB plays a vital role by ensuring rigorous standards in awarding grants for only the highest-quality research proposals and by serving as a firewall between decisions made about research grants and the primary source of the NCRG’s funding – the casino industry and related businesses.
To learn more about the NCRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research, the NCRG research program and other initiatives, visitwww.ncrg.org. To stay up-to-date on year-round educational opportunities and the latest news and issues in the field, visit the NCRG’s blog –Gambling Disorders 360°– and connect with the NCRG onFacebookandTwitter.
