KU addiction research and treatment center announces fall seminar series

LAWRENCE — The Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the University of Kansas is launching its fall seminar series with a talk by a nationally recognized researcher in the use of psilocybin as treatment for addiction, anxiety and depression.

Matthew W. Johnson from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will offer the talk at 10:30 am. Sept. 18. Registration for this talk, including a Zoom link for access, is available.

Johnson is an expert on psychedelics, other psychoactive drugs and addiction. His review of the known risks of psychedelics and safety guidelines helped to resurrect psychedelic research in humans. He published the first research on psychedelic treatment of tobacco addiction in 2014 and the largest study of psilocybin in treating cancer-related depression and anxiety in 2016. He has been interviewed widely about psychoactive drugs and addiction by national and international media, including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, Fox Business News, National Public Radio, CBS News, NBC News, and by author Michael Pollan for his recent book, “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence.”

Additional talks in the series are as follows:

Jessica Salvatore, of Virginia Commonwealth University, at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 16 (register to participate). Salvatore, research assistant professor in developmental psychology, studies the interplay between genetic factors and close relationship factors in the onset, persistence and discontinuity of substance misuse.

Trenette Clark Goings, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 20 (register to participate). A professor in the School of Social Work, Clark Goings researches epidemiology, etiology and prevention of substance use among racial and ethnic minority adolescents and young adults.

“The seminar series is integral to the training mission of the Cofrin Logan Center,” said Richard Yi, director of the center and professor in the KU Department of Psychology. “By inviting renowned addiction scientists and clinicians to present their work at our seminars, we hope to inspire current and future leaders in the field of addictions science to expand beyond current boundaries, consider new perspectives and integrate multidisciplinary approaches.”

The Cofrin Logan Center brings together researchers, practitioners, KU students and community partners to address challenges in addiction. Researchers affiliated with the center explore a wide range of behavioral health challenges, while clinical staff members of the center deliver direct addiction treatment and therapy services to individuals in the community, as well as arts-based therapy programs.

The center was established in 2018 following a gift to KU Endowment from KU alumnus Dan Logan (’75) and his wife, Gladys Cofrin. In addition to research focused on a broad range of addictive behaviors – including vaping, tobacco, alcohol and food – the center’s faculty and graduate students also seek to engage at-risk populations including medically underserved communities, survivors of domestic violence, veterans and university students.