International meeting in San Antonio trains researchers, showcases new treatment approaches
Drug addiction remains one of the most challenging public health issues of our time, and opioid abuse has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S., resulting in significant morbidity and mortality and costing the U.S. economy an estimated $50 billion to $60 billion annually.
On March 4-5, UT Health San Antonio is again hosting the annual meeting of Behavior, Biology & Chemistry: Translational Research in Addiction (BBC). The BBC meeting brings together nearly 200 researchers, educators and clinicians to explore new approaches to treating addiction.
The meeting provides travel fellowships (this year nearly 70) to young scientists from Texas and across the U.S. to attend the meeting, interact with leaders in the field, and present their data. This year’s meeting includes a symposium on opioid addiction as well as an invited lecture by journalist Sam Quinones, acclaimed author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.
The BBC meeting is supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, and is hosted by the Addiction Research, Treatment and Training Center of Excellence at UT Health San Antonio. This year is the ninth annual meeting of the BBC.
“We believe that the BBC meeting underscores the growing prominence of addiction research and education at UT Health San Antonio,” Charles France, Ph.D., the Robert A. Welch Distinguished University Chair in Chemistry of pharmacology at UT Health, wrote in a letter announcing the conference. “Importantly, the BBC involves participation by many aspiring young scientists from across the U.S., including high school students from San Antonio.”
The BBC meeting and San Antonio are playing a crucial role in developing new treatments and educating the next generation of addiction researchers, he said.