NIDA’s Promotion of Dr. Amy Hauck Newman Reaffirms Evidence-Based Practices
The Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Combats the Addiction Epidemic with Evidence-Based Practices.
Dr. Amy Hauck Newman is now the Scientific Director of the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). As part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and under the guidance of Director Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA is a champion nationwide of healthcare services that use evidence-based practices. As part of Dr. Volkow’s team, Amy Hauck Newman, Ph.D., has been the Acting Director for the past two years of the Intramural Research Program (IRP) in Baltimore, Maryland. Given the quality of Dr. Newman’s work on evidence-based practices and Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT), Dr. Volkow promoted her at the end of November 2020 to Scientific Director of IRP.
NIDA’s Intramural Research Program is one of the most cutting-edge healthcare research sites in the country. IRP research projects help to take the long-term recovery vision of NIDA and transform it into viable realities. Since Dr. Newman also serves as Chief of NIDA’s Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch as well as Director of the NIDA IRP Medication Development Program, she is at the forefront of research efforts to test and improve strategies related to the use of Medications for Addiction Treatment.
Dr. Amy Hauck Newman & Evidence-Based Practices
Indeed, Dr. Newman has helped research and develop MAT recovery strategies that affect dopamine receptors in the brain. Such evidence-based practices improve the efficacy rate of MAT. Grateful for the promotion, Amy Hauck Newman, Ph.D., noted, “As a career NIH scientist, it is indeed an honor and privilege to lead the NIDA IRP in cutting-edge basic, preclinical and clinical addiction science to be translated into the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.””
Since Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) has seen how MAT can help a wide range of clients achieve success on the path to long-term recovery, we mark Dr. Newman’s promotion. Scientists like Dr. Newman are at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to stem the opioid and prescription drug abuse epidemic. Given the understandable focus during 2020 on the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States’ ongoing drug abuse crisis has been in the shadows. Nevertheless, the damage is still being done, and too many lives are being lost or adversely affected.
With Dr. Newman’s promotion, TTC highlights another moment when the National Institute on Drug Abuse underscores the battle line previously drawn in the sand by Dr. Nora Volkow and her team. The clear message being sent is that ongoing scientific efforts to stem the national drug abuse epidemic’s tide cannot be forgotten or ignored. Reflective of the recovery strategies at Tarzana Treatment Centers, evidence-based treatment methods need to be an ongoing priority. With lives being saved through MAT therapies, it makes sense to emphasize this path.
Dr. Nora Volkow Marks the Promotion of Amy Hauck Newman
Illuminating such a perspective, NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D., notes, “Dr. Newman will continue to bring tremendous strength to NIDA’s robust intramural research portfolio. She has served exceptionally as our acting scientific director, and her valuable work on CNS agents (central nervous system) is bringing us closer to new and better medicines for the treatment of addiction.”
The very idea of bringing us closer to new and better medicines for addiction treatment is a ray of light shining through the shadows. The goal of the integrated healthcare services at TTC is to save lives while also improving our clients’ and patients’ quality of life. Thus, we believe the efforts of Dr. Amy Hauck Newman as Scientific Director of the Intramural Research Lab at the National Institute of Drug Abuse will be of great benefit to everyone.