Keynotes

Wilson M. Compton, MD, MPE
Deputy Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Wilson Compton devotes his considerable expertise to leading research on drug abuse and addiction throughout the world as Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. Most notably he led a national and international public health research project examining the extent of drug use and how to implement prevention and treatment programs. He was also at the helm of a joint study with the Food and Drug Administration on the impact of new U.S. tobacco regulations. He has authored over 150 articles and chapters and his extensive speaking engagements have included presentations to justices at the Federal Judicial Center explaining how the science of addiction may improve policy and practices related to persons with substance use disorders within the criminal justice system. Prior to his work at NIDA where he also served as the Director of Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research from 2002 until 2013, Dr. Compton taught psychiatry at Washington University in Saint Louis and was also Medical Director of Addiction Services at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis.

Jay N. Giedd, MD
Professor and Chair, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego

Jay Giedd, a sought-after neuroscientist and researcher, has spent decades examining the developing adolescent brain. In an era marked by the ubiquitous use of personal electronic devices by teens, his long-term studies using brain imaging, genetics and psychological/behavioral assessments have produced groundbreaking insights into the impact digital technology habits have on the teenage brain. His work makes headlines and was highlighted on PBS’s Frontline (Inside the Teenage Brain) where he demystified influences on adolescent brain development like gender differences and the role of environmental versus genetic factors as well as the development of decision-making abilities. Currently a professor of psychiatry at University of California, San Diego, he was previously a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Chief of the Section on Brain Imaging, Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health.