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For more information, contact Abena Foreman-Trice at 434-243-2734. August 19, 2004 LEADING BRITISH DOCTOR TO HEAD UVa HEALTH SYSTEM PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE DEPARTMENT |
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One of the United Kingdom’s best doctors is coming to the University of Virginia Health System to lead the Department of Psychiatric Medicine. Professor Bankole Johnson, an expert on addictions who is currently with the University of Texas, will join the Health System Sept. 1. Johnson also will be a professor in the Department of Neuroscience. “It is an honor to have such a prominent physician as Bankole Johnson here at U.Va. Health System,” said Dr. Arthur Garson Jr., vice president and dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine. “This appointment demonstrates our ability to attract top physicians to aggressively lead the Health System in all areas of medicine.” A practicing physician and psychiatrist widely known throughout the United States and Europe, Johnson brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the areas of alcohol and drug addiction to the Health System and the East Coast. Johnson’s research integrates the study of brain functions—known as neuroscience—and the behavioral aspects of addiction medicine. He is also working to develop an understanding of the basic underpinnings of drug-seeking behavior by determining whether certain types of alcoholics have functional or structural abnormalities at the molecular level in the brain. “I look forward to being able to develop new knowledge within the walls of an institution that understands the link between the basic sciences and the clinical aspects of healthcare,” says Johnson. “Through these means, we can hopefully develop one of the best psychiatric medicine departments in the country.” Upon arrival, Johnson has a goal of establishing an addictions center in Charlottesville and at least two other communities in Virginia. He will move to the area with his wife, Dr. Lynda Wells, who will join the Health System as an anesthesiologist. Johnson graduated from Glasgow University in 1982 with a degree in Medicine, and trained in Psychiatry at the Royal London and Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals. Johnson also trained in research at the Institute of Psychiatry (University of London) and at Oxford University. Additional to his medical degree, Professor Johnson received a doctoral degree for his research in psychopharmacology from the University of Glasgow. Johnson is currently the Wurzbach Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry & Pharmacology; Deputy Chairman for Research; Chief, Division of Alcohol & Drug Addiction and director for the START center at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He has been listed in Best Doctors in the United Kingdom since 1991 and was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame for Science, Mathematics and Technology in 2003. Johnson also received the Dan Anderson research Award in 2001 for his “distinguished contribution as a researcher who has advanced the scientific knowledge of addiction recovery.” He has published over 100 articles on psychopharmacology and addiction. Johnson has served on numerous National Institutes of Health committees and special panels, and was invited to serve on the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse in 2003 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy G. Thompson. ###
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