NIDA International Program Director Steven W. Gust, Ph.D., received the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) J. Michael Morrison Award for outstanding contributions in the area of scientific administration related to drugs of abuse.
NIDA International Program Director Steve W. Gust (center) with Center on Problems of Drug Dependence President Anna Rose Childress, University of Pennsylvania, and Robert L. Balster, Virginia Commonwealth University, who nominated Dr. Gust for the award.
The award was presented June 19, 2011, at the Plenary Session of the CPDD Annual Scientific Meeting held in Hollywood, Florida. Dr. Gust was cited for his service as NIDA International Program director, which he has led since 1999, particularly his expansion of research funding opportunities, fellowship and other capacity-building programs, and scientific exchange activities such as the NIDA International Forum. The award also noted Dr. Gust’s service as acting director of the NIDA Office on AIDS, from 1994 to 1998, where he brought national and international attention to the connections between drug use and AIDS, and the Office was responsible for more than a third of the NIDA budget. Dr. Gust first joined NIDA in 1986 and also has served in the Clinical and Behavioral Pharmacology Branch and the Division of Applied Research.