NCRG’s Scientific Advisory Board Chair To Be Founding Chair Of University Of Florida’s Department Of Epidemiology

The NCRG congratulates Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., on her new appointment as the founding chair of the University of Florida’s department of epidemiology. Dr. Cottler is a long-time friend of the organization and serves in many roles, including the chair of the NCRG’s Scientific Advisory Board and a member of the advisory board for the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction.

Dr. Cottler is an internationally renowned epidemiologist and is well-known in the field of gambling disorders. As of the December 2010 publication of the“The 10 Most Influential Research Papers on Gambling Disorders”on Gambling Disorders 360˚, her and her colleagues’ 1998 analysis of the results from the St. Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study had been cited 150 times. This survey was among the first to provide substantial evidence for the high rate of co-occurring psychiatric disorders with pathological gambling (Cunningham-Williams et.al, 1998). Dr. Cottler also founded HealthStreet, an innovative program that connects under-served St. Louis residents with volunteers who connect them to medical care, social services, health care referrals and opportunities to participate in research. Shepresented her research findings and the program’s successat last year’s NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction.

The University of Florida established the department of epidemiology this month, and Dr. Cottler will begin her appointment July 1. She currently serves as a professor of epidemiology in the department of psychology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. At Washington University, St. Louis, she directed the Epidemiology and Prevention Research group, the Center for Community Based Research and the Master of Psychiatric Epidemiology program.

Please join the NCRG in congratulating Dr. Cottler on her new position by sending her your well-wishes in the comments section below! Dr. Cottler will also co-lead a session with Dr. Jon Grant at this year’s NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction in Las Vegas, Nev. For more information, visit www.ncrg.org/conference.

References

Cunningham-Williams, R. M., Cottler, L. B., Compton, W. M., & Spitznagel, E. L. (1998). Taking chances: Problem gamblers and mental health disorders—results from the St. Louis Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study.American Journal of Public Health,88(7), 1093-6.

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