Washington, D.C. – Dr. Suck Won Kim, a pioneer in pharmacological treatment of gambling disorders, and Dr. Rina Gupta, an accomplished scientist who has advanced understanding of gambling disorders among children, adolescents and college-age populations, have been named recipients of the fifth annual National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) Scientific Achievement Awards.
Kim, professor of psychiatry and director of the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic at the University of Minnesota Medical School, is the recipient of the 2006 Senior Investigator Award. Gupta, co-director of the International Center for Youth Gambling Problems and High Risk Behaviors and assistant professor of school/applied child psychology at McGill University, is the recipient of the 2006 Young Investigator Award Winner.
“Dr. Kim has been at the forefront of applying insights from the science lab to new treatments for addiction , and his body of work to advance treatment strategies for gambling disorders was and continues to be revolutionary,” said Phil Satre, chairman of the NCRG. “The NCRG is proud to honor Dr. Kim and Dr. Gupta, who has quickly become a driving presence in youth gambling research.”
Recognizing outstanding contributions to the study of gambling disorders, the fifth annual NCRG Scientific Achievement Awards will be presented at a luncheon on Nov. 13 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The awards presentation will take place during the 7th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, which is sponsored by the NCRG and the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders, a program at the Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
Kim’s study of naltrexone, an anti-opioid drug typically used to dull cravings for alcohol, has shown the promise of such drugs for treating gambling disorders. The original study, funded by the NCRG in 1998, has been expanded with a grant of $464,463 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Kim’s research approach has focused on applying knowledge of the brain’s reward center to clinical treatments. Published in more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, his research applies to a broad range of addictive disorders. In particular, Kim has demonstrated that urges or cravings, whether in substance use disorders or gambling addiction, should be the target of opioid antagonist treatment.
Kim earned his medical degree at the Catholic University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korea. He joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1970. Kim was named a Distinguished Life Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association in 2003.
Gupta’s research has had important implications for intervention, prevention and social policy. For example, her findings have been translated into numerous curricula designed to prevent gambling disorders among school-age children. Her numerous publications have focused on identifying risk and protective factors associated with youth problem gambling, and on the development and testing of prevention programs.
Gupta has received international recognition for her expertise, sitting on the board for the South African Responsible Gambling Trust and consulting with the government of Singapore on the establishment of gambling prevention programs. She has testified before numerous Canadian provincial commissions and committees on social and economic issues of problem gambling. Her contributions have had a meaningful impact on shaping health and social policies associated with youth gambling.
Gupta earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at McGill in the department of educational and counseling psychology. Both her M.A. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation won the G.M. Dunlop Awards in Educational and Counseling Psychology in Canada, a feat that has not been accomplished by any other graduate student in Canada.
Recipients of the 2006 NCRG Scientific Achievement Awards were selected by an independent committee of distinguished leaders in the field of addictions and gambling research chaired by Joseph Coyle, the Eben S. Draper Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
To obtain press credentials for events related to the conference, or to arrange for interviews with conference participants or NCRG award winners, contact Aimee Tysarczyk at 202-530-4709. Please also visit www.ncrg.org to view the full conference program and registration information.
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The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) affiliated charity. Founded in 1996 as a separate 501(c)3 charitable organization, the NCRG’s mission is to support peer-reviewed, scientific research into pathological gambling and provide scientifically-based responsible gaming education and outreach programs to casino communities nationwide. For more information, visit www.ncrg.org. NCRG funds provide money to researchers from around the globe to increase understanding of pathological gambling and find effective methods of treatment for the disorder. The funds are distributed through the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders, a program of the Division on Addictions at Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information, visitwww.divisiononaddictions.org/institute.
