Eisenberg Receives National Award

Richard Eisenberg, Ph.D. Receives National Award

Duluth, MN (August 2006) --  Richard Eisenberg, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, has received the Distinguished Service Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD).  The award has been bestowed only four times in the past.  Established in 1929, the College is the longest standing group in the United States addressing problems of drug dependence and abuse. 

In collaboration with John Kamien, Ph.D. President of Biopsych Consulting, California, Dr. Eisenberg helped the CPDD develop electronic media solutions for a variety of purposes to manage information and data more efficiently and effectively.  For example, they restructured and reorganized the CPPD website to make it searchable, created and maintained the “listserv function”, developed a system to allow electronic abstract submissions, streamlined the receipt and presentation of PowerPoint® for the annual meetings to make them Mac or PC-friendly, and other improvements.

The award was presented at the CPDD Annual Meeting held in Scottsdale, Arizona.  In her presentation remarks at the meeting, CPDD President, Kathryn Cunningham, Ph.D., praised Eisenberg and Kamien for “revolutionizing the function and efficiency of our College.  These two individuals, in conjunction with the Electronics Committee and office staff, have brought CPDD into the 21st century.”

Upon hearing of the award, Richard Ziegler, Ph.D., Dean of the Medical School Duluth remarked, “I’ve known Dr. Eisenberg since our medical school opened its doors.  He has always gone the extra mile to support this school, students and colleagues, and we are honored that a prestigious organization such as the CPDD has recognized his dedication and hard work.” 

Richard Eisenberg is Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Medical School -- Duluth.  For 29 years he was Head of the Department of Pharmacology, having been promoted through the academic ranks since joining the faculty in 1971.  He is a founding faculty member of the School, was named Acting Department Head in 1977 and was Department Head from 1980 to 2006.

MORE ABOUT DR. EISENBERG

Dr. Eisenberg received his Ph.D. from the U.C.L.A. Department of Pharmacology and was a Mental Health Trainee in the Brain Research Institute.  In 1970, he proceeded to a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Rochester.

Professor Eisenberg's research is focused on the area of drug dependence. His studies involve the actions of opioid peptides on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the use of changes in hormone levels to study dependence and tolerance to opioids.

His work has been supported by several grants from NIDA to study dependence and tolerance to subcategories of opioids using the neuroendocrine system.  His educational efforts have resulted in the authorship of MacPharmacology®, MacBrainLesion™, and MacMedVirology™, a series of computer-assisted instruction modules that have been used in many institutions.  Most recently, he has completed the production of an interactive multimedia CD-ROM on alcoholism (Understanding The Alcoholic™).  He is currently producing an educational program on Geriatric Therapeutics, funded by NIA.  He is a Past-President of the Association of Medical School Pharmacology Chairs; Chair of the Electronics Committee of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence; and he serves on the Executive Committee for the Division of Pharmacology Education and the Substance Abuse Committee for the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.