Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D.
The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) has named Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D. as the winner of the Eva King-Killam Research Award. Dr. Leggio is a Clinical Investigator and Section Chief for the NIAAA and NIDA Intramural Research Programs (IRPs). He also serves as Associate Director for Clinical Research for the NIDA IRP Medication Development Program. Furthermore, he is Professor (Adjunct) at Brown University.
Dr. Leggio is an internationally renowned Early Career Investigator who is recognized and respected for his innovative and cutting-edge research on novel neuropharmacological targets and pharmacotherapies for drug addiction. Dr. Leggio’s laboratory has pioneered clinical research on the role of neuroendocrine signaling in alcohol-seeking behaviors via human laboratory studies. His laboratory has conducted clinical and translational inpatient and outpatient studies to identify novel medications for the treatment of addiction. His group uses a combination of state-of-the-art behavioral, pharmacological and imaging procedures. Dr. Leggio is particularly interested in the role of the gut-liver-brain axis in alcohol-seeking behaviors. Dr. Leggio has served as consultant for FDA advisory panels, the editorial boards of addiction-related journals and has served as Chair (Medical/Clinical) of the 2016 Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Program Committee. Among other awards, he received the 2008 European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA) Nordmann Award, the 2015 NIAAA Clinical Service Award, the 2016 NIAAA Mentoring Award, the 2016 RSA Early Career Investigator Award and the 2018 NIAAA Scientific Achievement Award. In nominating Dr. Leggio for the award, a colleague described him as “An exceptional example of someone highly committed to fill the gap between preclinical and clinical settings and he has done so by conducting highly significant and innovative work.” The Eva King-Killam award, presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the ACNP in Hollywood, Florida, is presented on the basis of outstanding translational research contributions to neuropsychopharmacology.
ACNP, founded in 1961, is a professional organization of more than 1100 leading scientists, including four Nobel Laureates. The mission of ACNP is to further research and education in neuropsychopharmacology and related fields in the following ways: promoting the interaction of a broad range of scientific disciplines of brain and behavior in order to advance the understanding of prevention and treatment of disease of the nervous system including psychiatric, neurological, behavioral and addictive disorders; encouraging scientists to enter research careers in fields related to these disorders and their treatment; and ensuring the dissemination of relevant scientific advances.
