About us

At the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, we seek to explore the complex problems of drugs through multidisciplinary research and training, with a focus on the neuroscience of addictions and related neurobehavioral disorders.

The institute is led by F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., a preeminent researcher with a focus on brain imaging in addiction medicine. Moeller’s addiction research has been funded since 1996 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. His work is published in more than 110 peer-reviewed publications.

Moeller is also director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center for Clinical and Translational Research and the university’s associate vice president for clinical research.

Faculty
	F. Gerard Moeller, M.D. Director, Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies Director, Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research Professor, Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Neurology Associate Vice President for Clinical Research (804) 828-4134 frederick.moeller@vcuhealth.org MyNCBI Publications
	James M. Bjork, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology and Toxicology (804) 828-3935 james.bjork@vcuhealth.org ORCID: 0000-0003-0593-3291
	John “Jack” Hettema, M.D. Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry (804) 828-8592 john.hettema@vcuhealth.org ORCID: 0000-0002-0105-9034
	Lori Keyser-Marcus, Ph.D. Assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry (804) 828-4164 lori.keysermarcus@vcuhealth.org ORCID: 0000-0001-6014-2500
	Ma Liangsuo, Ph.D. Assistant professor, Department of Radiology (804) 828-2871 liangsuo.ma@vcuhealth.org
	Joel L. Steinberg, M.D. Professor, Department of Psychiatry (713) 249-7472 joel.steinberg@vcuhealth.org
	Mishka Terplan, M.D. Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (804) 828-8792 mishka.terplan@vcuhealth.org ORCID: 0000-002-2489-2942
	Jasmin Vassileva, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry (804) 828-5807 jasmin.vassileva@vcuhealth.org ORCID: 0000-0003-2397-2657
Administration
	Elizabeth Fortune, MBA, CRA Administrative Director W-CCTR/CARI/IDAS (804) 827-1936 efortune@vcu.edu
	Robert E. Cadrain, R.T. (MR), CNMT MRI Manager/Chief Technologist/Safety Officer W-CCTR/CARI/IDAS (804) 828-3639 recadrain@vcu.edu
	Mary Simmons Grant/Fiscal Manager W-CCTR/CARI/IDAS (804) 628-2961 mfsimmons@vcu.edu
	Richard Johnson Fiscal Technician W-CCTR/CARI/IDAS (804) 828-4155
	Vacant Program Support Specialist W-CCTR/CARI/IDAS (804) 828-3793
Research Staff
	Alia Bey ab@vcu.edu
	Elizabeth Abston ecabston@vcu.edu
	Ervina Baskerville-Allen, ICDAC earobins@vcu.edu
	Mary Bowman, FNP mbowman2@vcu.edu
	Rebecca Cespedes rcespedes@vcu.edu
	Demetrea Flowers dlflowers@vcu.edu
	Jessica Jones Jljones5@vcu.edu
	Ivan Kane kaneib@vcu.edu
	DeMeara Payne dpayne4@vcu.edu
	Fola Shokunbi axshokunbi@vcu.edu
	Maggie Smith mesmith3@vcu.edu
	Lisa Straub lkstraub@vcu.edu
	Sravya Uppalapati uppalapatis@vcu.edu
	Rose Williams williamsrm4@vcu.edu
	Richard Wilson wilsonrd2@vcu.edu
	Edward Zuniga eazuniga@vcu.edu
Post-Doctoral Fellows/Trainees
	Sade Johns, Ph.D. sejohns@vcu.edu

Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies

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Faculty