With an urgent mission to address the alarming rise in drug overdose deaths, UMSOM’s Kahlert Institute will bring together leading addiction experts in a shared research space.
With an urgent mission to address the alarming rise in drug overdose deaths, the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) has announced plans to open the new Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine. It will be funded with a $10 million gift from the Maryland-based Kahlert Foundation with an additional $10 million provided by the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and $5 million from UMSOM to renovate research facilities on campus. UMSOM has committed to raise an additional $5 million in philanthropic donations for the Kahlert Institute.
With a commitment of $30 million in funding, the new Kahlert Institute will bring together leading addiction experts in a shared research space to collaborate and create the synergy necessary for systemic change. UMSOM faculty will serve as an integral part of this institute. They will include neuroscientists, studying the brain mechanisms underlying substance use and its lifelong consequences, and clinical researchers investigating potential interventions in patient trials. Institute members also will include substance use disorder specialists who understand the daily realities of caring for patients with complex disorders often involving psychiatric illness, trauma, and socioeconomic stressors.
Photo: Eric Weintraub, MD, speaks at the news conference announcing the institute.