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Office of the DESPR Director (OD)

What We Do:

The mission of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research is to improve the nation's public health by promoting integrated approaches to understand and address interactions between individuals and environments that contribute to the continuum of problems related to drug use. We will develop scientific knowledge with clear applications to practice and public policy.

Staff Biographies for the Office of the Director:

  • Wilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E. - Director
    (301) 443-6504
    Dr. Compton is the Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research at the National Institute Drug Abuse (NIDA). Prior to joining NIDA, Dr. Compton was Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Master Psychiatric Epidemiology Program at Washington University in Saint Louis as well as Medical Director of Addiction Services the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in Saint Louis. Dr. Compton received his undergraduate education from Amherst College, and attended medical school and completed his residency training in psychiatry at Washington University. He is a member Alpha Omega Alpha honor society as well as numerous professional organizations. He has been the principal or co-principal investigator of multiple federally funded grants focusing on the epidemiology of drug abuse, HIV prevention and co-occurring mental drug use disorders. In these areas of research, Dr. Compton has authored over 90 articles and chapters, and several diagnostic interviews.
  • Kevin P. Conway, Ph.D. - Deputy Director & Acting Chief of Prevention Research Branch
    (301) 443-6504
    Dr. Conway is the Deputy Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Before assuming this position in 2007, he served as Associate Director of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research at NIDA, and Deputy Branch Chief and Program Director for the Epidemiology Research Branch at NIDA. Prior to joining NIDA in 2001, Dr. Conway was a research faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Conway earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Temple University in 1998, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters focusing on the epidemiology of drug abuse, co-occurring psychiatric disorders, and violence. Dr. Conway is the recipient of many awards for his scholarship and leadership in research, and is a fellow of the American Psychopathological Association.
  • Meyer D. Glantz, Ph.D. - Associate Director for Science
    (301) 443-6504
    Dr. Glantz is currently the Associate Director for Science of the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research (DESPR) the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health and the Chief of the Analytic Unit. At NIDA, Dr. Glantz previously served as the Acting Deputy Director of DESPR and the Chief of the Epidemiology Research Branch and the Director of the Etiology Research Program. Prior to coming to NIDA he worked as a researcher and clinician at the Veterans Administration Clinic in Boston. Dr. Glantz is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and serves as a consultant to and board member of a variety of scientific and professional organizations and publications. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters on substance abuse, drug abuse etiology, cognitive therapy, prevention, and the elderly and has authored several volumes including Vulnerability to Drug Abuse, Biobehavioral Research Approaches to Drug Abuse Etiology, Resilience and Development: Positive Life Adaptations, and Drug Abuse: Origins and Interventions. In addition, he maintains a private clinical practice in the Washington D.C. area, supervises other clinicians, is a lecturer for the Montgomery County Adult Education program and has taught at several area universities. Dr. Glantz received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1979.
  • Marc D. Brodsky, M.Sc. - Statistician
    (301) 402-1849
    Mr. Brodsky is a statistician with the DESPR Analytic Unit. He was trained in Sociology at the University of Rochester and Quality Control Statistics at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Mr. Brodsky also has experience in Operations Research for Department of the Army and the National Institute of Mental Health,(NIMH) prior to coming to NIDA. He also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. In his career at NIDA, Mr. Brodsky has been involved with a number of analyses, including development of estimates incidence of initial drug use based on retrospective reports.
  • Garveyette F. Brown, B.S. - Program Assistant
    (301) 435-1329
    Ms. Brown is a Program Assistant with the Division of Epidemiology Services and Prevention Research (DESPR). Prior to joining DESPR, she worked in the Office of Science Policy and Communications (OSPC) Public Information and Liaison Branch (PILB) at NIDA, where she provided assistance in the areas of research dissemination and communication. As Program Assistant in DESPR she helps coordinate staff activities, grant supplements, data and budget analysis, and staff training. Ms. Brown has received the NIDA Director's Award of Merit for her efforts in support of the NIDA mission, and also the distinguished NIH Director's Award for her sustained effort to disseminate NIDA science-based information. Ms. Brown is a graduate of Bowie State University where she has received a B.S. degree and is currently pursuing a M.A. degree.

This page was last updated December 2011

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