Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

» Back to Awards List


March 25, 2011

VA HSR&D Investigator Thomas Kosten, MD, Named to IOM's Armed Forces Substance Use Disorder Committee

Thomas R. Kosten, M.D., was recently selected to serve on the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Committee on Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forces. Dr. Kosten is Director of the VA HSR&D Substance Use Disorders Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (SUD-QUERI) and senior advisor on Substance Abuse based in the Mental Health Care Line at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. His more than 30 years of work in the field of substance use disorders and addiction has led to many ground breaking vaccines and technologies.

In 2002-2003, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that eight percent (approximately two million) of male Veterans aged 18 or older were dependent on or abusing alcohol or illicit drugs. The study also showed younger male Veterans were more likely to have co-occurring serious mental illness and a substance use disorder than older male Veterans. Dr. Kosten's cutting edge research will have a significant impact on the care of Veterans affected by substance use disorders.

Dr. Kosten is the Jay H. Waggoner Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, and a founding Vice Chair for Addiction Psychiatry of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has earned major international awards for clinical research, is editor of two major journals in substance abuse, and has been on the American Journal of Psychiatry editorial board. He has published more than 450 papers, books, and reviews.

Established in 1970, the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public.

To learn more:

  • Visit the VA SUD-QUERI website.
  • Visit the Institute of Medicine's substance use disorders consensus study website.


Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.