Boris Tabakoff

Boris Tabakoff was trained as a molecular pharmacologist; he also received training in behavioral genetics. He received his PhD from the University of Colorado in 1970. Dr. Tabakoff’s research endeavors have received significant peer recognition and he has been the recipient of The William Peck Scientific Research Award, The Research Society on Alcoholism Scientific Excellence Award, The Jellinek Memorial Award for Major Contributions to Alcoholism Research, and The Florence Rena Sabin Award for Exceptional Contributions to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, among others.

Dr. Tabakoff has provided leadership within the alcohol research community by his active role as President of the Research Society on Alcoholism and President of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Additionally, Dr. Tabakoff has an appointment as a member of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Dependence and Alcohol Problems, and as Scientific Director of the W.H.O. sponsored Multi-Center Study on State and Trait Markers in Alcoholism. Additionally, Dr. Tabakoff has helped to lead Federal Government alcoholism research efforts through his past position as Scientific Director for NIAAA’s Intramural Research Programs and in his past role as Acting Deputy Director for NIAAA.

In his role as Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology, and through his own current research endeavors, Dr. Tabakoff has encouraged the application of the most modern technology to studies of alcoholism and other drug abuse. An example of this can be seen in the structure of the Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism (INIA) which is sponsored by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Tabakoff is part of the organizing committee and scientific advisory committee for INIA, and he has championed the utilization of several technology platforms as means of solving the complex problems of alcohol dependence and craving. Dr. Tabakoff is also the founder and President of Lohocla Research Corporation, which has played an important role in introducing target structure-based drug design into the alcoholism pipeline development area and has produced genetically based diagnostic tools in the areas of alcoholism and depression. Through his research career, Dr. Tabakoff has published well over 300 research reports, reviews, and commentaries in the areas of alcohol addiction, other drug addictions, and mental health.