18th Annual Arthur H. Briggs Lectureship
Guest Speaker - James H. Woods, Ph.D.
Cocaine Esterase : A Source of Pharmacotherapy for Cocaine Toxicity and Abuse
Held - Thursday, October 27th, 2011
Dr. James Woods is currently a Professor of Pharmacology and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Woods is interested in the behavioral effects of opioids, phencyclidine related agents and the mechanisms associated with these actions. A variety of behavioral techniques are used to study these drugs in rodents, birds, and primates. The processes of drug tolerance and dependence are also of considerable experimental and theoretical interest to him. Dr. Woods received the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) Outstanding Mentor Award in 2001. He has served on the CPDD Board of Directors and currently chairs the Drug Evaluation Committee of the College. Dr. Woods has published over 300 articles on various subjects related to drug abuse, and he has been recognized as a highly cited researcher in Pharmacology by the Institute for Scientific Information.
Dr. Woods talk, 'Cocaine Esterase : A Source of Pharmacotherapy for Cocaine Toxicity and Abuse', discussed how cocaine esterase is derived from a bacterium that grows around the root of the coca plant. 'The enzyme provides food to the bacterium in the forms of carbon and nitrogen by hydrolyzing cocaine. Cocaine esterase is very efficient. We have been modifying the enzyme to make it into substances that could be useful as therapy for acute cocaine toxicity or chronic cocaine abuse. To attempt to meet these objectives, we have had to learn how the enzyme behaves following a variety of changes.'
