VISN 1 MIRECC - Bruce J. Rounsaville, M.D.
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Dr. Rounsaville received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1974 from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is the Director of the New England MIRECC and a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University. Since 1977, he has devoted his career to clinical research on drug abuse and affective disorders. His principal research areas are psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions with drug abusers, the interaction of behavioral treatments and pharmacotherapy of drug abusers, identification and diagnosis of drug abusers in clinical and community settings, psychiatric epidemiology with emphasis on problems related to psychiatric comorbidity in drug abusers, and familial contribution to the development of drug abuse. Major accomplishments include introduction of the dependence syndrome construct into the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders in DSM-III-R and service as principal investigator on clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of relapse prevention treatment for cocaine dependence and of naltrexone as treatment for alcohol dependence.
Dr. Rounsaville is currently principal investigator in two major clinical research centers. The first center is a VA-supported Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) which focuses on improving the treatment of veterans with comorbid substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. Nine major MIRECC projects approach dual diagnosis issues at three levels: health services research; treatment effectiveness research; and neurobiological research. Projects are coordinated by a core staff and support for pilot projects is made available on a competitive basis. The second center focuses on development and evaluation of efficacy and effectiveness of innovative behavioral treatments for drug abusers.
