Warren K. Bickel, Ph.D. (b. 1956, d. 2024)
“A week of being opioid-free may be an important milestone for many individuals, but remaining drug-free for years and having a happy, productive life with great family relationships is the outcome we strive to achieve.”
Understanding, preventing, and treating addiction
Why do people engage in self-harming behaviors?
Substance abuse damages health in both long-term and acute ways, and the health impacts of addiction are severe and widespread. Warren Bickel, Ph.D., studies why people continue to engage in harmful behaviors - such as smoking, substance abuse, and overeating - even when they know what’s at stake. A hallmark of addiction is the tendency to choose immediate gratification over longer term, healthier benefits. As director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Addiction Recovery Research Center, and co-director of the institute’s Center for Health Behaviors Research, Dr. Bickel searches for new diagnostics, interventions, and treatments to improve dysfunctional decision-making and help people adopt healthy behaviors.
- Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Founding Director, Addiction Recovery Research Center
- Founding Director, Center for Health Behaviors Research
- Professor of Psychology, College of Science
- Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, VTC School of Medicine
Koffarnus MK, Johnson MW, Thompson-Lake DGY, Wesley MJ, Lohrenz T, Montague PR, Bickel WK. (2016). Cocaine-Dependent Adults and Recreational Cocaine Users Are More Likely Than Controls to Choose Immediate Unsafe Sex Over Delayed Safer Sex. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 24(4): 297-304. doi: 10.1037/pha0000080.
Bickel WK, Quisenberry AJ, Snider SE. (2016). Does impulsivity change rate dependently following stimulant administration? A translational selective review and re-analysis. Psychopharmacology 233(1): 1-18.
Wilson AG, Franck CT, Mueller ET, Landes RD, Kowal BP, Yi R, Bickel WK. (2015). AddictiveBehaviors.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Wilbur D. Mills Professor of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Prevention, Department of Psychiatry
Professor, Department of Health Behavior
Director, Center for Addiction Research
Director, Interdisciplinary Tobacco Program
University of Vermont College of Medicine
Inaugural Director, Chittenden Center, An Addictions Treatment Program; Program of the Howard Center for Human Services in Alliance with Fletcher Allen Health Care and the University of Vermont's College of Medicine
Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry
Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology
Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Assistant Director for Clinical Research, Division of Substance Abuse
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Postdoctoral fellowship
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill: Postdoctoral fellowship
- University of Kansas: Ph.D., Developmental and Child Psychology
- University of Kansas: M.A., Developmental and Child Psychology
- University of New York New Paltz: B.A., Psychology
- Nathan B. Eddy Award, College on Problems of Drug Dependence, 2016
- Fellow, Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, 2014
- Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Kansas, 2014
- Service as Past President Recognition, Division 50, Society of Addiction Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2013
- Scholar of the Week, Virginia Tech, 2012
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Article ItemCommunity tunes in to learn about ‘The Craving Brain: Food and Drugs’ during Brain School , article
Nearly 200 people packed into the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC during Brain Awareness Week activities in March for exhibits, tours, talks, brain-healthy food and programming around brain science and its role in helping people lead healthier lives.
Date: Mar 21, 2024 -
Article Item11th annual Brain School digs into mysteries of the brain, emerging science behind weight-loss drugs , article
Researchers invite the community to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute to share in their passion for science during an interactive brain awareness event, including presentations and panel discussion on “The Craving Brain: Food and Drugs.”
Date: Mar 01, 2024 -
Article ItemMeagan Brem and team receive grant to study alcohol-fueled acts of violence among intimate partners , article
Brem, director of the university’s Research for Alcohol and Couples Health Lab, and her team will assemble a group of 100 heavy-drinking men and women students who have self-reported histories of intimate partner violence who will then be expected to report their drinking habits and other information for 30 consecutive days.
Date: Jan 08, 2024 -
Article ItemBuzz kill: Virginia Tech researchers find drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes reduce alcohol cravings, use in individuals with obesity , article
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute study analyzed social media posts and self-reported experiences among patients who use drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro.
Date: Jan 05, 2024 -
Article ItemHow do tax proposals affect cancer health of tobacco users based on income, education? , article
Roberta Freitas-Lemos of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute received a career development grant to examine socioeconomic cancer disparities of tobacco policy.
Date: Oct 11, 2023 -
Article ItemWhat is successful recovery? More than 10,000 people worldwide sign on to participate in addiction research , article
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s International Quit & Recovery Registry has become a rich network to study success in quitting alcohol, tobacco, and other substances.
Date: Sep 25, 2023 -
Article Item‘The real deal’: Students thrive and grow in summer hands-on research experiences , article
This was the seventh summer of programs aimed at engaging and training the next generation of scientists. This year, 34 students from colleges in Virginia, North Carolina, and as far away as California, and from five area high schools, participated in summer undergraduate research fellowship programs at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Sep 20, 2023 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute spinoff company partnering with UVA Health to improve screening for opioid use disorder , article
BEAM Diagnostics Inc., a behavioral health company that sprung from research from Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been awarded a $1.84 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to commercialize its technology to improve assessment of opioid use disorder in outpatient medical clinics.
Date: Sep 19, 2023 -
Article ItemTurning observations into health interventions: Graduate students continue to make an impact , article
Students in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health graduate program will pursue impactful health science careers after completing their degrees.
Date: Jun 28, 2023 -
Article Item‘Stimulants are coming back’: Addiction scientists seek to better understand cocaine use disorder , article
Warren Bickel and Stephen LaConte at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute hope the study will inform demand and cravings for a substance involved in nearly one in five overdose deaths
Date: May 14, 2023 -
Article ItemForecasting the health returns of tobacco tax proposals , article
Scientists with Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC are leading a five-year, $3.5 million study that has potential to deliver research-based health policy guidance for new tobacco regulations as well as evaluate the health consequences of people’s economic choices.
Date: Nov 15, 2022 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute expands Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program , article
More than 30 undergraduate and high school students worked behind the curtain of biomedical research this summer at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Aug 16, 2022 -
Article ItemNIH grant will fund graduate student’s study of human brain activity in alcohol use disorder , article
Jeremy Myslowski, a doctoral student working in the lab of Stephen LaConte at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, will use the award to study new ways to quantify severity of alcohol use disorder with neuroimaging and to test whether this disorder also impairs brain regulation.
Date: Apr 15, 2022 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech places five faculty on Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list , article
Compiled by Clarivate, a global company that provides data and maintains the Web of Science, the annual list identified 6,600 researchers from across the globe who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.
Date: Feb 08, 2022 -
Article ItemHow we view the future may hold key to recovery from alcohol use disorder , article
In a study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, Virginia Tech researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC suggest that modifying the time perspective of people with alcohol use disorder may improve their recoveries.
Date: Jan 27, 2022 -
Article ItemScientists explore new method to help people with alcohol use disorder , article
New ways to help people resist the siren call of alcohol have not kept pace — which leaves health care providers stuck with the same intervention and rehabilitation options they have been using for decades. But now, Virginia Tech scientists are studying whether people battling alcohol use disorder might gain some relief by “pre-experiencing” the future.
Date: Feb 14, 2020 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech, Indivior announce new collaboration to study long-term recovery pathways in people with opioid use disorder , article
The study will be carried out by a team of researchers led by Warren Bickel, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Professor, and a professor of psychology in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
Date: Dec 10, 2019 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute addiction scientist to receive international honor for translational research , article
Addiction researcher Warren Bickel, the Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Professor, will receive the Scientific Translation Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis on Saturday in Chicago, Illinois.
Date: May 23, 2019 -
Article ItemJudges, neuroscientists consider how science and criminal justice converge at Roanoke neurolaw conference , article
Neuroscientists and addiction experts at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC believe that emerging neuroscientific discoveries could complement criminal justice.
Date: May 02, 2019 -
Article ItemCenter for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors selects projects to tackle lifestyle-related diseases , article
Collaborative teams of Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic investigators are exploring the consequences of destructive health behavior in people struggling with poor adherence to breast cancer treatment regimes, opioid dependence, and cardiovascular disease.
Date: Jan 04, 2019 -
Article ItemResearchers study parallels in how some cancer survivors and people with addiction value the future , article
People more recently diagnosed with cancer are more likely to drink alcohol, use tobacco, and frequent tanning beds than people in later stages of recovery, according to a research team from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Date: Nov 30, 2018 -
Article ItemAddiction experts from VTCRI and Stanford call for more neuroscience research on long-term recovery , article
September is addiction recovery month, and, in the midst of the current opioid epidemic, it’s an apt moment for addiction research experts to map the future path forward for a long-term recovery strategy for substance abuse.
Date: Sep 25, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI professor to discuss artificial intelligence, psychology at international conference workshop , article
The worlds of addiction research and artificial intelligence research are colliding for Warren Bickel, a professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Date: Jul 11, 2018 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists seek unfiltered truth about 'light' cigarettes , article
VTCRI scientists will focus on how ventilated filters on cigarettes, product packaging, and messaging have affected cigarette use, and also how alternative nicotine delivery systems — such as electronic cigarettes — can be used to modify smoking behavior.
Date: Mar 06, 2018 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute awarded a Virginia Catalyst grant to curtail opioid overdoses , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists are focused on a new protocol to help curtail opioid overdoses. The project involves Virginia Commonwealth University and has been awarded $1 million in combined grant funding from the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp. and pharmaceuticals company Indivior.
Date: Dec 04, 2017 -
Article ItemNew center for health behaviors research to officially open on Roanoke campus , article
Leonard Epstein, creator of the Traffic Light Diet, will deliver a guest lecture on Sept. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. The lecture, which is open to the public, will mark the opening of the Center for Transformative Research in Health Behaviors at VTCRI.
Date: Sep 21, 2017 -
Article ItemBehavioral health scholar launches first interdisciplinary conference on decision-making processes , article
The conference participants study similar underlying principles of different chronic health conditions, such as obesity, or risky health behaviors, like not complying with medical advice. The meeting will be the first time many participants will have a chance to interact.
Date: May 23, 2017 -
Article ItemCenter for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors rises on Health Sciences and Technology campus , article
Scientists and clinicians throughout Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic will join forces at the new VTCRI Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors in an effort to protect the health of people in Virginia and the United States
Date: May 17, 2017 -
Article ItemInstitute Scholars' research crosses the globe and disciplines , article
The Scholars Program from the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment is designed to support faculty in strengthening the proposals for external funding, the collection of preliminary data, and other proposal development activities.
Date: Feb 07, 2017 -
Article ItemNIH’s alcohol addiction research programs leader will speak at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute , article
George Koob, the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, will discuss the neurocircuitry of alcohol addiction at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Date: Jan 17, 2017 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech addiction expert lauds surgeon general’s report on substance use disorders, calls for treatment reform , article
Warren Bickel says the country must start treating the substance use addiction as a legitimate medical problem deserving of treatment rather than a criminal one always deserving of prison.
Date: Nov 20, 2016 -
Article ItemTask force calls for community action to combat addiction epidemic , article
A summit will take place on July 26, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, and feature experts and those directly affected by addiction and substance abuse.
Date: Jul 25, 2016 -
Article ItemScientists at Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute take part in $15 million research project to study cigarettes and vaporized nicotine , article
Warren Bickel and his team will test four factors influencing a person’s choice between vaporized nicotine products and conventional cigarettes: nicotine dose, extra costs, smoke-free environments, and flavors.
Date: Jun 13, 2016 -
Article ItemAddiction scholar honored with career achievement award , article
The College on Problems of Drug Dependence selected Warren Bickel as the 2016 recipient of the Nathan B. Eddy Award.
Date: Apr 05, 2016 -
Article ItemEndowed professorships named for Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scholars , article
Warren Bickel is the first Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Science Research Professor, and P. Read Montague is the first Virginia Tech Carilion Vernon Mountcastle Research Professor.
Date: Mar 24, 2016 -
Article ItemScientists earn grant to research potential behavioral treatment in prediabetic individuals , article
Warren Bickel, a professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, recently received a $2.4 million grant to investigate and improve maladaptive decision-making that may contribute to Type 2 diabetes.
Date: Nov 13, 2015 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist selected for honorary society , article
The Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research recently recognized Bickel and his work by selecting him as a fellow.
Date: Feb 04, 2015 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute awarded $1.7 million for new approach to addiction recovery , article
The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute was recently awarded a grant to study social networking as an addiction recovery tool.
Date: Oct 15, 2014 -
Article ItemTreating addiction with technology , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists use computerized training to increase effectiveness of traditional therapy
Date: Oct 06, 2014 -
Article ItemSmall rewards might lead to big results in alcohol abstinence , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist earns grant to test feasibility of remote alcohol testing.
Date: Aug 27, 2014 -
Article ItemRisky business: Scientists seek to identify predictors of risky behaviors among teenagers , article
What makes the adolescent brain so susceptible to taking risks? Virginia Tech scientists are recruiting as many as 150 teenagers to help them find out.
Date: May 22, 2014 -
Article ItemAddicts who live in the moment may benefit most from certain kinds of treatment , article
An analysis across addictions and across treatments suggests that a simple cognitive test may be able to predict a treatment’s success for individuals struggling with addiction, according to a study led by an addiction expert at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Date: Mar 31, 2014 -
Article ItemSmoking abstinence research receives major financial boost , article
Warren Bickel, an internationally recognized addiction expert at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, recently received a $3.2-million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for research on improving self-control in smokers seeking to quit cigarettes.
Date: Aug 29, 2013 -
Article ItemBrain Awareness Week will highlight the wonders of nature's most remarkable machine , article
Imagine a portable supercomputer that requires only the wattage of a dim lightbulb to run and yet can decode ancient languages, invent fictional worlds, and distinguish friend from foe. The Virginia Tech community will be celebrating that supercomputer – the human brain – during Brain Awareness Week, which begins March 11.
Date: Mar 01, 2013 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech announces national addiction registry , article
The National Quit & Recovery Registry uses "crowdsourcing" to enhance scientists' understanding of addiction and to provide encouragement to those struggling with addiction
Date: Oct 06, 2011 -
Article ItemCocaine addicts prefer money in hand to snowy future , article
When a research team asked cocaine addicts to choose, hypothetically, between money now or cocaine of greater value later, preference was almost exclusively for the money now.
Date: Aug 12, 2011 -
Article ItemAmerican Psychological Association selects Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute professor as Distinguished Scientist Lecturer , article
Warren Bickel of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute is a 2012 American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientist Lecturer.
Date: Jul 14, 2011 -
Article ItemAddiction researcher optimistic about new, highly visual labels that show ill effects of smoking , article
Addiction researcher Warren Bickel of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute is optimistic about the effectiveness of the FDA's graphic warning labels that will go on cigarette packs in 2012.
Date: Jun 27, 2011 -
Article ItemCenter for Substance Abuse director recognized for contributions to understanding, treatment of drug dependence , article
Warren Bickel has received an award from the America Psychological Association for his work that spans basic and applied research.
Date: Feb 16, 2011 -
Article ItemLeading researcher to head new Center for Substance Abuse at Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute , article
Leading addiction researcher Warren Bickel will head the new Center for Substance Abuse at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
Date: Jan 28, 2011 -
Article ItemPowerful scanners for brain research to be delivered at Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke , article
A magnetic resonance imaging machine (MRI) being delivered on Nov. 17 to the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Date: Nov 11, 2010
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