Dr. Barry J. Hoffer, the former Scientific Director of the NIDA IRP, has been awarded an Honorary Doctors of the Faculty of Philosophy from the University of Helsinki for his lifelong work in neuropharmacology. The Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Helsinki confers distinguished persons from the fields of science, culture and society as honorary doctors each year May. Angela Merkel was also among this year's award recipients.
Dr. Hoffer was honored for his study of the brain’s dopamine system in the neurobiology of amphetamines and other substances that cause serious addiction. Hoffer has made numerous original observations relating to the mechanisms of degenerative brain diseases and has explored the potential of using dopamine cell transplants and nerve growth factors in developing a treatment for Parkinson’s disease.