Walter Ling, M.D.

UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Los Angeles, California, United States

A productive researcher whose clinical trials helped pave the way for U.S. approval of naltrexone, buprenorphine, and LAAM, Walter Ling also has trained a generation of drug abuse researchers. Directing the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the University of California Los Angeles, Dr. Ling has helped prepare young scientists to significantly improve drug abuse research around the globe—from Australia to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the United States. As principal investigator for the NIDA Clinical Trials Network Pacific Region Node, Dr. Ling has trained researchers and treatment providers while conducting research on psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for opiate, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and nicotine abuse. His protégés include successful NIDA grantees and former NIDA International Program Fellows who learned more than just science from Dr. Ling: many of them have followed his example by building productive research and training centers, particularly in China and Thailand.