Chimera awards - Europad 8 Sofia 2008.
A few words
to explain why we chose the name “Chimera” for this award.
Chimera was a monster in the Greek mythology: it had a lion head,
a goat body and a dragon tail: being a
monster, it can well represent drug addiction as a monster that must be
defeated.
But, in the
poetical language, the term “Chimera” means unrealizable dreams, impossible
imaginations: and in this sense, it still well represents the attempt made by
doctors of realizing their dream of helping drug addicts.
In both
senses, therefore, we can say that some kind of physicians, those who try to
treat drug addiction, run after “chimeras”, both to kill the monster, and to
realize their dream of helping drug addicts.
Gabrielle Fischer MD.
Gabriele Fischer qualified from the Medical University of Vienna in 1984, where she went on to specialise in psychiatry and neurology, with a fellowship at Washington University Medical School, St. Louis; US (1986-1989). In 1994, she became the Medical Director of the Addiction Clinic at the Medical University Vienna, Austria. She has been involved in many epidemiological and psychopharmacological studies in substance dependence, as well as her pioneering work in the research of substance dependence and pregnancy, which resulted in many scientific publications in addition to national & international funding eg: NIH/NIDA funding on the topic of a prospective multicentre trial on methadone versus buprenorphine in pregnancy (MOTHER). She is a consultant for several international and national groups including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and is also a board member of the Quality Control Commission in Medicine in Austria. To date she has given over 400 scientific presentations and has over 150 scientific publications. Professor Gabriele Fischer is also involved in editorial and review work for many psychiatric journals, is a board member of several addiction societies and is currently the President of the CPDD International Committee.
Didier Touzeau MD.
Didier Touzeau, psychiatrist, from 1980 and 1992, as
assistant-consultant at the Jail in Fresnes, provided care and treatment to
heroin addicts who were in prison.
In 1989, when assistant at the Centre Pierre Nicole in Paris, he
developed the third French methadone program (20 places) in that center.
In 1992 he founded the first methadone program (outside Paris) at the Clinique
Libertè in Bagneaux.
In 1998 he started a new program (in IVRY - VILLEJUIF) as head of
substance abuse department at the hospital Paul GUIRAUD.
He has always been interested in the field of AIDS management and
hepatitis prevention for heroin addicts.
In 2000 he received the prestigious Dole and Nyswander Award.
He is member of various scientific societies and editor of Le Courrier
des addictions.
Andrej Kastelic MD.
Andrej Kastelic, psychiatrist, is
Head of the National Center for Treatment of Drug Addiction in Ljubljana.
He is head of the Coordination of the Centers
for the Prevention and Treatment of Drug Addiction at the Ministry of Health of
the Republic of Slovenia and president of The Board of the
directors;
General Secretary of EUROPAD
Founding member of the World Federation for the treatment of opiate dependence
President of the SEE Adriatic Addiction Treatment Network;
president of the SEEA society;
In July 2007 he was president of the first world conference on medication assisted treatment of opiate addiction with inaugural
meeting of the world federation for the teatment of opiod dependence.
He was a founder member of ISAM (International Society of Addiction Medicine)
and SEEA (South Eastern European Adriatic Addiction Treatment Network)
Founding member of International Drug
Policy Foundation;
Member of Board of Directors of EUROPAD (European
Opiate Addiction Treatment Organization) and now its general secretary;
Member of the International Harm Reduction
Association (IHRA) Advisory Panel and of the International Scientific
committee of the American Association for Treatment of Opiate Dependance
(AATOD)
He is member of many other international
associations .
In 2001 he received the prestigious Dole - Nyswander Award by the
American Association for the Treatment of Opiate Dependence;
In 2002 the Gold Reflection Award and in
2005 the Slovene Ministry of Justice Award.