Prof Dr Dr (h.c.) Marilyn A. Huestis
I am a toxicologist. I spent 23 years at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, most of them as Chief of Chemistry and Drug Metabolism, running controlled drug administration studies. My work covers the neurobiology and pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids, kratom and mitragynine, drug exposure in pregnancy, oral fluid drug testing, driving under the influence of drugs, and drug identification by mass spectrometry. I have more than 680 publications, over 49,380 citations and an h-index of 113. I hold a Doctor Honoris Causa from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, and I am a past president of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists.
For three years now I have worked closely with Dr Zafer Bekiroğulları and Teyfide Tecel Hatipoğlu. Under Zafer as project director, and under Teyfide as President of the Northern Cyprus Prime Ministry Anti-Drug Commission, the work carried out for the Commission has been excellent: careful research, prevention that reaches real schools and real families, and findings that are published rather than filed away. I am glad to chair a conference that grew out of that work.
I also want to say a word about Emanate Publishing House, which publishes the ICODAAS proceedings. My own connection with Emanate goes further than these pages: I have book chapters published with them, and I have been the editor of two books they published. Publication is not an afterthought. A conference that ends when the room empties has not finished its job, and your paper should still be readable, citable and findable years from now.
So bring your work to Antalya. Two days, peer reviewed, with enough time to argue properly about what the evidence actually shows. I look forward to meeting you there.
