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Colin Drummond

Professor Colin Drummond MB ChB, MD, FRCP, FRCPsych, FFPH, FRCGP (Hon.)

Professor of Addiction Psychiatry

Research interests

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychology

Biography

I trained in medicine at Glasgow University, and undertook psychiatry training in Glasgow and the Maudsley Hospital. I was appointed in 2007 as Professor of Addiction Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist at the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Before that I was Professor and Head of the academic Section of Addictive Behaviour at St George’s, University of London where I worked from 1993 to 2007. Previously I was Lecturer and later Senior Lecturer in Addiction Behaviour at the Medical Research Council Addiction Research Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry from 1987 to 1993. My MD was on the subject of alcohol and public health which included the development and validation of the Alcohol Problems Questionnaire.

I am principal investigator on several research grants from the Department of Health, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research and the European Commission, including the DH funded national alcohol needs assessment project and a national research programme on alcohol screening and brief intervention, also funded by DH. In 2017 I was awarded an NIHR Senior Investigator award.

Editorial appointments include the journals Addiction and the British Journal of Psychiatry. Published papers and books on a wide range of topics including epidemiology, clinical trials, drug and alcohol policy, and theories of craving.

I provided advice to government on alcohol and drug misuse strategy. I was a member of the Models of Care working group which produced national frameworks for drug and alcohol services in England.

I am the past chair of the Faculty of Addictions of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and previously served as the Academic Secretary, and I am chair of the Medical Council on Alcohol. I am a member of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence and Alcohol Problems, and Chair of the NICE guideline development group on management of harmful alcohol use and alcohol dependence.

    Research

    alcohol and military
    Alcohol Dependence and Adherence to Medications (ADAM)

    Alcohol dependence causes considerable physical and mental health problems;

    Project status: Ongoing

    Growing numbers of alcohol related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts
    Alcohol Research Group

    Based in the Addictions Department, the Alcohol Research Group is led by Professor Colin Drummond and comprises a multidisciplinary research team.

    VR Cocaine Dependence Project Icon
    Virtual Reality-enhanced Cue Exposure Treatment for people with cocaine dependence

    Development, evaluation and testing of a Virtual Reality-enhanced Cue Exposure Treatment integrated with a wearable device to address craving, prevent relapse and improve treatment outcomes of people with cocaine dependence.

    News

    NIHR appoints Senior Investigators for 2021

    Ammar Al-Chalabi, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London...

    Illustration with different pictures of doctors providing patient services during the covid pandemic

    Growing numbers of alcohol-related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts

    A new study by King’s College London has shown an association between increases in alcohol related hospital admissions and decreases in spending on alcohol...

    Growing numbers of alcohol related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts

    Nearly a third of UK public drinking more alcohol than usual during the pandemic

    Nearly a third of people (29%) are reporting that they have drunk more alcohol than they normally would, according to a major new study by the Policy...

    Nearly a third of UK public drinking more alcohol than usual during the pandemic

      Research

      alcohol and military
      Alcohol Dependence and Adherence to Medications (ADAM)

      Alcohol dependence causes considerable physical and mental health problems;

      Project status: Ongoing

      Growing numbers of alcohol related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts
      Alcohol Research Group

      Based in the Addictions Department, the Alcohol Research Group is led by Professor Colin Drummond and comprises a multidisciplinary research team.

      VR Cocaine Dependence Project Icon
      Virtual Reality-enhanced Cue Exposure Treatment for people with cocaine dependence

      Development, evaluation and testing of a Virtual Reality-enhanced Cue Exposure Treatment integrated with a wearable device to address craving, prevent relapse and improve treatment outcomes of people with cocaine dependence.

      News

      NIHR appoints Senior Investigators for 2021

      Ammar Al-Chalabi, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London...

      Illustration with different pictures of doctors providing patient services during the covid pandemic

      Growing numbers of alcohol-related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts

      A new study by King’s College London has shown an association between increases in alcohol related hospital admissions and decreases in spending on alcohol...

      Growing numbers of alcohol related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts

      Nearly a third of UK public drinking more alcohol than usual during the pandemic

      Nearly a third of people (29%) are reporting that they have drunk more alcohol than they normally would, according to a major new study by the Policy...

      Nearly a third of UK public drinking more alcohol than usual during the pandemic