Memorial lectureship on opioid crisis will honor VCU professor’s son
A new lecture series at Virginia Commonwealth University will address the opioid crisis, honoring the son of a VCU professor who died of an overdose.
The Adam Abubaker Memorial Lecture will bring experts and leaders together annually to focus on topics related to addiction medicine. Lecturers will present on prevention, treatment, and community health in a way that enhances the knowledge and understanding of addiction and substance use disorders.
Adam Abubaker was the son of Omar Abubaker, D.M.D., Ph.D., chair of oral and maxillofacial surgery in the VCU School of Dentistry. Adam was prescribed narcotics for pain after a high school shoulder injury, and Abubaker believes this led to his son’s heroin addiction and eventual overdose.
“Doctors and dentists, including myself, were part of this opioid epidemic,” Abubaker told VCU News last year. Since his son’s death in 2014, Abubaker has dedicated himself to spreading awareness of the dangers of opioids and over-prescription. The memorial lectureship will continue that work.
The Department of Psychiatry at the VCU School of Medicine will host the lectureship. Wright Center Director F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., is the division chair for the department and the director of the VCU Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies.
“The opioid epidemic hasn’t gone away during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Moeller. “In fact, the pandemic is making the problem worse, as we’re seeing a surge in opioid overdoses. This lectureship will be a great addition to our addiction research and education programs at VCU – and an appropriate memorial for Adam and others who have died as a result of opioid addiction.”
To fund the lectureship, the MCV Foundation is raising a minimum of $100,000 to permanently endow it. Anyone interested in contributing to fundraising efforts for the lectureship can complete an MCV Foundation pledge form.
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