Chief Medical Officer

Management Team

Bankole A. Johnson, D.Sc., M.D.

Chief Medical Officer
Adial Founder

Dr. Bankole Johnson has been our Chief Medical Officer since March 24, 2019, after having served as the Chairman of our Board since November 2010. Dr. Johnson is a world-leading neuroscientist and a pioneer in the development of medications for the treatment of alcohol abuse and is the inventor of all patents covering AD04. Prior to accepting his appointment as our Chief Medical Officer, he was Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and led the Brain Science Research Consortium Unit at the University of Maryland. Previously, from 2004 until August 2013, he served as Alumni Dr. and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia.

 Dr. Johnson graduated in Medicine from Glasgow University in 1982 and trained in Psychiatry at the Royal London and Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals. Additional to his medical degree, he trained in research at the Institute of Psychiatry (University of London) and conducted studies in neuropsychopharmacology for his doctoral thesis (degree from Glasgow University) on the Medical Research Council unit at Oxford University. More recently, in 2004, Dr. Johnson earned his Doctor of Science degree in Medicine from Glasgow University—the highest degree that can be granted in science by a British university. His primary area of research expertise is the neuropsychopharmacology of medications for treating addictions.

Dr. Johnson is a licensed physician and board-certified psychiatrist throughout Europe and in the U.S. He is the Principal Investigator on National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research studies utilizing neuroimaging, neuropharmacology, and molecular genetics techniques. Dr. Johnson’s clinical expertise is in the fields of addiction, biological, and forensic psychiatry. Honors include service on numerous NIH review and other committees including special panels.

Dr. Johnson was the 2001 recipient of the Dan Anderson Research Award for his “distinguished contribution as a researcher who has advanced the scientific knowledge of addiction recovery.” He received the Distinguished Senior Scholar of Distinction Award in 2002 from the National Medical Association. Dr. Johnson also was an inductee of the Texas Hall of Fame in 2003 for contributions to science, mathematics, and technology, and in 2006 he received the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA’s) Distinguished Psychiatrist Lecturer Award. In 2007, he was named as a Fellow in the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and in 2008 he was elected to the status of Distinguished Fellow of the APA. In 2009, he received the APA’s Solomon Carter Fuller Award, honoring an individual who has pioneered in an area that has benefited significantly the quality of life for Black people. In 2010, he was named as a Fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. In 2013, Dr. Johnson was honored by the NIH as a recipient of the Jack Mendelson Award for work that has “transformed our understanding of how abnormalities of the brain promote addiction”. And, in 2019, he is the recipient of the R. Brinkley Smithers Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Society for Addiction Medicine, which “recognizes and honors an individual who has made highly meritorious contributions in advancing the scientific understanding of alcoholism an, its prevention and treatment”

Dr. Johnson was Field Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers in Psychiatry, serves on the Editorial Board of The American Journal of Psychiatry, and reviews for over 30 journals in pharmacology, neuroscience, and the addictions. He has over 200 publications and 15,459 citations (h-index = 56; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index). Dr. Johnson also has edited three books: Drug Addiction and Its Treatment: Nexus of Neuroscience and Behavior, Handbook of Clinical Alcoholism Treatment, and Addiction Medicine: Science and Practice, one of the foremost reference textbooks in the field. The second edition of Addiction Medicine: Science and Practice is scheduled to be released in 2019.

Dr. Johnson has served as a consultant to Johnson & Johnson (Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC), Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., D&A Pharma, Organon, Psychological Education Publishing Company (PEPCo LLC), and Eli Lilly and Company. He also has served on the Extramural Advisory Board for the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) (2004-present), the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Drug Addictions (NIDA) (2004-2007), the Medications Development Subcommittee of NIDA’s Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (2004-2007), and the Medications Development Scientific Advisory Board for NIDA (2005-2009). In addition, he has been the recipient of research grant support from both NIAAA and NIDA.