ISAP Researchers' Profiles

Walter Ling, M.D.

Walter Ling, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) at UCLA, one of the foremost substance abuse research groups in the United States and worldwide. He is board certified in neurology and psychiatry, is active in research and clinical work, and has been listed in “Best Doctors in America,” “Best Doctors in the West,” and “Best Doctors in Los Angeles.” Dr. Ling’s research in pharmacotherapy for opioid addiction provided pivotal information for the approval of LAAM, naltrexone (in oral and extended-release depot forms), and buprenorphine. His current research includes  opioid use disorders, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, treatment of pain in opioid-maintained patients, including those treated with buprenorphine, the role of buprenorphine in the management of pain in these patients, and examination of methylphenidate for methamphetamine dependence. As Principal Investigator of NIDA’s Clinical Trial Network’s Pacific Region Node, Dr. Ling is leading a nationwide 11-site trial investigating buprenorphine in the presence of monthly depot naltrexone for its efficacy in reducing cocaine use in cocaine-dependent individuals who have a history opioid use disorder. The scope of ISAP’s research under Dr. Ling’s leadership has encompassed the development of pharmacotherapies and behavioral therapies for the treatment of substance use disorders involving opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and nicotine. Dr. Ling has extended ISAP’s research beyond the United States to Asia and the Middle East, and he has led or participated in international training efforts in 15 countries to advance addiction medicine and addiction research.

Education and Training

• Chulalonghorn Univ. Med. Sch., Bangkok, Thailand, M.D., Medicine, 1963
• Internship, Chulalonghorn Univ., Bangkok, Thailand, 1963-1964
• Internship, Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO, 1964-1965
• Residency, Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO, Neurology, 1965-1968
• Residency, Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO, Psychiatry, 1968-1970

Specialties

• Addiction Medicine
• Pain Management and Research
• Psychiatry and Neurology

Contact Info

UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs
1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 120
Los Angeles, CA 90025
lwalter@ucla.edu

Selected Publications

1. Krupitsky E, Nunes EV, Ling W, Illeperuma A, Gastfriend DR, Silverman BL. (2011). Injectable extended-release naltrexone for opioid dependence. Lancet, 378, 665- 666. PMID: 21856477
2. Hillhouse M, Canamar CP, Doraimani G, Thomas C, Hasson A, Ling W. (2011). Participant characteristics and buprenorphine dose. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse, 37, 453-459. PMID: 21854290
3. Ling W, Mooney L, Hillhouse M. (2011). Prescription opioid abuse, pain and addiction: clinical issues and implications. Drug Alcohol Rev, 30, 300-305. PMID: 21545561
4. Hillhouse, M., Domier, C. P., Chim, D., & Ling, W. (2010). Provision of ancillary medications during buprenorphine detoxification does not improve treatment outcomes. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 29, 23-29.
   
   Weiss RD, Potter JS, Provost SE, Huang Z, Jacobs P, Hasson A, Lindblad R, Connery HS, Prather K, Ling W. (2010). A multi-site, two-phase, Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS): rationale, design, and methodology. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 31, 189-199. PMID: 20116457
5. Ling W, Jacobs P, Hillhouse M, Hasson A, Thomas C, Freese T, Sparenborg S, McCarty D, Weiss R, Saxon A, Cohen A, Straus M, Brigham G, Liu D, McLaughlin P, Tai B (2010). From research to the real world: buprenorphine in the decade of the Clinical Trials Network. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 38, Suppl 1:S53-60.PMID: 20307796
6. Ling W, Casadonte P, Bigelow G, Kampman KM, Patkar A, Bailey GL, Rosenthal RN, Beebe KL (2010). Buprenorphine implants for treatment of opioid dependence: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 304, 1576-1583.
7. Ling W. (2009). Buprenorphine for opioid dependence. Expert Rev Neurother, 9, 609-616. PMID: 19402772
8. Ling W, Hillhouse M, Domier C, Doraimaini G, Hunter J, Thomas C, Jenkins J, Hasson A, Annon J, Saxon A, Selzer J, Boverman J, Bilang R. (2009). Buprenorphine tapering schedule and illicit opioid use. Addiction, 104, 236-265.
9. Torrington M, Domier C, Hillhouse M, Ling W. (2007). Buprenorphine 101: Treating opioid dependence with buprenorphine in an office-based setting. Journal of Addictive Diseases, Vol.26 (3), 93-99.
10. Ling W, Rawson R, Shoptaw S. (2006), Management of Methamphetamine Abuse and Dependence, Current Science, 8:345-354.
11. Ling W, Compton P, (2005). Recent advances in the treatment of opiate addiction, Clinical Neuroscience Research, 5, 161-167.
12. Ling W, Amass L, Shoptaw S, Annon J, Hillhouse M, Babcock D, Brigham G, Harrer J, Reid M, Muir J, Buchan B, Orr D, Woody G, Krejci J, Ziedonis D, Buprenorphine Study Protocol Group. (2005). A multi-center randomized trial of buprenorphine-naloxone versus clonodine for opioid detoxification: findings from the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network, Addiction; 100, 1090-1100.
13. Wesson DR, Ling W. Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) (2003). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs:35(2); 253-259.
14. Ling, W., & Smith, D. (2002). Buprenorphine: blending practice and research. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment; 23(2):87-92.

Last updated - 02/28/2013

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