Kenneth R. Warren, PhD

Kenneth R. Warren, PhD, a nationally-recognized expert on alcohol and pregnancy, and a long-time senior administrator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) became Acting Director of NIAAA on November 1, 2008.

Dr. Warren was named as the NIAAA Deputy Director in February 2008. He joined NIAAA in 1976 as a staff member of the then Division of Research. He later became chief of the Biomedical Research Branch and then deputy director of the Division of Extramural Research. From 1984-2005, he directed the Office of Scientific Affairs whose responsibilities included peer review, grants management, committee management, scientific communications, and activities of the NIAAA National Advisory Council and Extramural Advisory Board. From 2002-2007, Dr. Warren served as Associate Director for Basic Research and over the past year he has also served as acting director of the institute’s Office of Science Policy and Communications.

A graduate of the City College of New York, Dr. Warren earned his PhD in Biochemistry from Michigan State University. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral positions at UCLA and at the University of Michigan Mental Health Research Institute before joining the Federal government in a research position at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Dr. Warren has maintained an active interest in all areas of alcohol and health and in past years often served as the editor of the triennial Reports to Congress on Alcohol and Health. He has been particularly active in research on the effects of alcohol use during pregnancy, including fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Dr. Warren initiated NIAAA’s research program on FAS over 30 years ago. He currently chairs the government-wide Interagency Coordinating Committee on FAS.

Dr. Warren has received numerous honors including a superior service award from the Public Health Service for his work in development of the first Surgeon General’s Advisory on FAS. In 1994, Dr. Warren received the Seixas Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA). In 2002, he received the Henry Rosett Award from the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Study Group of RSA. In 2007, the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) honored Dr. Warren by placing his name into their Tom and Linda Daschle FASD Hall of Fame, followed by the receipt of the NOFAS Excellence Award in 2008.