In our opening lunchtime lecture, Dr. Kathleen Brady will describe the state of the opioid epidemic in South Carolina and the nation at large. New, state-of-the-art treatments for opioid dependence are available, and Dr. Brady will discuss efforts to make these treatments available throughout South Carolina. Cutting through the sensationalism of the news media to offer a truthful glimpse of the difficulties facing addicts and their families today, Dr. Brady’s insights are sure to be enlightening in this timely presentation. Dr. Brady has spent over thirty years in the field of addictions and psychiatric disorders. Her research focuses on pharmacotherapy of substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder, as well as gender differences and women’s issues in addictions, and the neurobiologic connections between stress and addictions.