When Sheldon Kasowitz \u201983 (BUS), committed $3 million to help launch the Center for Addiction Science and Innovation (CASI) at UConn, he wasn\u2019t just making a gift \u2014 he was igniting a movement. CASI brings together leading minds in neuroscience, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and clinical practice to transform how substance use disorders are understood, prevented, and treated.<\/p>\n
For Kasowitz, the motivation is deeply personal and urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe addiction is probably the most underserved health issue in America,\u201d he says. \u201cUntil now, the focus has been on behavioral modification and social sciences \u2014 particularly 12-step recovery. While those programs help some, surveys show they don\u2019t come close to helping most people who struggle with addiction. This whole area has been lacking in evidence-based, science-driven approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
This sentiment is echoed by CASI Director Greg Sartor: \u201cI envision CASI as a place where researchers come together to pursue innovative and rigorous studies that address the urgent need for new and effective treatments for addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sartor, also associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the School of Pharmacy, sees the center as a hub for groundbreaking research and collaboration and refers to the center as a community. \u201cWe welcome the voices and partnerships of scientists, students, practitioners, and industry leaders who want to help shape the future of addiction medicine,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
That spirit of collaboration is exactly what inspired Sheldon Kasowitz to make his groundbreaking gift.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very excited to be the catalyst at the University of Connecticut to bring together clinical, pharmacological, neuroscience, and evidence-based research into the topic,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Kasowitz believes addiction touches nearly every family in America.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is only one or two degrees of separation from knowing someone who struggles with clinical addiction. My hope is that this catalytic donation attracts many others to the newly established CASI who are like-minded and want to see more science-based approaches to treating addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impact of his gift is profound \u2014 transformational for UConn and potentially lifesaving for countless individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cSheldon\u2019s generosity is more than a gift, it\u2019s a beacon of hope,\u201d says Amy Yancey, President and CEO of the UConn Foundation. \u201cBy supporting science-driven solutions for addiction, he\u2019s helping UConn lead the way in addressing one of the most urgent health challenges of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As part of the University\u2019s largest campaign in history, Because of UConn, donors like Sheldon Kasowitz are fueling a future met with innovation, compassion, and science. You can learn more about the Center for Addiction Science and Innovation on their new website<\/a>. To join Sheldon and others in their pursuit of science and evidence-based treatments by supporting CASI, donate today<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Kasowitz, the motivation is deeply personal and urgent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":240188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1715,2472,2231,1862,1864,2235,2227,2234,70],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2162],"class_list":["post-240187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-community-impact","category-gifts-donors","category-health-well-being","category-busn","category-pharm","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-edu-homepage","category-university-life","category-video","post_format-post-format-video"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 04:06:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240187"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240333,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240187\/revisions\/240333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/240188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240187"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=240187"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=240187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}