In Memoriam: John L. Falk

John Lionel Falk, 81, of Minneapolis, passed away on Monday March 23rd, 2009, at his home on Summit Avenue. Born in Toronto, Dr. Falk was a distinguished research psychologist in Psychopharmacology.

In 2001 Dr. Falk retired after 31 years as Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University where he taught and developed a well-funded laboratory for research in psychopharmacology of drug abuse.

He was educated at McGill University in Montreal where he received a B.A. degree in Psychology and English and M.A. in Psychology. His PhD Degree was awarded from the University of Illinois Urbana in Experimental Psychology.

He held post-doctoral position at Harvard Medical School, Boston, (Departments of Pharmacology and Nutrition). Dr. Falk held academic positions as Assistant Professor at University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, Associate Professor at University of Arizona-Tempe, before his appointment at Rutgers.

Dr. Falk was a long time member of a Study Section for the National Institutes of Health NIDA and from 1991-1995 he was a member of the Advisory Council for NIDA. In 1981 he was elected President of the Psychopharmacology Division of the American Psychological Association. He received a number of awards and honors, among them: Research Scientist Award from the NIDA (1990-1999), the Solvay Award for Psychopharmacology (1997), and the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research, Rutgers University (1997).

Dr. Falk was also a talented poet who published two of his collections: Snow and Other Guises, in 2000 and Holding Out, in 2005. He was also published in various poetry magazines.