Richard Schottenfeld, M.D.
Department of Psychiatry
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
and
Mahmud Mazlan, M.D.
Addiction Medicine
Substance Abuse Center
Muar, Malaysia
Dr. Mahmud Mazlan and Dr. Richard Schottenfeld have built an effective partnership on research into drug abuse and HIV risk reduction, including a NIDA-funded clinical trial comparing naltrexone and buprenorphine as maintenance treatments for heroin addicts in Malaysia. Drs. Schottenfeld and Mazlan developed substance abuse treatment training programs for Malaysian primary care providers, needle exchange programs, and scientific publications and presentations. Their work helped improve the availability of HIV treatment for injection drug users and shift Malaysian policy from incarceration to medical treatment. Currently, more than 30,000 opiate-dependent patients are treated with agonist maintenance treatments by more than 500 medical practitioners in Malaysia. The partners continue to collaborate, taking advantage of the new Malaysian policies to develop, implement, and disseminate effective drug treatments and educate drug abusers about the risks of HIV infection and transmission.