Dr. Rahul Gupta, the first physician to serve as director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, will headline the Reimagining Opioid Abatement Conference in Mobile on Oct. 22.

According to a news release, Gupta, who oversaw federal efforts that led to the largest drop in overdose deaths in U.S. history, will open the daylong event with a keynote address titled “The Opposite of Addiction is Community: Working Together to Stop Opioid Misuse.”

The conference will bring together decision-makers, health professionals and frontline workers to share innovative strategies for tackling opioid misuse and the broader challenges tied to addiction, including poverty, lack of education and jobs, and housing insecurity.

“Dr. Gupta brings unparalleled experience from both the frontlines of public health and the highest levels of policymaking,” said Caroline Etherton, chair of Helios Alliance, the organization leading the event. “His leadership during a critical period in our nation’s response to the overdose crisis makes him the ideal speaker to help us reimagine how communities can work together.”

Gupta has longstanding ties to Alabama, beginning his medical practice in a rural community before teaching at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. A board-certified internist, he also holds advanced degrees in public health and global business administration focused on technology and innovation.

Now president of GATC Health, Gupta oversees work applying artificial intelligence to drug discovery and genomic data for personalized healthcare. His previous roles include chief medical and health officer at March of Dimes and state health officer and public health commissioner in West Virginia, where he served under both Democratic and Republican governors. He has also directed responses to crises such as the opioid epidemic, the Zika virus and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Conference sessions will examine prevention, stigma reduction, therapeutic justice approaches, innovative care models, community coordination and scaling of proven solutions.

“It will take a community-centric approach to address not only the opioid epidemic but also the underlying causes of it,” organizers said. “That’s what we plan to highlight, and Dr. Gupta’s keynote will set the tone.”

The event is presented in partnership with the City of Mobile, Mobile County and a network of organizations engaged in opioid response efforts.

Registration and the full agenda are available at www.reimaginingopioidabatement.com.