--- title: Google Honors Addiction Treatment Pioneer Herb Kleber description: Using "evidence-based treatment," Dr. Kleber revolutionized the way addiction is treated. He is honored Tuesday with a Google Doodle. canonical: https://time.com/5689919/herb-kleber-google-doodle/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-01T16:46:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:33.373Z article:section: Health og:title: Google Honors Pioneering Psychiatrist Herb Kleber, Who Treated Addiction as a Disease, Not a Moral Failing og:description: Using "evidence-based treatment," Dr. Kleber revolutionized addiction treatment og:url: https://time.com/5689919/herb-kleber-google-doodle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a8a65af2c71ef9/698a03a501168253be97e4c6/celebrating-dr-herbert-kleber-6753651837108229-2x.png?branch=production&width=818&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 818 og:image:height: 460 og:image:alt: celebrating-dr-herbert-kleber-6753651837108229-2x og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Google Honors Pioneering Psychiatrist Herb Kleber, Who Treated Addiction as a Disease, Not a Moral Failing twitter:description: Using "evidence-based treatment," Dr. Kleber revolutionized addiction treatment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81a8a65af2c71ef9/698a03a501168253be97e4c6/celebrating-dr-herbert-kleber-6753651837108229-2x.png?branch=production&width=818&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Google Honors Pioneering Psychiatrist Herb Kleber, Who Treated Addiction as a Disease, Not a Moral Failing > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: The Opioid Diaries | Harm Reduction: Inside A Needle Exchange [Watch (HLS stream): The Opioid Diaries | Harm Reduction: Inside A Needle Exchange](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CzImvL7Z.m3u8) (2:35)  _Published 2018-02-23. Harm-reduction efforts continue to grow nationwide, despite facing stigma and public opposition in some communities._ by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Oct 1, 2019 4:46 PM UTC  Google Doodle celebrates the 23rd anniversary of Dr. Kleber's election to the National Academy of Medicine. Google Doodle celebrates the 23rd anniversary of Dr. Kleber's election to the National Academy of Medicine. Photo Courtesy Google by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Oct 1, 2019 4:46 PM UTC Dr. Herbert Kleber, one of the first major researchers to treat [addiction](https://time.com/tag/addiction/) as a disease, not a moral failing, is remembered by [Google Doodle](https://time.com/tag/google-doodle/) on the 23rd anniversary of his election to the National Academy of Medicine. The Doodle, illustrated by Massachusetts-based artist and author Jarrett J. Krosoczka, celebrates Kleber, who throughout his 50-year career was recognized as a pioneer in the field of addiction research who revolutionized the way [addiction is treated and viewed](https://time.com/5509829/sober-high-school-addiction/) in the medical community. [According to Google](https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-dr-herbert-kleber), through his work “Dr. Kleber changed the landscape of addiction treatment, allowing patients to be diagnosed and treated rather than shamed—and saving countless lives in the process.” Born on June 19, 1934, in Pittsburgh, Dr. Kleber’s medical career began at Dartmouth College where he studied pre-med, ultimately becoming a psychiatrist. After completing his psychiatric residency at Yale University, Kleber began his work as a physician at a Kentucky federal prison where he treated inmates suffering from addiction. At a time when [addiction](https://time.com/4276369/new-way-to-treat-opiate-addiction/) was seen as a moral failing, Kleber relied on “evidence-based treatment” — utilizing medication and therapy to prevent relapses. In 1964, Dr. Kleber took a staff position at Yale University, where he founded the Drug Dependence Unit in 1968. According to the [Yale School of Medicine](https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/18505/), “his unit conducted groundbreaking research on the phenomenology and treatment of opiate, stimulant, cannabis, and alcohol abuse,” including the first clinical trial of clonidine, the first non-opiate treatment for [opiate dependence](https://time.com/james-nachtwey-opioid-addiction-america/). In 1989, Dr. Kleber left Yale after being appointed by President George H.W. Bush as deputy director for Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy. According to [Columbia University](https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/memoriam-dr-herbert-d-kleber), as deputy director, Kleber “implemented policies that led to decreased demand for illegal drugs through programs in prevention, education, and treatment.” Kleber co-founded the National Policy Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse in 1992—now the [Center on Addiction](https://www.centeronaddiction.org/about)—a national non-profit that aids families in the prevention and recovery of substance use and addiction. Kleber and his then-wife, Dr. Marian W. Fischman, also established the Division of Substance Abuse at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he helped develop and improve medications used to treat addiction. The research program is known as the largest and [most successful](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/obituaries/herbert-d-kleber-dead.html) of its kind in the country. Dr. Kleber died last October at the age of 84\. 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