Professor Ray Hodgson was trained at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and continued doing alcohol research there until he left for Cardiff in 1983. He took up a post as head of the Cardiff Clinical Psychology Service until 1995. From then until April 2003 Ray was Director of the Cardiff Alcohol Research Unit within the University of Wales College of Medicine, Division of Public Health. He is now Research Director of the Alcohol Research UK. Ray has been a World Health Organisation advisor on alcohol and drugs, Deputy Editor of addiction, Editor of Behavioural Psychotherapy, Editor of the Journal of Mental Health & the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, Chairman of the Welsh Advisory Committee on Alcohol Misuse and President of the Society for the Study of Addiction. He has published on a wide range of issues in the addiction field including psychological treatments, health promotion, screening and dependence.