Warren Kurt Bickel

Dr. Warren Bickel, 68, whose innovative approach to addiction research saved lives, inspired generations of scientists, and put him among the top 1 percent of the world’s most highly cited researchers, died Saturday, Sept. 28 of complications from pancreatic cancer. Warren remained upbeat and positive throughout his short illness, throwing two “Fare Thee Well” parties, which already inspired others to do the same. He continued to seize the day and focused on family members by attending Bruce Springsteen and St. Vincent concerts, and enjoying a long getaway weekend filled with ping pong and pool time. A devoted father to his children and grandchildren, Warren enjoyed celebrating holidays, vacations to Dauphin Island and the Outer Banks, and marking major life milestones with his extended family. Warren’s son Keefer appreciated his father’s mentorship, and admired him for being a deeply thoughtful man who approached his life, work, and relationships with intent, and did not let hardship break his resolve or dissuade him from the right path. This included when Warren was a newly-single father, rescuing his son and daughter from their house that burned down, and holding their family together in the aftermath. Warren also fought for and won full custody at a time when the legal system was biased against this outcome for fathers. Keefer feels Warren understood him better than he knew himself, mapping Keefer’s creative proclivities to a career in architecture, a synthesis of art and science. The two shared a love of chess, the delights of reading, whiskey, and music, including the last tour of King Crimson. His daughter Corena was inspired by Warren to find something that brought value to her life. Warren was her strength, encouragement, cheerleader, rock, and her constant. When she was little, Corena and Warren would do Daddy-Daughter dates, going to the movies, and to the mall to make funny faces in the picture booth. They would drive the Vermont countryside singing Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” which they danced to at her wedding. After Corena’s son was born in March, she brought him to visit Warren every Saturday. Warren and Corena shared a genetic propensity for clumsiness, the ability to find the small joys in life, and to this day, a double whiskey is her go-to drink.Warren’s youngest daughter, Layla, grew up witnessing the passion her father had for everything he did, and knew that was how she wanted to live her life. When Layla discovered her life’s passion, the theatre, at a young age, Warren quickly fell in love as well. During many trips to NYC to see Broadway shows, they both became obsessed with “Hamilton.” Warren was so inspired by the show and the man, he went more times than Layla. Their passions overlapped when, in high school, Layla starred in a play about addiction, and Warren was an expert on the panel talking to the audience post-show. Layla and Warren shared having a fantastic memory, an inability to pass a bookstore without buying at least three books, and a constant craving for Phish Food.Warren and his former wife, Rebecca Esch, spent 28 years together, raising their children in Vermont, Arkansas and Virginia, and traveling the world, often in conjunction with Warren’s many professional conferences and talks. To the end of his life Rebecca and Warren were dedicated to each other, to the family they created and nurtured, and when opportunity presented, to cutting up the dance floor together. Warren and his sister-in-law, Rachel Esch, forged an unwavering friendship founded, when she was in college, on her love of and dedication to his children. This friendship endured despite Warren’s propensity in later years to bond with her husband by playing music too loudly and eye rolling over Esch-women foibles. Warren also expressed deep interest in and admiration for his nephew’s soccer prowess. Well-liked and respected, Warren had an enormous number of friends and colleagues throughout the U.S. and abroad. Two friendships that stand out are with Steve Higgins and Ken Silverman whom Warren met in the initial weeks of graduate school. The three quickly developed a deep fondness that only grew stronger over the next five decades. Warren and Steve were co-workers for the initial 26 years of their friendship, and continued collaborating and co-authoring papers to the present, with a couple soon to be published. Warren, Steve and Ken gathered several times a year to share personal and professional experiences, and laugh uproariously.Warren adopted Roanoke as his home and loved living in the city where he formed meaningful relationships with his neighbors and colleagues. In 2021 Warren met his partner, Laura Mitchell, a communications professional at Carilion Clinic. Laura was a source of joy and loving companionship in Warren’s last years. They relished attending live music together, visiting with Warren’s grand baby, and watching sunsets from his balcony. Warren had an eclectic music taste and frequently attended events at the Jefferson Center. A prolific reader, he would give or recommend new books to friends on subjects that often ranged from his field of specialty, to politics, philosophy, the arts, and history. Warren had many interests including martial arts and the guitar, with a particular fondness for Gypsy jazz, and he never met a pun he didn’t like. Most recently, Warren discovered a new passion for photography and painting. Left on Warren’s bucket list was writing a novel, becoming a snowbird, living in Italy, and, even after his diagnosis, reaching 600 peer-reviewed publications. The only regret he would have had was not getting the chance to meet his fourth grandchild, due in November. Warren's friendship, collegiality, wisdom, kindness, humility, humor, and love of quotes will be sorely missed.Born on June 16, 1956, in East Meadow, New York, Warren was the second son of Walter and Catherine Bickel. Warren’s incredible intelligence, insatiable curiosity, and profound memory were evident in middle school, when he would take himself every weekend to the local public library to devour books on anthropology, psychology and history.Warren deeply admired his six-year-older brother, Carl, crediting him for putting him on different pathways including: science with a chemistry set about rocks; fitness by buying him his first set of weights; and adventure — including riding on Carl’s bike and getting his foot caught in the spokes, and embarking on a treacherous rainy hike in Germany when Carl paid for 16-year-old Warren to visit his military station. Warren’s recollection of that trip was Carl taking him down the Rhine River on a raft. Carl’s recollection is expanding Warren’s diet from “just hotdogs and pizza.” Coming from a blue collar background, Warren’s future choices were significantly informed by Carl being the first in the family to attend college. Warren often said he loved college so much he never left.Warren graduated from East Meadow High School, completed his undergraduate training at the University of New York at New Paltz receiving a B.A. in Psychology with honors (1974-1978), and his doctoral training at the University of Kansas with Barbara Etzel, receiving M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Developmental and Child Psychology (1979-1983). He completed postdoctoral fellowships in behavioral pharmacology at the University of North Carolina with Linda Dykstra (1983-1984) and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with Maxine Stitzer, George Bigelow, and Roland Griffiths (1984-1985). He held faculty positions at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Department of Psychiatry (1985-1987); University of Vermont, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology (1987-2004); University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Department of Psychiatry (2004-2011); and Fralin Biomedical Research Institute (FBRI) at VTC, Virginia Tech (2011-2024), where he became the Director of the Institute’s Addiction Recovery Research Center (ARRC). Dr. Bickel took an innovative approach to the study of addiction and recovery, elucidating the factors involved in dysfunctional decision-making and behavioral biomarkers that make some people more successful in overcoming addiction. His research in the 1980s helped pioneer one of only three FDA-approved medications to treat opioid use disorder. As a result of his expertise and a chance encounter on a flight, Warren informed New York Times bestselling author Beth Macy’s groundbreaking book Dopesick, her first of two on the opioid epidemic. Running onto the plane at the last minute, Warren took his seat next to the author and introduced himself. When she learned they only lived a block apart and that he was one of the world’s foremost experts on addiction, she got goosebumps. As Beth Macy herself says, “Over the next two years, Warren met with me regularly, fine-tuning my arguments, sending me his data, letting me tell him what I was seeing on the ground, and sometimes just lending a shoulder for me to cry and spew anger — it’s hard stuff and he knew that. Since the 1980s, Warren has known the best ways to treat this terrible disease. The nation still isn’t offering treatment anywhere near approaching the scale of the crisis. But in Warren’s name, we should all aspire and work toward it.”He published over 550 peer-reviewed scientific articles, had over 50,000 citations, and was honored with numerous national awards for his pioneering research. Dr. Bickel was also a successful mentor throughout his career, including primary mentor for 45 predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to outstanding scientific careers in addiction science. At the national level, he supported the recognition of young researchers through the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD), an organization for which he served as past president. He was known for his collaborative spirit, creativity, leadership, and genuine ability to inspire others’ success.He was instrumental in helping to build the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute (FBRI) into a research powerhouse that delivered innovative new approaches to understand and treat substance use disorders and health behaviors. While at the FBRI, Dr. Bickel’s research project grant awards totaled over $40 million, most of which were from the National Institutes of Health. This resulted in over a $100 million in economic impact on the Roanoke community. He established the world’s first International Quit & Recovery Registry (quitandrecovery.org) in Roanoke – a project that seeks to collect and analyze data from people in addiction recovery – to better understand and disseminate that information to help others. He also co-established the FBRI’s Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors (now the Center for Health Behaviors Research) that extended his ground-breaking work on substance use disorders to many other behaviors in the health domains such as obesity, prediabetes, diabetes, nutrition, and exercise.Dr. Bickel’s many important scientific contributions will continue to guide addiction science and health behaviors for generations to come.Warren was preceded in death by his parents, his father-in-law James Esch, and his partner Laura Mitchell. He is survived by son Keefer Bickel and wife Rebecca Stewart-Owen of Hudson, MA; daughter Corena Pirrello and husband Mario Pirrello of Blue Ridge, VA; daughter Layla Esch Bickel and partner Gavin Cranmer of Brooklyn, NY; four grandchildren, Samuel Cole Owen-Bickel, Henry William Owen-Bickel, James Warren Owen-Bickel and Maurizio Warren Pirrello; former wife Dr. Rebecca Esch of Buckfield, ME; former wife Connie-Clay Bickel of Glen Burnie, MD; brother Carl Bickel and wife Joyce Bickel of Andover, MA; nephew Nathan Bickel and wife Fengyuan (Sarah) Chen, and their sons Zachary and Alex Bickel of Andover, MA; sister-in-law Rachel Esch and husband David Bremser, and their son Asher Bremser of Jamaica Plain, MA; mother-in-law Judith Esch of Jamaica Plain, MA; and finally, by his two cats, Angel and Jax, of whom Warren was enormously fond.Over four months of intensive treatments, Warren was supported by a huge village of friends, neighbors and colleagues, for whom he was deeply grateful. The family particularly wants to thank: Dr. Michael Friedlander and Patsy Marshall for their unflagging dedication, friendship and support during his 13 years at Virginia Tech; Kirstin Gatchalian for her decades-long commitment to working with Warren at the University of Vermont, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Virginia Tech, and for being integral to his success; Dr. Paul Yeaton, Dr. Matthew Skelton, Dr. Giovanni Elia, Liz Hall, Alana Rickmon and the entire Blue Ridge Cancer Care team for their empathy, expertise, patience, and tireless medical support; Tom Grothe of Mettle Health for buoying Warren after the simultaneous loss of his partner and terminal diagnosis; and The Key for their caregiving services. Special thanks for their active roles in Warren’s support and celebrations to Roberta Freitas Lemos, Rafaela Fontes, Jeff Stein, Allison Tegge and the rest of the FBRI team.In lieu of services Warren chose to celebrate his life with friends, colleagues, and loved ones at his “Fare Thee Well” parties and Festschrift. At a future date his ashes will be spread by his family, some at the resting place of his partner, Laura, and some sent out to sea in the style of a Viking funeral. To honor Warren, as his family is doing please: breathe and grieve, gather to reflect and celebrate, donate to the organizations of his choosing, post tributes, and appreciate this video memorializing his legacy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFuv9UGQsKkWe close with the quote that meant the most to Warren in his final days:“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” ― George Bernard ShawDonations in honor of Warren may be directed to these organizations:The Dr. Warren K. Bickel Fund to establish a professorship at FBRI in Warren’s name https://giving.adv.vt.edu/gift?fund=821081&amt=25&frequency=onetime&desc=Dr.%20Warren%20K.%20Bickel%20%20FundThe College on Problems of Drug Dependence https://cpdd.org/donately-page/The Jefferson Performing Arts and Cultural Center https://www.jeffcenter.org/support