Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience
Director, Addiction Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Hurd is the Director of the Addiction Institute within the Mount Sinai Behavioral Health System as well as the Ward Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Pharmacological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York. She is highly published in the field and internationally renowned with multiple honors including elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Her research group conducts multidisciplinary translational research spanning molecular biology, behavioral neuropharmacology and genetics in studying the human brain and complementary translational animal models related to drug addiction and psychiatric disorders. Her pioneering translational research has provided significant insights into the neurobiology of opioid abuse and the neurodevelopmental (and cross-generational) effects of cannabis that has been at the forefront of the field. Moreover, as Director of the Addiction Institute, which has one of the largest clinical addiction footprints in the country, the development of evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders is a critical foundation of her work. As such, Dr. Hurd’s preclinical research is complemented by clinical laboratory investigations evaluating the therapeutic potential of innovative science-based strategies for the treatment of drug addiction. Her translational approach has pioneered the development of specific phytocannabinoids (e.g., cannabidiol) as potential medications for opioid addiction as well as resulted in the recent novel strategy of repurposing medications targeting particular epigenetic modifications for the treatment of opioid use disorders.