Bio – Yasmin Hurd, PhD

Dr. Yasmin Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair in Translational Neuroscience as well as Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Pharmacological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York. She is also the Director of the Addiction Institute at the Mount Sinai Behavioral Health System which covers one of the largest addiction populations in the United States providing clinical care supported by science-based medicine and advanced state-of-the-art research. Dr. Hurd is an internationally renowned expert on addiction and related psychiatric disorders whose research examines molecular and neurochemical events in the brain to expand knowledge about underlying neurobiological mechanisms of these disorders that guides the development of novel treatments. She is highly published in prominent scientific journals and leads a diverse team of investigators spanning molecular biology, behavioral neuropharmacology, neuroimaging and genetics to study the human brain and complementary translational models. Her pioneering research has provided significant insights into the neurobiology of opioid abuse and the developmental (and cross-generational) effects of prenatal and adolescent cannabis use that has been at the forefront of the field. Dr. Hurd’s basic science research is complemented by clinical studies evaluating the therapeutic potential of novel strategies including phytocannabinoids (such as cannabidiol) for the treatment of addiction disorders with a focus on opioid abuse. The impact of her research has attracted both academic and popular attention, including articles and interviews in Time magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on CNN, PBS NOVA, and Netflix as well on multiple local news programs. Based on her high impact accomplishments and advocacy of drug addiction education and health, Dr. Hurd was inducted into both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.