Director
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- Dr. Calipari has worked with leaders in the field to develop a research program that is focused on solving the substance use disorder crisis. Her lab has made seminal discoveries on how drug use changes the brain at the systems and molecular level to give rise to addiction.
Affiliated Faculty
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- The Grueter lab focuses on dissecting how drug induced plasticity in cellular physiology and synaptic plasticity gives rise to pathological behavioral states.
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Cody Siciliano, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology
- We develop animal models and leverage sophisticated technologies to elucidate the neural basis of motivation and maladaptive decision making.
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Ashley Watts, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychological Sciences
- The classification, causes, and consequences of addiction across the lifespan.
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Julio Ayala, PhD
Associate Professor, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
- Research in my lab focuses on the brain control of feeding behavior and body weight.
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Richard Simerly, PhD
Louse B. McGavock Professor, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
- Our research aims to define how endocrine and nutritional cues impact the organization and function of neural circuits controlling feeding behavior.
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Prashant Donthamsetti, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology
- The next frontier in neural circuit analysis is to determine the activation dynamics and behavioral effects of specific receptor populations in the brain. My lab develops highly precise molecular tools to interrogate receptor function using a combination of molecular biology, high-throughput screening, microscopy, electrophysiology, and rodent studies. Our work will help us better understand and treat brain disorders including addiction and beyond.
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- The Lindsley Lab focuses on drug discovery and medicinal chemistry, developing small molecules to explore novel targets in cancer, neuroscience, and endocrinology. Our work emphasizes allosteric modulation and spans every stage of drug development, from synthesis and pharmacology to in vivo studies. Students gain broad, hands-on training, including opportunities to create radioligands and PET tracers for neuroscience research.
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- The Jones Lab In Vivo Pharmacology team uses translational approaches—behavioral testing, neurochemistry, PET, and fMRI—to study novel ligands targeting GPCRs and transporters in the CNS, with a focus on disease mechanisms such as schizophrenia.
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Scott S. Lee, MD, PhD, MPA, MPhil
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Medicine
- Behavioral economics, behavior change, smoking cessation
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Roger J Colbran, PhD
Professor, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
- The Colbran Lab studies molecular mechanisms underlying long term changes at excitatory synapse that are responsible for learned behaviors.
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Peter R. Martin, MD
Professor, Psychiatry and Pharmacology
- The molecular basis, diagnosis, and treatment of drug use disorders with an emphasis on substance-induced mental disorders.
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Fiona Harrison, PhD
Associate Professor, Medicine
- Dietary and environmental risk factors in development of developmental neurodegenerative disorders .
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Charlene M. Dewey, MD, MEd, MACP
Assistant Dean and Professor, Medical Education and Administration/Department of Medicine
- Professionalism, professional wellness, proper prescribing of controlled substances.
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Heather Burrell Ward, MD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Neuromodulation (rTMS) and neuroimaging to understand and treat the brain-circuit basis of psychotic disorders.
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- We develop and apply computational methods in chemistry, structural biology, and artificial intelligence to address unmet medical need at the atomic level.
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- Examining the genetic underpinnings of substance use disorders and developing algorithms for their detection in the Electronic Health Records
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William Nobis, MD PhD
Assistant Professor, Neurology
- We investigate extended amygdala to brainstem circuitry in epilepsy to determine their role in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and respiratory dysfunction including opioid-induced respiratory depression.
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Laurie Cutting, PhD
Professor, Peabody College
- Dr. Cutting's work examines the neural underpinnings of cognitive development, academic achievement, and learning, and especially focuses how environmental and biological variation impacts outcomes.
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Catherine Fuchs, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatry
- Working with the Pediatric Delirium team assessing medical trauma in infants and children experiencing delirium in the ICU.
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Chance Allen, MSW, MSN, APN, LMSW, PMHNP-BC
Instructor, Vanderbilt School of Nursing
- Applying the scientific knowledge gained by VCAR to practice, especially in psychiatric mental health.
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Ariel Deutch, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Resolutely unfocused
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- Dr. Piano is a leading researcher on the health effects of alcohol, with a focus on how binge drinking harms the cardiovascular system in young adults
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- Andrew Finch’s research interests include the role of schools as continuing care for substance use disorders, counseling and human development, and the ecology of schools.
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- The Wallace Lab studies how the brain integrates information from multiple senses—such as sight, sound, and touch—to shape perception and guide behavior. Using approaches ranging from animal behavior and neural recordings to human fMRI, the lab explores how multisensory circuits develop, adapt, and sometimes malfunction in conditions like dyslexia.
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- Dr. Hilary Tindle is a physician-scientist, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Founding Director of the new Vanderbilt Center for Tobacco Addiction and Lifestyle (ViTAL). Key aims of the Center include using personalized approaches to guide cessation therapy, investigating mechanisms of lapse and relapse in real time, and effectively reducing tobacco-related disease burden in clinical populations.
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- Professor Carpenter is a health and labor economist whose work examines how public policies affect health, substance use, and family outcomes. His research has been widely published and supported by the NIH and other major foundations, with studies spanning youth substance use, health behaviors, and inequality.
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- Dr. Reid Finlayson has been a member of the faculty since 2001. He is Medical Director of the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Assessment Program for professionals. His clinical interests reside in the areas of Dual Disorders, Physician Health, and Sexual Behavior. He is also Medical Director of Faculty and Physician Wellness Program at VUMC.
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- Dr. Benningfield is a Child Psychiatrist whose primary interest lies in early intervention and prevention of mental illness including substance use disorders.
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- Dr. Adams' current research concerns include trauma-informed intervention strategies to reduce alcohol and drug related problems for individuals and families through professional education and integrated models of primary care and behavioral health care delivery.
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- The Samuels Group uses computational tools to study mitochondrial biology and disease, from biochemical simulations to genetic and clinical data analysis. Current projects focus on how mitochondrial DNA variations contribute to drug toxicity, neurodegenerative disorders, and other diseases.
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- His current research focuses on the development and application of novel imaging methods for the study of central nervous system (CNS) development and function in health and disease. Projects include functional and structural imaging studies of the effects of prenatal cocaine and alcohol exposure on the CNS in monkeys and humans, and imaging studies of the neuropathogenesis of HIV dementia.
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- Circadian Rhythms, Genetics, Human Genetics, Structural Biology, Biophysics, BRET (Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer), Cell Biology, Evolution
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- Her research explores the structure and function of GTP-binding proteins and G protein-mediated signaling, which regulate key physiological processes in development, cell division, and brain function. Current studies focus on Protease Activated Receptor signaling in the cardiovascular system and Gi/o-coupled presynaptic receptor regulation of vesicular exocytosis.