A Discussion on Addiction with Expert Yasmin Hurd, PhD

by | Sep 21, 2020 | Behavioral Health, Uncategorized

By Molly Sherb, PhD

September is National Recovery Month, which is observed to educate Americans on the substance use treatment and mental health services that can enable those with a mental or substance use disorder to live healthy and happy lives. In support of this important conversation, I sat down with the renowned director of The Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai, Yasmin Hurd, PhD.

In this thought provoking conversation, Dr. Hurd addresses some of the factors that contribute to substance use and addiction, how to support people struggling with addiction, possible treatments, microdosing, and marijuana legalization. She also touches on how COVID-19 impacted those with addiction and gives us a glimpse into her ongoing clinical trials with CBD.

If you are a member of The Health Center and you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, you can contact the Health Center for support in determining the best treatment options. If you are not a member of The Health Center, see the treatment services available across Mount Sinai.

 


 

What factors put someone at risk for developing substance use dependence or addiction?

 

What are some signs of addiction?

 

Does addiction generally lead to favoring one substance or multiple substances?

 

What are the different types of treatment options for substance use?

 

What is the best way to support a family member or friend struggling with drug and/or alcohol addiction?

 

What are your thoughts on how COVID-19 and the stay-at-home order have impacted substance use?

 

What are your thoughts on legalizing Marijuana?

 

What is the role of the FDA in regulating replacement therapies?

 

What are your thoughts on microdosing and what do we know about it?

 

 

About Yasmin Hurd, PhD
Yasmin Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai and is a professor of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

She is also the former director of the medical school’s combined MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program. Additionally, Hurd sits on the Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Hurd is a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where she studies addiction in people and animal models. Her animal research has revealed that drugs like marijuana can have profound effects on the adolescent brain, including effects that can even extend to the offspring of drug-users.

She is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine, American Society for Neuroscience, New York Academy of Sciences, and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Hurd’s work has been cited more than 13,000 times.

To learn more about Dr. Hurd, visit the Hurd Lab.

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