Cocaine use disorder is a devastating public health crisis, yet we currently have no FDA approved medications to help people maintain long term recovery. One of the greatest challenges in treating addiction is preventing relapse, which often occurs after long periods of being clean. In our recent study in collaboration with the Kiraly lab, we explored a surprising new frontier in addiction research: the gut microbiome. We discovered that the bacteria living in the gut, and th

Drug addiction is a complex struggle that involves powerful memories and intense emotions. While we know the brain’s reward system is involved, we are still learning how specific cells within the brain's emotional center, the amygdala , change during addiction. In our recent study with the Telese lab at UCSD, we used cutting-edge technology to look at individual cells in the amygdala to see how they differ between those who are highly vulnerable to addiction and those who are

We are constantly searching for new ways to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD), a condition that affects millions of people and leads to significant health and economic costs. Recently, a type of drug called a PPAR-alpha agonist showed great promise in animal studies, significantly reducing alcohol consumption in mice and rats. In our latest research, we performed a "reverse translational" study to understand why these exciting results didn't carry over to humans in a clinical