Dr. David Shurtleff serves as the Acting Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Shurtleff is responsible for providing leadership in the development, implementation, and management of NIDA’s research portfolio and strategic priorities and assists the NIDA Director to support and conduct research to improve prevention and treatment of drug abuse and addiction.
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Shurtleff served as the Director of the Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (DBNBR). In this role, he oversaw the Division to support basic biomedical and behavioral science research that relates to the public health problem of drug abuse and addiction.
Before coming to NIDA, Dr. Shurtleff was a Research Psychologist at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda and conducted basic behavioral, electrophysiological, cognitive, and field research on a variety of issues related to cognitive performance, environmental stress, and peripheral neuropathy. He also served as a Research Fellow at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, in the Department of Medical Neurosciences.
In 2007, Dr. Shurtleff received the NIH Director’s Award for outstanding contributions to the development and advancement of diverse programs in basic neuroscience and behavioral research. In 2012, he received the NIH Director’s Award for outstanding leadership, oversight, vision, dedication and oversight in developing the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Grand Challenge.
Featured Publication
Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction
As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior.