Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD
Interim Dean, Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, Mount Sinai Health System
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, one of the world’s top neuroscientists, was appointed Interim Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Executive Vice President of the Mount Sinai Health System in 2025. He served as Dean for Academic Affairs of the Icahn School from 2016 to 2025 and continues to serve as the Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience and as Chief Scientific Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System (since 2021). Dr. Nestler is known for his research that revolutionized the understanding of the molecular basis of drug addiction and depression.
As Dean for Academic Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Nestler oversaw research and educational efforts throughout the Icahn School and the Mount Sinai Health System. He worked with department chairs and institute directors to execute the institution’s strategic plan to build our research portfolio to drive new discoveries that change the lives of patients. He also worked with several deans at the Icahn School to provide innovative curricula for medical students, graduate students, residents, and postdoctoral and clinical fellows.
Dr. Nestler served as the inaugural Director of The Friedman Brain Institute from 2008 to 2025. He built the Institute into a powerhouse of neuroscience research, attracting the best and brightest multidisciplinary teams. Under his leadership, the Institute received substantial grant funding—including robust support from the National Institutes of Health—cementing Mount Sinai as a global leader for research on a wide range of neurological and psychiatric diseases.
Dr. Nestler’s most significant contribution to neuroscience is his research on molecular mechanisms that regulate gene expression in response to drugs of abuse or stress. By identifying specific transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms—including the molecular switch ΔFOSB—he revealed how these conditions fundamentally rewire the brain. For millions struggling with treatment-resistant depression or addiction, these findings are being translated into tangible benefits: establishing new platforms for the discovery of more effective treatments, including those that consider sex differences in disease mechanisms and medication responses. Dr. Nestler’s work on the biological basis of stress resilience created a seismic shift in psychiatric treatment approaches. His findings moved the field from merely managing symptoms toward targeting the roots of these disorders and preventing them altogether.
Throughout his career, Dr. Nestler has been an advocate for integrating science with clinical practice. He fostered collaboration across disciplines, broke down traditional silos, and accelerated discovery and innovation. His leadership helped to establish new research departments, institutes, and initiatives at Mount Sinai, including programs in regenerative medicine, genomics, artificial intelligence, and health equity research. He is also regarded for his commitment to mentorship. His influence on early-career scientists and clinicians earned him the Julius Axelrod Prize for Mentorship from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
Dr. Nestler has published 800 research papers, reviews, and book chapters. Cited more than 173,000 times, his work has an H-index of 209 on Google Scholar as of 2025, placing him among the most influential scientists in the field. He has co-authored several books. Recognition of Dr. Nestler’s contributions includes election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2025, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005, and the National Academy of Medicine in 1998. His many honors include the Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic Prize, the Falcone Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Affective Disorders Research (Colvin Prize), the Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and the Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize.
Before he came to Mount Sinai, Dr. Nestler was on the Yale faculty from 1987 to 2000 as the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, and Neurobiology, and Director of the Division of Molecular Psychiatry and the Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities. Next, he served as the Lou and Ellen McGinley Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. In 2008, he joined Mount Sinai as Chair of the Department of Neuroscience. He served in this capacity until 2016.
Dr. Nestler has served on a number of national organizations, including the Board of Scientific Counselors and the National Advisory Drug Abuse Council of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institute of Mental Health. He earned his PhD (pharmacology) and MD degrees from Yale University, and completed his residency training in psychiatry at McLean Hospital and Yale in 1987. He also was a postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology and psychiatry at Yale.