Your Brain on Drugs
Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai studies cannabis and other recreational substances. It turns out, much of her work contradicts what we thought we knew about recreational drugs. In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Hurd discusses the effects of cannabis on the adolescent brain, how it can treat addiction, and the reversibility of epigenetics.
Stephen Calabria: [00:00:00] From the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, this is Road to Resilience, a podcast about facing adversity. I'm your host Stephen Calabria, Mount Sinai's Director of Podcasting.
On this episode we welcome Yasmin Hurd, PhD. Dr. Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Hurd's research examines the inner workings of the brain to investigate addiction disorders and related psychiatric illnesses, especially regarding the major risk factors associated with addiction disorders, like genetics and developmental exposures.
Her work helps us understand how experiences—especially in early life—can shape brain chemistry and behavior in lasting ways.
By uncovering the biological roots of addiction, Dr. Hurd is paving the way for more compassionate, effective approaches to healing—an essential step in building resilience.
We're honored to have Dr. Yasmin Hurd on the show.
[00:01:00] Dr. Yasmin Hurd, welcome to Road to Resilience.
Yasmin Hurd: Thanks for having me.
Stephen Calabria: Could you introduce yourself to our listeners?
Yasmin Hurd: I'm Yasmin Hurd. I'm the director of the Addiction Institute of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where I'm also professor of psychiatry and neuroscience.
Stephen Calabria: You've dedicated much of your career to understanding how substances like cannabis and opioids affect the brain. What first drew you to this line of research, particularly as it intersects with human development and behavior?
Yasmin Hurd: So for me I got interested in studying the neurobiology of substance use disorders, ironically, because I was studying neurodegenerative disorders to start as a student and in particular studying Parkinson's Disease.