Leonard L. Howell
Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University
Dr. Howell received his BA in chemistry from Emory University in 1978 and his Ph.D. in experimental psychology with a minor in biochemistry and physiology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1985. Following postdoctoral training in psychobiology at Harvard Medical School, he accepted a faculty position at Emory University in 1987. He is currently Chief of the Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases and Director of the Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. His research program focuses on the neuropharmacology of abused stimulants and includes basic neurobiological studies of drug mechanisms as well as medications development to treat stimulant abuse. The program is translational in its focus and bridges preclinical, nonhuman primate models with therapeutic applications in humans. Additional interests include the long-term consequences of chronic stimulant use on behavior and brain function. His neuroimaging program includes drug receptor occupancy, pharmacokinetics, brain metabolism and functional magnet resonance imaging (fMRI) in awake, behaving monkeys. The long-range objective is to develop a multidisciplinary research program in substance abuse that effectively integrates behavior, in vivo neurochemistry and functional brain imaging in nonhuman primates. He was recognized for his contributions with an NIH MERIT Award (2007-2016) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.