Additional Titles & Roles
- Vice Chair for Faculty Development, Psychiatry Department
- Leader of Precision Medicine Function, Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
Education & Training
- Residency: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1991
- MD: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1987
- BA: Harvard Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA, 1982
Major Awards
- Sidney I. Schwab Prize in Psychiatry,
- Washington University Book Award,
- International Brain Research Organization Award,
- Langley Award for Basic Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2018
- The Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Disease, 2014
- WUSM Distinguished Educator Postdoctoral Research Mentoring Award, 2012
Areas of Clinical Interest
Smoking behavior, substance use disorder, genetically informed clinical care
Research Interests
As a physician scientist, I have led several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study environmental and genetic contributions to smoking behaviors, addiction and other psychiatric and medical illnesses. I am an active member in the NIDA Genetics Consortium, a national group of scientists who are leading NIDA’s efforts to understand genetic causes of substance dependence. My research group conducted the initial studies which found that the a5 nicotinic receptor subunit genes on chromosome 15 and the a6ß3 nicotinic receptor subunit genes on chromosome 8 increase a smoker’s risk for nicotine dependence. In collaboration with other groups, we have since demonstrated that the same genetic variants that contribute to smoking in the chromosome 15 region also influence the development of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We are currently exploring how to translate genetic information to guide more effective clinical care. We have ongoing studies of genetic factors and smoking cessation treatment.
Lab website: https://healthbehaviorcenter.wustl.edu
Key Publications
- Bierut LJ, (2020 02). 2018 Langley Award for Basic Research on Nicotine and Tobacco: Bringing Precision Medicine to Smoking Cessation. Nicotine Tob. Res.. 22(2): 147-151.
Read publication »2018 Langley Award for Basic Research on Nicotine and Tobacco: Bringing Precision Medicine to Smoking Cessation. - Ramsey AT, Prentice D, Ballard E, Chen LS, Bierut LJ, (2019 07). Leverage points to improve smoking cessation treatment in a large tertiary care hospital: a systems-based mixed methods study. BMJ Open. 9(7): e030066.
Read publication »Leverage points to improve smoking cessation treatment in a large tertiary care hospital: a systems-based mixed methods study. - Hartz SM, Oehlert M, Horton AC, Grucza RA, Fisher SL, Culverhouse RC, Nelson KG, Sumerall SW, Neal PC, Regnier P, Chen G, Williams A, Bhattarai J, Evanoff B, Bierut LJ, (2018 Nov). Daily Drinking Is Associated with Increased Mortality. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res.. 42(11): 2246-2255.
Read publication »Daily Drinking Is Associated with Increased Mortality. - Ramsey AT, Bray M, Acayo Laker P, Bourdon JL, Dorsey A, Zalik M, Pietka A, Salyer P, Waters EA, Chen LS, Bierut LJ, (2020 Mar). Participatory design of a personalized genetic risk tool to promote behavioral health. Cancer Prev Res (Phila).
Read publication »Participatory Design of a Personalized Genetic Risk Tool to Promote Behavioral Health. - Mintz CM, Hartz SM, Borodovsky JT, Bierut LJ, Grucza RA, (2019 Apr). Changes in Associations of Prescription Opioid Use Disorder and Illegal Behaviors Among Adults in the United States from 2002-2014. Addiction.
Read publication »Changes in associations of prescription opioid use disorder and illegal behaviors among adults in the United States from 2002 to 20. - Cavazos-Rehg P, Grucza R, Krauss MJ, Smarsh A, Anako N, Kasson E, Kaiser N, Sansone S, Winograd R, Bierut LJ, (2019 Dec). Utilizing social media to explore overdose and HIV/HCV risk behaviors among current opioid misusers. Drug Alcohol Depend. 205: 107690.
Read publication »Utilizing social media to explore overdose and HIV/HCV risk behaviors among current opioid misusers.
Funded Research Projects
NIAAA (Co-PI):Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism
NIAAA (PI): Multi ‘Omics Integration and Neurobiological Signatures of Alcohol Use Disorder
NIDA (PI): Washington University Career Development Program in Drug Abuse and Addiction
NCATS (Leader of Precision Medicine Function): Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
NIDA (Co-investigator): Integrating Epigenomics in Human Brain and Genomics of Nicotine Dependence
NIDA (Co-investigator): Harnessing Knowledge of Gene Function in Brain Tissue for Discovering Biology Underlying Heroin Addiction
NCI (Co-investigator): Integrative Analysis of Lung Cancer Etiology and Risk