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 dependence, 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, Tyndale RF, (2018 Feb). Preparing the Way: Exploiting Genomic Medicine to Stop Smoking. Trends Mol Med. 24(2): 187-196.
Read publication »Preparing the Way: Exploiting Genomic Medicine to Stop Smoking. - Ramsey AT, Chen LS, Hartz SM, Saccone NL, Fisher SL, Proctor EK, Bierut LJ, (2018 Jan). Toward the implementation of genomic applications for smoking cessation and smoking-related diseases. Transl Behav Med. 8(1): 7-17.
Read publication »Toward the implementation of genomic applications for smoking cessation and smoking-related diseases. - 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. - Chen LS, Hartz SM, Baker TB, Ma Y, L Saccone N, Bierut LJ, (2018 Dec). Use of polygenic risk scores of nicotine metabolism in predicting smoking behaviors. Pharmacogenomics. 19(18): 1383-1394.
Read publication »Use of polygenic risk scores of nicotine metabolism in predicting smoking behaviors. - 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. - Chen LS, Baker TB, Hung RJ, Horton A, Culverhouse R, Hartz S, Saccone N, Cheng I, Deng B, Han Y, Hansen HM, Horsman J, Kim C, Rosenberger A, Aben KK, Andrew AS, Chang S-C, Saum K-U, Dienemann H, Hatsukami DK, Johnson EO, Pande M, Wrensch MR, McLaughlin J, Skaug V, van der Heijden EH, Wampfler J, Wenzlaff A, Woll P, Zienolddiny S, Bickeboller H, Brenner H, Duell EJ, Haugen A, Bruske I, Kiemeney LA, Lazarus P, Marchand LL, Liu G, Mayordomo J, Risch A, Schwartz AG, Teare MD, Wu X, Wiencke JK, Yang P, Zhang Z-F, Spitz MR, Amos CI, Bierut LJ. Genetic risk can be decreased: Quitting smoking decreases and delays lung cancer for smokers with high and low CHRNA5 risk genotypes–a meta-analysis. EBioMedicine, 2016, 11:219-226.
Read publication »Genetic Risk Can Be Decreased: Quitting Smoking Decreases and Delays Lung Cancer for Smokers With High and Low CHRNA5 Risk Genotypes – A Meta-Analysis.
Funded Research Projects
NIAAA (Co-PI):Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism
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
NIDA (Co-investigator): Enhancing Discovery of HIV Host Genetics Using Drug Abuse and Other Interactions
NCI (Co-investigator): Integrative Analysis of Lung Cancer Etiology and Risk