Deborah Mash facts for kids

Deborah Carmen Mash is an American professor. She teaches about the human brain and how medicines affect it. She works at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. She also leads the Brain Endowment Bank there. This bank helps scientists study brains to learn more about how they work. Dr. Mash is also the founder and CEO of a company called DemeRx.

Becoming a Scientist

Early Life and Education

Deborah Mash became very interested in the human brain when she was in college. She studied at Florida State University. After getting her first degree, she went on to earn a Ph.D. at the Miller School of Medicine. This is part of the University of Miami.

Advanced Training and Career Start

After her Ph.D., she did more advanced training. This was a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. She worked at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1986, she returned to the University of Miami. She joined the teaching staff there.

Researching Brain Chemistry

Exploring Plant Compounds

In 1994, Dr. Mash received a special license. This license allowed her to study a plant compound called ibogaine. This compound comes from certain plants. She wanted to understand how it affects the brain. Her goal was to learn more about how the brain works.

Discovering Noribogaine

Dr. Mash and her team made an important discovery. They found that ibogaine changes inside the body. It turns into another active compound. This new compound is called 12-hydroxyibogamine, or noribogaine. This discovery helped scientists understand more about how these plant compounds interact with the brain.