Nora Volkow Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Nora Volkow


Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Incumbent
Assumed office April 15, 2003
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
Preceded by	Glen Hanson

Personal details
Born	(1956-03-27) March 27, 1956 (age 69) Mexico City, Mexico
Spouse	Stephen Adler
Relations	Zinaida Volkova (grandmother) Leon Trotsky (great-grandfather) Olga Kameneva (great-great-aunt) Samuel Bronston (granduncle) William Bronston (second cousin, once removed)
Education	National Autonomous University of Mexico (MD)
Known for	TEDMED

Nora D. Volkow was born on March 27, 1956. She is a doctor from Mexico and the United States who studies the brain. She is currently the leader of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This important group is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIDA helps us learn more about how our brains work and how to keep them healthy.

Early Life and Learning
Nora Volkow's Career
Awards and Special Recognition
Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Learning

Nora Volkow was born in Mexico City, Mexico. Her father, Esteban Volkov, was the grandson of a famous Russian leader named Leon Trotsky. Nora and her three sisters grew up in the same house where Trotsky lived in Coyoacán. Today, this house is a museum.

Nora went to school in Mexico City. She earned her medical doctor (M.D.) degree from the National University of Mexico. After that, she had special training in understanding the mind at New York University.

In 2014, Nora shared her personal story at a special event. She talked about how her family's history made her want to study science. She wanted to use science to help people and make a positive difference in the world.

Nora Volkow's Career

Nora Volkow, leader of the National Institute on Drug Abuse

After becoming a doctor, Nora Volkow started working on projects using a special brain scan called a PET scan. She worked with other doctors to learn how the brain functions. She did research at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston.

Later, she spent a lot of her career at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. There, she held many important jobs. She was a researcher and led different science centers. She also became a professor at Stony Brook University.

In 2003, Nora Volkow became the director of NIDA. This means she leads all the research and work done by the institute. She helps guide studies on how the brain works and how to keep it healthy.

In 2013, Nora Volkow made history. She was the first person from the NIH to visit the Dalai Lama. They met in Dharamshala, India, to talk about science and the mind.

Awards and Special Recognition

Dr. Nora Volkow with a patient during a PET scan

Nora Volkow has received many awards for her important work. Here are some of them:

In 2000, U.S. News & World Report called her an "Innovator of the Year."
Newsweek magazine put her on their "Who's Next" list in 2007. This list featured people expected to make news.
Time magazine included her in the "Time 100" list in 2007. This list names 100 people who are changing the world.
The Washingtonian magazine has listed her among the "Most Powerful Women" in Washington, D.C.
In 2011, she received the Joan and Stanford Alexander Award in Psychiatry. This award is for mental health professionals who have made big contributions.
The Museum of Science & Industry (Tampa) named her "Hispanic Scientist of the Year" in 2012. This was for helping people understand science.
In 2013, she received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Child Mind Institute. This award recognized her great work in brain development research.