Nora Volkow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nora Volkow
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| Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse | |
| Assumed office April 15, 2003 |
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| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Glen Hanson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 27, 1956 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Spouse | Stephen Adler |
| Relations | Zinaida Volkova (grandmother) Leon Trotsky (great-grandfather) |
| Education | National Autonomous University of Mexico (MD) |
| Known for | TEDMED |
Nora Volkow (born 27 March 1956) is a Mexican-American psychiatrist. She is currently the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Early life and education
Born in Mexico City, Volkow is a daughter of Esteban Volkov, whose mother Zinaida Volkova was the eldest daughter of the Russian communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Volkow and her three sisters grew up in Coyoacán in the house where Trotsky was killed (now the Leon Trotsky Museum).
Volkow was educated at the Modern American School, in Mexico City, and graduated M.D. from the National University of Mexico, before her postdoctoral training in Psychiatry at New York University.
In 2014, Volkow participated in an event organized by The Moth at a World Science Festival, where scientists, writers and artists told stories of their personal relationships with science. During this time, she discussed her family history and how it furthered her ambition to pursue science in order to positively influence others.
Career
During psychiatry residency, she worked on PET scan projects with psychiatrist Jonathan Brodie. After finishing psychiatry residency, she joined the faculty at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, working on PET scan research projects in addition to clinical duties. She conducted research work with Professor Alan Swann, now at Baylor, leaving to Brookhaven in 1987.
Volkow spent most of her professional career at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, New York, where she held several leadership positions. She was first a researcher at BNL, and then Director of Nuclear Medicine, Director of the NIDA-DOE Regional Neuroimaging Center at BNL, and finally Associate Director for Life Sciences at BNL. She was also appointed as a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University and as Associate Dean for its Medical School.
In 2003 Volkow became director of NIDA.
Volkow is the first person from the NIH to visit the Dalai Lama at his residence in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Awards and recognition
Volkow has been recognized for her contributions, both before and during her time at NIDA. The following are among the most significant:
- Innovator of the Year. U.S. News & World Report, 2000.
- NEWSWEEK: Who's Next 2007, a list of 21 people predicted to be newsmakers in 2007.
- The 2007 TIME 100. TIME's list of the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world.
- The List of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women. The Washingtonian's list of women who lead and lobby, educate and enlighten, and look for cures and pathways to a better world.
- Washington's 100 Most Powerful Women, Washingtonian Magazine's list of females who've made it to the top.
- Finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for the Science and Environment Medal (Sammies), Washington DC 2013. These awards recognize outstanding service and are considered among the most prestigious available to federal workers.
- In 2007, NIDA and another NIH Institute (the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) received an Emmy Award. Nora Volkow represented NIDA in receiving the Emmy.
- In 2011, Volkow received the Joan and Stanford Alexander Award in Psychiatry, from Baylor College of Medicine’s Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.The prize is awarded to "a mental health professional who has made significant contributions in research, education and clinical or community service for people suffering from severe and persistent mental illness."
- Hispanic Scientist of the Year Award by Museum of Science & Industry (Tampa) in 2012, for promoting scientific understanding in the community and providing a role model for Hispanic youth.
- In 2013, Volkow received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Child Mind Institute, in recognition of her "outstanding contributions to brain development and psychopathology research."
Personal life
Volkow is married to Stephen Adler, a radioimaging physicist at the National Cancer Institute.
See also
In Spanish: Nora Volkow para niños
