Danny G. Winder

Dr. Winder received his B.S. from North Georgia College, and his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Emory University in 1995. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship with Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel, M.D., at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, he joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1999 as assistant professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics. He was promoted to full professor in 2010. A neuroscientist focused on stress and addiction, Dr. Winder has been particularly interested in determining mechanisms that modulate synaptic plasticity, and how and when these processes are disrupted by stress and during Alcohol/Substance Use Disorder. In 2013, Dr. Winder received a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award and in 2016 a MERIT Award from NIAAA. In 2017, he was awarded the F. Peter Guengerich award in the School of Medicine for postdoctoral mentoring, as well as the Bixler-Johnson-Mayes Endowed Chair. He is founding director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, which was established in 2016 to define events that drive addictive behavior and develop new treatments to sustain recovery. In 2023, he became chair of the department of Neurobiology, and Worcester Foundation of Biomedical Research professor at UMass Chan medical school. In 2024 he became director of the newly funded NIAAA P60 Vanderbilt AUD Research and Education Center, a new model of NIH-funded research and education center working across campuses. At the national level, he has served as an associate editor of The Journal of Neuroscience, section editor of Neuropharmacology, on the editorial board of Molecular Pharmacology, and is a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for NIAAA, along with multiple centers and consortia.