Lorenzo Leggio

Lorenzo Leggio, MD, PhD, MSc, Chief

Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology (CPN), LCTS

*Jointly National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
10 Center Drive (10CRC/15330) MSC 1108
Room 1-5429
Bethesda, MD 20892-1108
telephone: 301.435.9398
e-mail: lorenzo.leggio@nih.gov
Lab e-mail: CPNResearch@mail.nih.gov

Dr. Leggio serves as the chief of the joint NIAAA-NIDA Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology, LCTS. Dr. Leggio received his MD and PhD from the Catholic University of Rome and ‘Agostino Gemelli’ hospital, where he also completed residency in internal medicine. He also received a Masters in ‘Alcohol-related diseases and problems’ from the University of Florence. He was a visiting research associate, then postdoctoral research associate in Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, Providence, RI. In 2010, Dr. Leggio joined the faculty of the Brown University Medical School as Assistant Professor (Research) and Core Faculty at the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS). Dr. Leggio’s clinical research has been primarily focused on the treatment of alcoholism, with a special emphasis on the role of feeding-related as well as GABAergic pathways; and on the medical consequences of alcoholism, with a special emphasis on alcoholic liver diseases. As a Principal Investigator, Dr. Leggio received extramural research funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Additionally, he received research funding from the European Foundation for Alcohol Research, Brown University CAAS, ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research, and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD). In June 2012, Dr. Leggio joined the NIAAA and NIDA Intramural Clinical Programs as Tenure-Track Investigator and Section Chief.


What we do

The mission of the Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology (CPN) is to contribute to a deeper understanding of possible pharmacological treatments for alcohol and drug use disorders. We conduct outpatient and inpatient clinical studies using a combination of state-of-the-art and novel biobehavioral and pharmacological procedures performed under well-controlled human laboratory conditions, in order to identify possible novel medications for addiction. This section is particularly interested in: 1) investigating  feeding-related pathways (e.g. ghrelin, GLP-1, insulin, hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis) as novel neuropharmacological targets for alcoholism; and 2) identifying biobehavioral mechanisms and markers that predict treatment outcomes of promising medications (e.g. GABAB agonists) for the treatment of alcoholism.
 

Current Staff

Mary Lee Mary R. Lee, MD
Staff Clinician
telephone: 301.827.0545
e-mail: leemary@mail.nih.gov

Dr. Lee received her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1989. She completed residency in internal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and subsequently completed a psychiatric residency at George Washington University. Dr. Lee is board certified in both internal medicine and addiction medicine. She is currently Staff Clinician in the Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology (CPN) at NIAAA/NIDA and in the Office of the Clinical Director at NIDA. Her research has focused on the effect of intranasal oxytocin on drug craving, reward learning, and emotional processing in drug dependent and schizophrenic patients. In addition, she has investigated the neurobehavioral effects of genetic polymorphisms, COMT and OPRM, on reward processing in smokers and drug users.  Her current research is on the use of TMS to understand the neurocircuitry of nicotine addiction and the use of the CRH antagonist, Pexacerfont, for reduction of stress-induced tobacco craving, nicotine reinforcement in treatment-seeking smokers.

Allison Feduccia Allison Feduccia, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
telephone: 301.435.9383
email: allison.feduccia@nih.gov

Dr. Feduccia earned her undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University and her PhD in Neuropharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin. After working as a post-doctoral researcher in the preclinical development group at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, she joined the Section on Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology (CPN) in September 2012. Her current research investigates novel compounds for the treatment of alcohol use disorders, as well as the underlying factors that contribute to alcohol seeking and craving. She conducts studies that utilize a number of techniques including computer-assisted self-administration of ethanol, fMRI, and alcohol self-administration in a simulated bar environment.

Petra Suchankova Petra Suchankova Karlsson, PhD
Guest Researcher (supported by the Swedish Brain Foundation)
email: petra.karlsson@nih.gov (and petra.suchankova@pharm.gu.se)

Dr. Suchankova Karlsson earned a Master in Molecular Life Science Research from the King’s College of London, UK; and then a PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Since 2011, she has been working as lecturer and post-doctoral researcher in the pharmacology lab led by Jörgen Engel and Elisabet Jerlhag Holm at the University of Gothenburg. Her work has focused on the role of genetic variations of feeding-related pathways (e.g. ghrelin) in alcoholism. Dr. Suchankova Karlsson received the Swedish Brain Foundation postdoc grant for 2013 and joined CPN in January 2013 as part of her postdoc training. She intends to further investigate the role of ghrelin, GLP-1 and other appetitive networks in addiction.

Emily Oot Emily Oot
Technical IRTA
telephone: 301.827.0330
email: emily.oot@nih.gov

Emily Oot joined CPN in July of 2012. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2010 and then spent 2 years as a research assistant and lab manager in Dr. Rachel Barr’s infant cognition lab at Georgetown before coming to the NIH. Emily’s responsibilities include phone screening, coordinating and running both screening and experimental visits, administering assessments and clinical interviews, and data entry and analysis.

Jared Bollinger Jared Bollinger
Post-Bac IRTA
telephone: 301.451.6974
email: jared.bollinger@nih.gov

Jared Bollinger joined CPN in June 2012 after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from the University of Georgia. Currently, Jared’s primary work includes coordinating resources, recruitment, and assessments for the Section’s inaugural studies involving randomized controlled trials of the GABAB agonist baclofen and the feeding-related peptide ghrelin in alcoholism. Additionally, his personal research interests include how social network drinking patterns affect experimental outcomes as well as how cognitive biases are implicated in addictive behaviors.

Lexi Dias Lexi Dias
Post-Bac IRTA
telephone: 301.827.0308
email: lexi.dias@nih.gov

Lexi Dias joined CPN in August 2012. She graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in May 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Minor in Biology and a Minor in Chemistry. Lexi’s responsibilities include recruiting and screening healthy volunteers for participation in studies, scheduling and administering various psychological evaluations, and conducting sessions for study protocols.