Laura J. BIERUT – Saint Louis

Laura Jean Bierut, M.D. serves as the inaugural Alumni Endowed Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  She is an internationally recognized physician-scientist leading groundbreaking research on the genetics of substance use disorder. Her work, which has been funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, has significantly advanced our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of nicotine addiction and its associated diseases.

Dr. Bierut’s expertise is sought after by leading U.S. national organizations. She serves on the Advisory Council for the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute; she is a member of the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, and she is the Co-Chair of the Smoking Cessation Panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. In 2024, she was elected as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Bierut’s current research focuses on how to provide information to individuals about their underlying genetic risk of addiction and to test if this information changes a person’s behavior.  This research exemplifies the power of science to potentially improve health by bridging the gap between genetic discovery and real-world solutions to prevent and treat addiction and its devastating effects.