Dr. Robert C. Malenka is the Pritzker Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he directs the Nancy Pritzker Laboratory and serves as Deputy Director of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. He earned his AB summa cum laude from Harvard College and completed both his MD and PhD in neuroscience at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1983. Following residency training in psychiatry at Stanford and four years of postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco, he joined the UCSF faculty in 1989, where he advanced to Full Professor and directed the Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction. His return to Stanford in 1999 established him as a leading figure at the intersection of basic neuroscience and clinical psychiatry, leveraging his dual expertise to bridge fundamental research with therapeutic applications.
Dr. Malenka is internationally recognized as a world leader in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity and neural circuit reorganization in the mammalian brain. His seminal investigations into long-term potentiation and depression have fundamentally transformed our understanding of how experience reshapes neural connections, establishing foundational principles for learning and memory processes. His laboratory's pioneering research on the synaptic actions of drugs of abuse has revealed critical molecular pathways underlying addiction, tolerance, and dependence, providing essential insights into the neurobiological basis of substance use disorders. These discoveries have significantly advanced the field by connecting cellular neuroscience mechanisms to complex behavioral phenomena observed in psychiatric conditions.
As a translational leader, Dr. Malenka has been instrumental in applying basic neuroscience discoveries to the development of novel treatments for mental health disorders, embodying the bench-to-bedside approach that characterizes modern psychiatric research. He has trained numerous scientists who have gone on to establish successful research programs, earning the Julius Axelrod Mentorship Award for his exceptional guidance and commitment to developing the next generation of neuroscientists. His laboratory currently investigates circuit dysfunction in brain disorders including addiction, depression, autism, and Parkinson's disease, seeking to identify precise therapeutic targets through molecular and circuit-level analyses. Dr. Malenka continues to shape the field through his service on national advisory councils, scientific boards of prominent foundations, and his prolific publication record in leading journals including Nature, Science, and Cell, maintaining his position at the forefront of neuroscience research and innovation.
