Biography—

David Dietz is a professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, as well as the associate dean of research strategy at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.

As chair of the pharmacology and toxicology department, Dietz oversees two undergraduate majors, two master’s programs and two doctoral programs. He founded the school’s undergraduate program in neurosciences, and he has also helped develop and implement a medical school curriculum that utilizes an integrated approach to prepare students for developing challenges in the modern healthcare field. 

Dietz’s research has focused on understanding how molecular and behavioral plasticity in the brain mediates the susceptibility of individuals to drug abuse and relapse. He is the principal investigator on multiple NIH grants to study heroin- and cocaine-induced changes in the brain during addiction. 

Dietz trains several postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in his lab, where they have received a number of awards and independent funding.

In addition, Dietz has been recognized as a UB Exceptional Scholar, both as a Young Investigator in 2015 and for Sustained Achievement in 2023. Dietz is also a member or the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Society for Neuroscience and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He previously served as the president of his local chapter for the Society for Neuroscience.