After a national search, Susan Ferguson, PhD, has been named the new Director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI), a position held by Dennis Donovan, PhD, for the past 25 years before stepping down in 2018. In this role, she will manage and promote the ADAI mission to advance research, policies and practices in order to improve the lives of individuals, families and communities affected by alcohol and drug use and use disorder.

Dr. Ferguson currently runs a research program investigating the neural basis of opioid and psychostimulant addiction. She also serves as the Faculty Liaison to the Office of Teaching, Education and Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. She is a graduate of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a B.S. in Biopsychology and Cognitive Sciences and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and received her Postdoctoral training from the UW. Dr. Ferguson will officially begin her duties on July 1, 2019.