Leonard Howell, PhD, was appointed associate director for scientific programs for the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University on September 1, 2014. In his new position, Howell is working with Yerkes’ new director Paul Johnson, MD, and the center’s leadership to manage the center’s scientific research programs, establish scientific priorities, and enhance support for Yerkes research.

Howell, an Emory alumnus, has been a researcher at Yerkes since 1987. He currently serves as chief of the center’s Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Disease and director of the Yerkes Imaging Center. Howell also holds a tenured appointment as professor in Emory University’s School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and a joint appointment as professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology.

Howell is an expert in nonhuman primate models of drug addiction. His interests range from basic neurobiology of the central nervous system to medication development for treatment of cocaine addiction in humans. Howell’s research program focuses on the neuropharmacology of abused stimulants and includes basic neurobiological studies of drug mechanisms as well as medications development to treat stimulant abuse. The program is translational in its focus and bridges preclinical, nonhuman primate models with therapeutic applications in humans.

An ASPET member since 1992, Dr. Howell is a member of national and international committees, including the executive committee of ASPET. He holds memberships in numerous professional organizations, including the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). He is also a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD).

At ASPET, he is affiliated with the Division for Behavioral Pharmacology, the Division for Neuropharmacology, and the Division for Translational and Clinical Pharmacology.