Dr. Huda Akil is the Co-Director and Research Professor at the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan.

Her lab research focuses on understanding the neurobiology of emotions, including pain, anxiety, depression and substance abuse.  Early on, their research focused on the role of the endorphins and their receptors in pain and stress responsiveness.  Currently, a major focus of their research program is to develop animal models to understand the genetic and developmental basis of differences in temperament and the implications of these inborn differences for vulnerability to anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

Dr. Akil has served as the President of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the Society for Neuroscience.  She has received numerous awards and has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences.