Karen D Ersche

Professor Karen D Ersche is a Professor of Addiction Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge (UK) and an Adjunct Professor of Translational Addiction Research at the Central Institute of Mental Health (Mannheim, Germany). She leads the Addiction Research Group at Cambridge Neuroscience and serves as an Official Fellow at Clare Hall. Her research integrates interdisciplinary methodologies to address the health and behavioral impacts of drug abuse, with a focus on translating findings into clinical treatments and reducing stigma.

• Addiction Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Translational Research

Her recent publications highlight the neurobiological basis of addiction, including studies on trauma resilience, treatment efficacy in cocaine addiction, and structural brain abnormalities in stimulant users. These works emphasize the role of cognitive control, neuroimaging, and interdisciplinary collaboration in understanding addiction as a brain disorder.

Her contributions have been recognized with:

• Jacob P. Waletzky Memorial Award (2017) for groundbreaking addiction research
• Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship
• Fellowship at Clare Hall

She mentors PhD students and advises the UK government as a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. As Editor-in-Chief of European Addiction Research, she shapes academic discourse in the field.

Professor Ersche heads the Addiction Research Group, which bridges neuroscience and clinical practice to advance addiction treatments through translational research.