Kevin Braunscheidel

Kevin Braunscheidel, PhD is an Instructor in Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he conducts research on peripheral mechanisms of nicotine addiction. His work focuses on understanding how nicotine's actions in the body, particularly through the nucleus of the solitary tract and vagal afferents, contribute to addiction beyond traditional brain reward pathways.

Dr. Braunscheidel's research interests span Neuroscience, Addiction, Nicotine Addiction, Peripheral Mechanisms, Neuropharmacology, and Behavioral Neuroscience. His laboratory investigates how peripheral sensory information regulates nicotine intake, with implications for developing new treatments for tobacco dependence, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

• 2025 L70 DA064165 NIDA
• 2022 F32 DA054802 NIDA
• 2018 F31 DA045485 NIDA

Dr. Braunscheidel maintains an active research program supported by multiple NIDA grants. His work combines rodent models of addiction with advanced techniques including cell type-specific manipulations and genome editing to unravel complex neurobiological mechanisms of nicotine dependence. His office is located in the Hess CSM Building, Floor 10, Room 202 at 1470 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10029.

His research has established that the nucleus of the solitary tract regulates noxious response to nicotine and controls drug intake, challenging traditional models of nicotine addiction that focus exclusively on brain reward circuits. This work has significant implications for understanding why nicotine is so addictive despite its aversive properties.