Scott J Russo

Scott J Russo, PhD, is a Professor in the departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, and Immunology & Immunotherapy at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His office is located at Icahn (East) Building Floor 10 Room 20C, 1425 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10029. He holds a PhD from the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Russo's research focuses on three primary areas:

• Synaptic mechanisms of addiction and depression: Investigating how chronic stress and cocaine alter excitatory synaptic transmission in the nucleus accumbens using electrophysiology and optogenetics.
• Neuroimmune mechanisms of depression: Exploring IL-6 cytokine signaling from peripheral immune cells and its impact on neural circuits, with translational applications for treatment-resistant depression.
• Neural circuitry of aggression: Mapping GABAergic projections from the basal forebrain to lateral habenula that regulate aggressive behavior and reward pathways.

His scientific contributions have been recognized with multiple awards, including:

• Daniel H. Efron Basic Science Award (2019)
• Friedman Brain Institute Best Mentor Award (2017)
• Mount Sinai Faculty Council Award (2014)
• Irma T. Hirschl/Monique Weill-Caulier Trust Research Award (2013)
• Johnson & Johnson/IMHRO Rising Star Award (2012)