Danny G. Winder, PhD, incoming chair and professor of neurobiology, has been named the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair I.

Established in 2014 by the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, the endowment was created to support basic research at UMass Chan Medical School.

An internationally recognized research leader focused on the molecular basis of brain abnormalities in substance use disorders and obesity, Dr. Winder was recruited as chair of neurobiology from Vanderbilt University. His investigations deepen our understanding of the biological changes in the brain that predispose patients to addiction and perpetuate addictive behaviors once they are established. He has also discovered novel associations of how addiction pathways interact with anxiety and memory pathways on a molecular and genetic basis. By using sophisticated electrophysiologic and genetic methods in cellular and animal models, he has been able to establish both key regions of the brain and the key molecules altered in addiction. This work promises to pave the way for improved therapies for substance use disorders and obesity in the future.

Winder received his bachelor’s degree in 1990 from North Georgia College, and his PhD in 1995 from Emory University. He completed postdoctoral research at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and continued his career with an appointment as assistant professor in molecular physiology and biophysics in 1999 at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and to full professor in 2010. In 2016, he became the founding director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addition Research. Dr. Winder will join UMass Chan in January.

Vivian Budnick, PhD, professor of neurobiology, was the inaugural holder of the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair I.