Wenthur Lab
The Wenthur Laboratory’s mission is to improve mental healthcare through the development of new therapeutic treatment approaches—specifically those that include opioids, dissociative-hypnotics, psychedelics, and cannabinoids. We are motivated by the staggeringly high reported rates of depression, anxiety, overdose, and suicide, inadequate access to treatment, and the failure of current therapeutic models to meaningfully improve the daily life of those who dearly need it.
Named an
Innovative New Investigator
National Institute of Mental Health
2020
VILAS
Early Career Faculty Award
University of Wisconsin
2023
7
degree tracks supported by our lab
$4 Million
awarded to study novel, rapidly-acting antidepressants
50:50
ratio of pre-clinical to human subject research projects
Research Areas.
Deconvoluting Polypharmacologic Contributions of Rapidly-Acting Antidepressants
Psychedelic Outcomes: Interaction of Environment, Self-Identity, and Success (POIESIS)
Honors and Awards
- Jared F Purton Memorial Award (2017)
- NIH LRP Awardee, Clinical Research (2013)
- Merck Award for Achievement in Pharmaceutical Research (2011)
- ‘Opioid Antibody Biomarkers in Lower Back Pain’ project selected for national press conference coverage at ACS, Fall 2020
- ‘Naloxone Stand Down Outreach at VA’ collaboration won “Excellence in Innovation Award” from PSW and “Best Original Research” from CPNP, Spring 2020
Welcome to the Wenthur Lab Website!
Our interdisciplinary group is composed of both clinical and basic scientists, and we are always looking for new members and collaborators interested in working with us. We aim to improve both our understanding of how the brain works and to translate this improved understanding into improved mental healthcare delivery approaches. As a group, we are especially focused on reducing morbidity and mortality from substance use and mood disorders.