Position Title
Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Director of the Developmental Neurobehavioral Pharmacology Laboratory
Dr. Sonya K. Sobrian is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the Howard University College of Medicine and Director of the Developmental Neurobehavioral Pharmacology Laboratory.
The major focus of Dr. Sobrian's research is developmental neuropharmacology and behavioral toxicology. Previous research has involved the life-span consequences of prenatal exposure to cocaine and nicotine, alone and in combination, with an emphasis on drug addiction in the aging organism. As a visiting scientist at the National Center for Toxicological Research, she was instrumental in establishing a prenatal model of cocaine toxicity. Currently her research involves the multi- and trans- generational inheritance of addiction-like behaviors following prenatal exposure to synthetic cannabinoids.
Dr. Sobrian served as Director of the Behavioral Neuroscience Program at the National Science Foundation and was President of the Developmental Neurotoxicology Society. She currently serves as Section Editor of Developmental Toxicology for the scientific journal, Neuroteratology and Toxicology. She was also guest editor of a special issue of NTT entitled “Developmental Marijuana”.
Dr. Sobrian was formerly on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program. She was also a permanent member of EPA’s Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel from 2016 to 2020.
During her tenure at the College of Medicine, Dr. Sobrian has successfully mentored medical, pharmacy, and graduate and undergraduate students, whom she has involved in developmental neurotoxicological research. Moreover, as a former AAAS Science and Technology Fellow and Fulbright Research Scholar, she has served on fellowship selection committees for both organizations.