Patricia Di Ciano BA (Hons), MA, PhD

Dr. Patricia Di Ciano is an Independent Scientist with the Institute for Mental Health and Policy Research. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto and an Associate member of the School of Graduate Studies.

She received her Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in Psychology. After completing her degree, she moved to the UK to pursue a Post-doctoral position at the University of Cambridge as an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellow. She then worked as a Research Associate and Senior Research Associate before taking up a position as Lecturer at Swansea University.

In the UK, Dr. Di Ciano’s research examined the role of dopamine and glutamate in substance use disorders. Specifically, she studied behaviors controlled by conditioned stimuli and the anatomical substrates of cue-controlled behavior. She also worked with Industry to test novel compounds in animal models for the treatment of substance use disorders.