Unit Director
Contact
Location:
Triad Technology Center
333 Cassell Drive
Suite 4400
Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 667-312-5025
Email: mbaumann@mail.nih.gov
About the Lab
The main goal of the DDRU is to collect, analyze and disseminate the most up-to-date information about the pharmacology and toxicology of newly emerging designer drugs of abuse, more formally known as new psychoactive substances (NPS). NPS include synthetic or modified drugs which mimic the effects of stimulants/entactogens (e.g., cathinone “bath salts’), cannabinoids (e.g., “K2/Spice”), psychedelics (e.g., NBOMes, psilocin analogs) and opioids (e.g., fentanyl analogs, nitazenes, orphines). These substances rapidly evolve in nonmedical drug markets, complicating detection, regulation, clinical toxicology and public health responses.
Topics of investigation include:
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Pharmacology of newly emerging NPS, including synthetic opioids, cannabinoids, psychedelics, entactogens and stimulants
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Structure-activity relationships for ligands interacting with monoamine transporters, serotonin, cannabinoid and opioid receptors
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Preclinical pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, behavioral effects and toxicological risks of emerging drugs of abuse
NIDA IRP Designer Drug Research Unit Staff
