VISN 1 MIRECC Staff: Mehmet Sofuoglu, M.D., Ph.D.
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Mehmet Sofuoglu, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Mehmet Sofuoglu received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1986 from Hacettepe University in Turkey, and he received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota in 1991. He completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of Minnesota and Stanford University in 1995. He has been a MIRECC Investigator since 2001. In 2012, he became the Director of the VISN 1 New England MIRECC. He also serves as the Director for the MIRECC Fellowship for physicians. Dr Sofuoglu is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University. The majority of Dr. Sofuoglu's work has been on treatment development for substance use disorders including cocaine, opioid and tobacco use disorders and associated comorbidities. His research bridges the gap between human laboratory studies examining the medical safety and potential efficacy of new medications for substance dependence and outpatient trials directly examining these medications in drug relapse. He serves as the physician lead for the VISN1 Clinical Trials Network (CTN), Mental Health Consortium (MHC). Dr. Sofuoglu also conducts research on tobacco regulatory science which focuses examining the reinforcing effects of nicotine and modulatory effects of flavor.
Education
- M.D., Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, 1986
- Ph.D., Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 1991
- Residency in Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1995
Areas of Research Interest
- Tobacco Use Disorder
- Substance Use Disorders
- Chronic Pain
- Nicotine Reinforcement and its Modulation by Flavors
Projects & Grants
- IV Pulsed-Nicotine as a Model of Smoking: The Effects of Dose and Delivery Rate (PI)
This NH/FDA funded R01 study will systematically examine the impact of nicotine dose and delivery rate on the risk of abuse potential, 2021-2024. - Adapting Web-based CBT to Improve Adherence and Outcome for Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder and Chronic Pain Treated with Opioid Agonists (Co-I)
The goal of this NIH/NCCIH-funded project is to develop and pilot test an integrated, web-based cognitive behavioral approach (R61 phase), and conduct a randomized clinical trial evaluating its efficacy relative to standard care in individuals with chronic pain treated with buprenorphine or methadone (R33 phase), 2020-2025. - Cognitive Enhancement as a Target for Cocaine Pharmacotherapy (PI)
The goal of this NIDA funded R01 grant examined the role the effectiveness of a cognitive enhancer, galantamine, for the treatment of cocaine addiction, 2010– 2015. - Nicotine Reinforcement and Aversion in Light Smokers (PI)
This NIH/FDA funded grant seeks to use intravenous nicotine self-administration for estimating threshold reinforcing doses of nicotine and to generate dose-effect curves for low doses of nicotine in smokers, 2016-2019.
