Cody Siciliano, Ph.D. is a Neuroscientist, Pharmacologist, and Assistant Professor at the Center for Addiction Research at Vanderbilt University. His research investigates the neural basis of motivation and maladaptive decision-making to better understand why some individuals may develop addictive behaviors and others do not.

The Siciliano Lab focuses on the study of alcohol and cocaine in non-human subjects to investigate drug action, neurotransmitter signaling, and neural activity patterns underlying cognition and behaviors relevant to substance abuse. Leveraging his extensive expertise pharmacology, Cody’s work also explores potential therapeutic strategies for treating addiction-relevant brain disorders. Prior to joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University in 2019, Cody completed his postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) identifying and dissecting brain circuits responsible for individual differences in compulsive alcohol seeking using sophisticated optical tools. He earned his PhD at Wake Forest University School of Medicine characterizing dopamine signaling in animal models of drug abuse.

Dr. Siciliano has been recognized with several awards including: Forbes 30 Under 30, the Daniel X. Freedman Prize from Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Research Society on Alcoholism’s Junior Investigator Award, and the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).His work is supported by the Keck Foundation Research Program, the Whitehall Foundation, and R01, U01, and P60 funding from NIAAA.