Hilary Ann Marusak (eq0200)
University information
Contact information
Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute
Dr. Marusak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine. Dr. Marusak received her PhD in Translational Neuroscience from WSU and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Dr. Christine Rabinak's Translational Neuropsychopharmacology lab in the WSU Department of Pharmacy Practice.
Dr. Marusak directs the WSU THINK Lab, which focuses on characterizing the impact of stress and trauma during childhood on brain development in children and adolescents, as well as, neurodevelopmental mechanisms leading to anxiety and other "fear-based" disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Specific areas of interest include:
- The impact of environmental adversity on brain and behavioral development in children and adolescents. This includes childhood trauma —such as interpersonal forms of trauma (e.g., violence, peer victimization) and medical-related trauma (e.g., cancer diagnosis, treatments), and also environmental toxicants (e.g., particulate matter air pollution, lead).
- The role of the endocannabinoid system in modulating frontolimbic brain development and risk of fear-based disorders.
- Behavioral (e.g. exercise, meditation) or pharmacological interventions (e.g., cannabidiol, CBD) that target the endocannabinoid system for the treatment and/or prevention of fear-based disorders in youth.
- The impact of prenatal cannabis exposure and adolescent cannabis use on neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes.
- Effects of cannabis and cannabinoids on the brain and mental health outcomes.
Dr. Marusak was awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Cancer Society, and was the PI of a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Marusak is currently the PI of an NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (BRAINS) R01, and received a 2024 One Mind Rising Star Award for Mental Health Research. She is also the co-PI on an R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (with Dr. Hannah Schacter), and the co-PI on a Veteran Marijuana Research Grant from the State of Michigan, Cannabis Regulatory Agency. She also holds Adjunct positions in the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, the WSU Department of Pharmacology, serves as a faculty advisor to Science Policy Network-Detroit and Science Advisor for the nonprofit organization Kids Kicking Cancer, and is a Scientific Member of the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the WSU Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES).
Dr. Marusak serves as Social Media Editor for the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, Chair of the Communications Task Force for the Society of Biological Psychiatry, cofounder and advisor to the student-led science-policy organization Science Policy Network-Detroit, and hosts the BrainSTEM podcast to provide evidence-based brain science information to the public.
B.A. in Biology and Psychology, 2011, Kalamazoo College
Ph.D. in Translational Neuroscience, 2016, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Tolan Park Medical Building
3901 Chrysler Service Drive
Suite 2B, Room 259
Detroit, MI 48201
Neuroimaging, Developmental Neuroscience, Child Psychiatry, Affective Science, Cannabinoids, Cannabis
313-577-1278
Pharmacology
Tolan Park Medical Building
3901 Chrysler Drive
Suite 2B, Room 259
Detroit, 48201
313-577-1278
Dr. Marusak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine. Dr. Marusak received her PhD in Translational Neuroscience from WSU and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Dr. Christine Rabinak's Translational Neuropsychopharmacology lab in the WSU Department of Pharmacy Practice.
Dr. Marusak directs the WSU THINK Lab, which focuses on characterizing the impact of stress and trauma during childhood on brain development in children and adolescents, as well as, neurodevelopmental mechanisms leading to anxiety and other "fear-based" disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Specific areas of interest include:
- The impact of environmental adversity on brain and behavioral development in children and adolescents. This includes childhood trauma —such as interpersonal forms of trauma (e.g., violence, peer victimization) and medical-related trauma (e.g., cancer diagnosis, treatments), and also environmental toxicants (e.g., particulate matter air pollution, lead).
- The role of the endocannabinoid system in modulating frontolimbic brain development and risk of fear-based disorders.
- Behavioral (e.g. exercise, meditation) or pharmacological interventions (e.g., cannabidiol, CBD) that target the endocannabinoid system for the treatment and/or prevention of fear-based disorders in youth.
- The impact of prenatal cannabis exposure and adolescent cannabis use on neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes.
- Effects of cannabis and cannabinoids on the brain and mental health outcomes.
Dr. Marusak was awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Cancer Society, and was the PI of a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Marusak is currently the PI of an NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (BRAINS) R01, and received a 2024 One Mind Rising Star Award for Mental Health Research. She is also the co-PI on an R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (with Dr. Hannah Schacter), and the co-PI on a Veteran Marijuana Research Grant from the State of Michigan, Cannabis Regulatory Agency. She also holds Adjunct positions in the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development, the WSU Department of Pharmacology, serves as a faculty advisor to Science Policy Network-Detroit and Science Advisor for the nonprofit organization Kids Kicking Cancer, and is a Scientific Member of the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the WSU Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES).
Dr. Marusak serves as Social Media Editor for the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, Chair of the Communications Task Force for the Society of Biological Psychiatry, cofounder and advisor to the student-led science-policy organization Science Policy Network-Detroit, and hosts the BrainSTEM podcast to provide evidence-based brain science information to the public.
- B.A. Biology & Psychology, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI, 2011
- Ph.D. Translational Neuroscience, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2016
Postgraduate Training
- Postdoctoral fellowship, Affective Psychiatry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2019
- Pediatric anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Childhood adversity/trauma, including medical-related adversity (e.g., pediatric cancer)
- Developmental neuroscience
- Affective neuroscience
- Cannabis/Cannabinoids
- The endocannabinoid system
Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
Associate Professor
Director, Division of Cannabinoids in Neurodevelopment (CANDID)
Director, Trauma History Investigation of Neurodevelopment in Kids (THINK) Lab
Tolan Park Medical Building
3901 Chrysler Drive
Suite 2B
Detroit, 48201
313-577-1278
Dr. Hilary Marusak is a developmental neuroscientist and tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She directs the Division of Cannabinoids in Neurodevelopment (CANDID; www.candid.med.wayne.edu), which advances understanding of cannabis, cannabinoids, and the endocannabinoid system through rigorous research on their effects on brain development and mental health. Dr. Marusak also leads the Trauma History Investigation of Neurodevelopment in Kids (THINK) lab (www.wsuthinklab.com). The THINK lab employs neuroimaging, behavioral, and physiological approaches to study neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in children and adolescents.
Dr. Marusak is the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, One Mind, and the State of Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency, focusing on topics such as the endocannabinoid system and mental health, cannabis use and developmental exposure, and interventions that target the endocannabinoid system, such as exercise. She is an Associate Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Social Media Editor for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, Consultant for the University of California, Irvine’s Center for the Study of Cannabis, Steering Committee Member for the WSU Translational Neuroscience PhD Program, and Chair of the Communications Task Force for the Society of Biological Psychiatry. Additionally, she cofounded and advises the student-led organization Science Policy Network-Detroit and hosts the BrainSTEM podcast, which provides evidence-based brain science to the public.
Courses
PYC7140 - Fundamentals of Neuroimaging
BIO4050 - Science Advocacy and Public Engagement
PYC7010/IBS7050 - Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology
Are you a student, staff, or faculty at Wayne State and interested in science communication and advocacy? Visit www.scipoldetroit.org
Are you interested in learning about neuroscience and combating stigma about brain disorders? Listen to our BrainSTEM podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2BRbrtuu5KouWZ6nCb9kDB
Methods:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychophysiology
- Behavioral and Pharmacological Interventions (e.g., exercise, meditation)
- Genetics
- Behavior
- Pediatric anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Childhood adversity/trauma, including medical-related adversity (e.g., pediatric cancer)
- Developmental neuroscience
- Affective neuroscience
- Cannabis/Cannabinoids
- Neuroimaging
- The Endocannabinoid System
Translational Neuroscience Program
My research focuses on the impact of stress and trauma during childhood on brain development in children and adolescents, as well as, pediatric anxiety disorders, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We also examine the effects of behavioral and pharmacological interventions (e.g., exercise, meditation, cannabidiol) that target the endocannabinoid system, and the impact of cannabis and cannabinoids on the brain and mental health. My research uses several neuroscientific techniques, including fMRI, psychophysiology (EEG/ERP, EDA, EMG), behavior, and intervention studies.
Disease/Disorder
Pediatric anxiety, PTSD, depression
Species
Human
Methods
fMRI, psychophysiology (EEG/ERP, EDA, EMG)
Key Collaborators
Wayne State: Tanja Jovanovic, Ph.D., Christine Rabinak, Ph.D., Eric Woodcock, Ph.D., Hannah Schacter, Ph.D., Mark Greenwald, Ph.D., Leslie Lundahl, Ph.D., David Ledgerwood, Ph.D., Lana Grasser, Ph.D., Jeffrey Taub, M.D., Felicity Harper, Ph.D., Aimee Luat, M.D, Jeanne Barcelona, Ph.D., Tehmina Shakir, M.D., Nicholas Mischel, M.D., Laura Benjamins, M.D., Ana Daugherty, Ph.D., Nora Fritz, Ph.D.
External: Jeffrey Strawn, M.D. (University of Cincinnati), Patrick Ryan, Ph.D. (University of Cincinnati), Cole Brokamp, Ph.D. (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center), Cecilia Hillard, Ph.D. (Medical College of Wisconsin), Terri deRoon-Cassini, Ph.D. (Medical College of Wisconsin), Leah Mayo, Ph.D. (University of Calgary), Leslie Brick, Ph.D. (Brown University), Matthew Hill, Ph.D. (University of Calgary), Prantik Kundu, Ph.D. (Ceretype Neuromedicine, Inc.), Jacqueline Marie-Ferland (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
Courses taught by Hilary Ann Marusak
Winter Term 2024
Recent university news spotlights
- ‘BrainSTEM’ podcast doesn’t just inform – it empowers
- Wayne State and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital researchers discover links between air pollution and brain changes in adolescents
- Hilary Marusak, Ph.D., wins Rosalind Franklin Society Special Award in Science for endocannabinoid research
- Wayne State's Science Policy Network-Detroit hosts event for local high school students, showcasing research opportunities to future scientists
- Today@Wayne 2023 year in review
- Warrior Spotlight: Persistence pays for postdoctoral fellow Clara Zundel, Ph.D.
- Unique grant to study impact of exercise on anxiety in adolescents
- SciPol-Detroit’s second annual D.C. trip builds on last year’s success
- Warriors in the Community, episode 16: Science Policy Network-Detroit
- Wayne State’s Science Policy Network-Detroit brings Detroit high school students to campus, presents research to aspiring scientists