Dr. Nicole Avena

Dr. Nicole Avena is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and a Visiting Professor of Health Psychology at Princeton University. She graduated Princeton University with a PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at The Rockefeller University in New York City. She is a research neuroscientist and expert in the fields of nutrition, diet and addiction, with a special focus on nutrition during the lifespan. She has done groundbreaking work developing models to characterize food addition and the dangers of excess sugar intake. Her research achievements have been honored by awards from several groups including the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In addition to over 100 peer-reviewed scholarly publications, Dr. Avena has written several popular books, including Why Diets Fail: Because You’re Addicted to Sugar, What to Eat When You’re Pregnant, What to Feed Your Baby and Toddler and What to Eat When You Want to Get Pregnant. Her latest book, Sugarless, covers the latest science on sugar addiction and how to overcome it. She frequently appears as a science expert in the media, including regular appearances on Good Day NY, Good Morning America, and the former Dr. Oz Show as well as many news programs. Her work has been featured in Time Magazine, Bloomberg Business Week, The New York Times, and many other periodicals. Dr. Avena is a member of the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau. She has the #2 most watched TED-ED Health talk, How Sugar Affects Your Brain, with over 17 million views and counting. You can find her on social media @drnicoleavena IG, Facebook, LinkedIn Dr. Nicole Avena is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and a Visiting Professor of Health Psychology at Princeton University. She has done groundbreaking work developing models to characterize food addition and the dangers of excess sugar intake. In addition to over 100 peer-reviewed scholarly publications, Dr. Avena has written several popular books, her latest book, Sugarless, covers the latest science on sugar addiction and how to overcome it.