Nicole Avena-Blanchard, PhD
About Me
Dr. Nicole Avena received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Psychology from Princeton University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at The Rockefeller University in New York City. Dr. Avena has published over 70 scholarly journal articles, as well as several book chapters and books, on topics related to food, addiction, obesity and eating disorders. Furthermore, Dr. Avena has edited the books, "Animal Models of Eating Disorders" (2012) and "Hedonic Eating" (2015), coauthored the popular book of food and addiction called "Why Diets Fail" (Ten Speed Press), and recently finished her new book, "What to Eat When You're Pregnant." Dr. Avena's research achievements have been honored by awards from several groups including the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Eating Disorders Association, as well as pharmaceutical partners.
For more details about her research, as well as publications, please see her personal website.
For a full CV profile on Dr. Nicole Avena, please refer to her SciENcv page.
Language
English
Position
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Neuroscience
Research Topics
Addiction, Neurobiology, Neuroscience, Obesity
Industry Relationships
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology companies, and other outside entities to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their outside financial relationships.
Below are financial relationships with industry reported by Dr. Avena-Blanchard during 2025 and/or 2026. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
Consulting or Other Professional Services Examples include, but are not limited to, committee participation, data safety monitoring board (DSMB) membership
- Kekoa
- Smarty Pants Vitamins
- Global Kratom Leaf Coalition
Outside Employment
- Princeton University
- Amen Clinics
Mount Sinai’s faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.