Dr. Patricia Di Ciano is a scientist with the Institute for Mental Health and Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She is also an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto and a full member of the School of Graduate Studies.
She received her PhD in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. After completing her degree, she moved to the UK to pursue a post-doctoral position at the University of Cambridge as a NSERC post-doctoral fellow. She then worked as a research associate and senior research associate before taking up a position as a lecturer at Swansea University.
In the UK, Dr. Di Ciano’s research examined the role of dopamine and glutamate in substance use disorders. Specifically, she studied behaviours controlled by conditioned stimuli and the anatomical substrates of cue-controlled behavior. She also worked with Industry to test novel compounds in animal models for the treatment of substance use disorders.
Areas of Research
Dr. Di Ciano has a multi-disciplinary background and her general research area is clinical trials and regulated studies into the safety of cannabis and other substances of abuse. She has experience with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and has also studied the addictive properties of a number of substances including cocaine, heroin, nicotine and amphetamine. Her current research is supported by the Ministry of Transportation, Transport Canada, the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), CAMH and the University of Toronto and is aimed at understanding the impact of cannabis on driving, cognition and related outcomes. Dr. Di Ciano is also investigating the relative safety of different routes of cannabis administration, using cognitive, pulmonary, toxicological and pharmacokinetic outcomes.
Publications
View Dr. Di Ciano’s publications on Google Scholar.