Jack Henningfield, PhD
Vice President, Research, Health Policy, and Abuse Liability
Leading development and regulatory strategy for new treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders with high unmet needs
Expertise
In his far-reaching career, Jack’s research and contributions to drug regulation and public policy have contributed to the development of important medicines and other approaches for addressing addiction and improving public health worldwide.
Today, at Pinney Associates, Jack focuses on:
- Abuse liability of new CNS-active drugs and nondrug products
- Abuse potential assessments and eight factor analyses
- Abuse-deterrent formulation evaluation
- Regulatory pathways for psychedelics, cannabinoids, and CNS-active dietary supplements
Experience
Jack joined Pinney Associates in 1996, after 16 years with the Intramural Research Program of the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), where he led abuse potential assessments and developed drug scheduling recommendations in collaboration with FDA and DEA.
Since leaving NIDA, Jack has served as a Special Government Employee with the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Center for Tobacco Products. Since 1978, he has been a member of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine faculty and is presently adjunct professor of behavioral biology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
Jack has contributed to numerous comments to FDA on drug regulation and policy, and has written a large number of books and monographs, as well as more than 450 published papers, on topics in public health, pharmacology, and addiction. His efforts in science and public health leadership have earned him a multitude of awards. In 2010, he was honored by the American Psychological Association’s Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse Division 28 with the MED Associates Brady/Schuster Award, for outstanding research underscoring the fundamental importance of behavioral science to psychopharmacology or substance use disorder. The College on Problems of Drug Dependence awarded him its Distinguished Service Award in 2010 for outstanding contributions to the field of drug abuse beyond scientific contributions. In 1997, Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Donna E. Shalala and FDA Commissioner Dr. David A. Kessler presented him with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service, for outstanding performance in the development of regulations to protect the nation’s children from cigarette smoking.
Education
- Postdoctoral training, Psychopharmacology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Psychiatry
- PhD, Experimental Psychology with Pharmacology Supporting Program, University of Minnesota
- BA summa cum laude, Psychology, University of Minnesota
