A. Eugene and Marie Washington Presidential Distinguished Professor
Appointments and Affiliations
- A. Eugene and Marie Washington Presidential Distinguished Professor
- Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Professor in Neurosurgery
- Professor in Neurobiology
- Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Investigator in the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Contact Information
- Office Location: Bryan Research Bldg, Room 361, Durham, NC 27710
- Email Address: kafui.dzirasa@duke.edu
Education
- Ph.D. Duke University, 2007
- M.D. Duke University, School of Medicine, 2009
- Duke University, School of Medicine, 2016
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- College of Fellows. American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. 2023
- Elected Member. National Academy of Medicine. 2021
- HHMI Investigator. Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 2021
Courses Taught
- PSY 494: Research Independent Study
- NEUROSCI 494: Research Independent Study 2
- NEUROSCI 493: Research Independent Study 1
- NEUROBIO 393: Research Independent Study
- BME 792: Continuation of Graduate Independent Study
- BME 791: Graduate Independent Study
- BME 493: Projects in Biomedical Engineering (GE)
In the News
- Duke 100 Trailblazer: Kafui Dzirasa (Aug 26, 2024 | Duke Centennial)
- Duke Awards 32 New Distinguished Professorships for 2024 (Mar 19, 2024 | Duke T…
- First Presidential Distinguished Chair Named in Honor of Chancellor Washington,…
- Dzirasa Elected Member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Eng…
- Two Duke Faculty Have Won the NIH’s Prestigious Pioneer Award (Oct 3, 2022)
- Duke Scientists Find Brain Network That Makes Mice Mingle (Mar 15, 2022)
- Kafui Dzirasa Elected to National Academy of Medicine (Oct 19, 2021 | School of…
- Two Duke Brain Scientists Named Howard Hughes Investigators (Sep 17, 2021)
- A Call for Action on Structural Racism in Scientific Funding (Oct 30, 2020 | Sc…
- Dr. Kafui Dzirasa: For Black Scientists, the Sorrow Is Also Personal (Jul 21, 2…
- For Black Scientists, the Sorrow Is Also Personal (Jul 21, 2020)
- Graduate School Inducts Three into Outstanding Alumni Society (Aug 30, 2019 | G…
- General Anesthesia Hijacks Sleep Circuitry to Knock You Out (Apr 18, 2019)
- Dzirasa and Cook Named to American Society for Clinical Investigation (Dec 14, …
- Building a Better Brain (Aug 6, 2018 | Duke Medicine Alumni Magazine)
- Networks of Brain Activity Predict Vulnerability to Depression (Mar 1, 2018 | D…
- Chatter in the Deep Brain Spurs Empathy in Rats (Jun 23, 2017)
- Inspiring the Young African-American Physician-Scientist (Feb 15, 2017)
- Dr. Kafui Dzirasa Discusses the Next Big Idea in Brain Research (Oct 18, 2016)
- Duke Brain Researchers Receive Award From Keck Foundation (Aug 9, 2016)
- Control Of A Timekeeping Circuit In The Brain Alters Mood (Jun 23, 2016)
- Neuroscientist Kafui Dzirasa Honored at White House (May 9, 2016)
- Dr. Kafui Dzirasa: A look at mania (Apr 14, 2016 | PBS “Ride the Tiger” documen…
- Neuroscientist Kafui Dzirasa Earns Presidential Early Career Award (Feb 19, 201…
- Allen Song Named Interim Director of Brain Institute (Jun 26, 2015)
- New study identifies why some deal with stress better (Jul 30, 2014 | USA Today)
- A New Brain-Based Marker of Stress Susceptibility (Jul 29, 2014)
Representative Publications
- Halassa, Michael M., Michael J. Frank, Philippa Garety, Dost Ongur, Raag D. Airan, Gerard Sanacora, Kafui Dzirasa, Sahil Suresh, Susan M. Fitzpatrick, and Douglas L. Rothman. “Developing algorithmic psychiatry via multi-level spanning computational models.” Cell Rep Med 6, no. 5 (May 20, 2025): 102094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102094.
- Rawls, Ashleigh, Julia Dziabis, Dang Nguyen, Dilara Anbarci, Madeline Clark, Grace Zhang, Kafui Dzirasa, and Staci D. Bilbo. “Sex-specific regulation of microglial MyD88 in HMGB1-Induced anxiety phenotype in mice.” Neurobiol Stress 36 (May 2025): 100721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2025.100721.
- Gordon, Joshua A., Kafui Dzirasa, and Frederike H. Petzschner. “The neuroscience of mental illness: Building toward the future.” Cell 187, no. 21 (October 17, 2024): 5858–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.09.028.
- Dzirasa, Kafui, Gwenaëlle E. Thomas, and Alvin C. Hathaway. “Towards equitable brain genomics research, for us by us.” Nat Neurosci 27, no. 6 (June 2024): 1021–23. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01651-1.
- Walder-Christensen, Kathryn, Karim Abdelaal, Hunter Klein, Gwenaëlle E. Thomas, Neil M. Gallagher, Austin Talbot, Elise Adamson, et al. “Electome network factors: Capturing emotional brain networks related to health and disease.” Cell Rep Methods 4, no. 1 (January 22, 2024): 100691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100691.