Professor & Head of Laboratory, The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at The Rockefeller University, Senior Physician, The Rockefeller University Hospital
Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D. is a graduate of Wellesley College where she received Durant Scholar honors in chemistry and biology, and also of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where she received the M.D. degree and the Borden Award for research. During her postgraduate work at Cornell University-New York Hospital Medical Center in internal medicine, gastroenterology and neuroendocrinology, Dr. Kreek joined the Rockefeller Institute in 1964, and with Drs. Vincent P. Dole and the late Dr. Marie Nyswander, did the initial studies on the long-acting opioid agonist methadone in chronic management of heroin addiction, leading to the development of the first effective pharmacotherapy for treatment of an addiction. This research led to a number of prospective long-term studies of the safety and the physiological effects of methadone and the medical status of addicts before and during treatment. By the early 1970s, her work increasingly focused on the molecular and neurobiological basis of addictive diseases. Dr. Kreek is author and co-author of over 300 scientific reports, concept papers, and review articles.
Dr. Kreek is Professor and Head of Laboratory, the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at The Rockefeller University and Senior Physician of The Rockefeller University Hospital. She is also Principal Investigator and Scientific Director of an NIH-NIDA Research Center. Dr. Kreek has been a recipient of a NIH- NIDA Senior Research Scientist Award since its inception in 1978. She has served on several NIH Study Sections, FDA Advisory Groups, and the NIDA National Advisory Council and is a charter member of the NIH Peer Review Oversight Group.
From 1985-1987, Dr. Kreek was President of the Committee on Problems of Drug Dependence.