Scott Swartzwelder, PhD, is the Associate Vice President for Neuropsychology and Child & Adolescent Services at Avance Care Psychiatry in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dr. Swartzwelder is a clinical psychologist and neurobiologist with a distinguished career as a clinician-scientist, focusing on the brain mechanisms of cognition and emotion, and the effects of drugs on these processes. Much of his work has centered on adolescent brain development, exploring the behavioral manifestations of brain maturation and the impact of drugs on the developing brain. He has published over 200 scientific papers, numerous book chapters and reviews, and authored four books that translate complex biomedical and clinical research for the general public. Dr. Swartzwelder has delivered hundreds of invited lectures and presentations on his research, which has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and other national agencies for over 35 years.
Teaching and mentoring have also been central to Dr. Swartzwelder’s career. He has personally trained over 80 clinicians and clinician-scientists, developed and taught innovative college courses on brain function and drug effects, and created career development programs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ national medical center system. Additionally, he was the lead content developer for AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol education program that has reached millions of U.S. high school and college students.
Dr. Swartzwelder is a member of the Research Society on Alcoholism’s National Advocacy and Public Education Committee, a founding Principal Investigator of the national Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood (NADIA) consortium, and was honored with the Bowles Award in 2017 for his groundbreaking research into the causes and treatment of alcohol addiction.
Outside of his professional achievements, Dr. Swartzwelder is immensely proud of his three adult children. He is also a jazz drummer and martial artist who enjoys relaxing with friends and family, engaging in substantive conversations, and sharing creative experiences.
