Hilary Marusak
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
Hilary Marusak
Office address
Tolan Park Medical Building
3901 Chrysler Drive
Suite 2B, Room 259
Detroit, 48201
Office phone
313-577-1278
Biography
Dr. Hilary Marusak is a developmental neuroscientist and tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She directs the Division of Cannabinoids in Neurodevelopment (CANDID; www.candid.med.wayne.edu), which advances understanding of cannabis, cannabinoids, and the endocannabinoid system through rigorous research on their effects on brain development and mental health. Dr. Marusak also leads the Trauma History Investigation of Neurodevelopment in Kids (THINK) lab (www.wsuthinklab.com). The THINK lab employs neuroimaging, behavioral, and physiological approaches to study neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in children and adolescents.
Dr. Marusak is the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, One Mind, and the State of Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency, focusing on topics such as the endocannabinoid system and mental health, cannabis use and developmental exposure, and interventions that target the endocannabinoid system, such as exercise. She is an Associate Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Social Media Editor for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, Consultant for the University of California, Irvine’s Center for the Study of Cannabis, Steering Committee Member for the WSU Translational Neuroscience PhD Program, and Chair of the Communications Task Force for the Society of Biological Psychiatry. Additionally, she cofounded and advises the student-led organization Science Policy Network-Detroit and hosts the BrainSTEM podcast, which provides evidence-based brain science to the public.
Courses
PYC7140 - Fundamentals of Neuroimaging
BIO4050 - Science Advocacy and Public Engagement
PYC7010/IBS7050 - Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology
Are you a student, staff, or faculty at Wayne State and interested in science communication and advocacy? Visit www.scipoldetroit.org
Are you interested in learning about neuroscience and combating stigma about brain disorders? Listen to our BrainSTEM podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2BRbrtuu5KouWZ6nCb9kDB
Education
- B.A. Biology & Psychology, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI, 2011
- Ph.D. Translational Neuroscience, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2016
Postgraduate Training
- Postdoctoral fellowship, Affective Psychiatry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2019
Links of interest
Publications
Research interests
- Pediatric anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Childhood adversity/trauma, including medical-related adversity (e.g., pediatric cancer)
- Developmental neuroscience
- Affective neuroscience
- Cannabis/Cannabinoids
- The endocannabinoid system
Courses taught by Hilary Marusak
Fall Term 2025
Winter Term 2024
Recent university news spotlights
- Wayne State Social Work presenters at the 2026 SSWR Annual Conference
- What Trump’s rescheduling of marijuana means for Michigan's cannabis industry, research
- Wayne State begins groundbreaking cannabis studies as potential therapy for veterans with PTSD and depression
- Wayne State research explores cannabis use and maternal health through the CannaMama Study
- Wayne State study: CBD may boost benefits of anxiety therapy
- Wayne State researchers examine how combining CBD and therapy may have greater effects on anxiety disorders
- Researcher’s concept challenging inflammation’s role in chronic disease earns accolades
- Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES) awards NTRD research team funding for pilot projects on smoking and vaping cannabis
- ‘BrainSTEM’ podcast doesn’t just inform – it empowers
- Hilary Marusak, Ph.D., named a 2024 Rising Star in Mental Health Research