samia noursi, PhD

Samia Noursi, PhD, is a Program Official at the Services Branch in the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). At NIDA, Dr. Noursi manages a portfolio of grants that focuses on treatment services for women including drug treatment court, women and HIV and tobacco use among pregnant women. Dr. Noursi received her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Maryland in 1995. Upon graduation, she was awarded a Post-Doctoral fellowship at NICHD during which she led a longitudinal study on the effects of domestic violence on children’s development. She then moved to work on several projects focused on children’s development among them directing research for the National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law. In 2006, Dr. Noursi joined NIDA as a Health Scientist Administrator and the Women and Sex/Gender Differences Research Deputy Coordinator where she assists the NIDA’s Women and Sex/Gender Differences Research Coordinator in providing leadership for NIDA’s Women and Sex/Gender Differences Research Program. In addition, she served as Program Officer with a portfolio that focused on sex/gender differences in the antecedents and consequences of drug abuse, and the study of vulnerability to drug abuse and the behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to drugs. In 2015, She joined the Services Branch of NIDA. Dr. Noursi has presented numerous papers at national professional conferences and authored a number of articles in both peer-reviewed journals and books. She recently served as the guest editor of the Journal on Women’s Health, 2015; 24(1). Intimate Partner Violence, Consequences on Women's Health, and Promising Interventions.