Prof. Bonnie Firestein, PhD

Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences; Distinguished Professor Emerita (Rutgers University)

Bonnie L. Firestein, Ph.D.

Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience and Principal Investigator

Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Dr. Firestein earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego under the guidance of Paul A. Insel, M.D. She performed her postdoctoral work at the University of California, San Francisco with David S. Bredt, M.D., Ph.D. and established her independent laboratory at Rutgers University in 2000. She moved to the University of Kentucky in 2026. She was primary advisor to 7 Masters students, 23 Ph.D. students, 17 Postdoctoral Associates, and over 80 undergraduate students. All of her trainees have successful careers in academia, industry, and the medical profession. She has been elected as a Fellow to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her research interests are neurodevelopment, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, schizophrenia. She is an avid Crossfitter and loves beagles and dachshunds.