Nicholas DiPatrizio, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Biomedical Sciences at the UCR School of Medicine. 

The DiPatrizio laboratory is dedicated to elucidating the integrative neurobiology and physiology that controls food reward, sensory processing, and energy homeostasis, and dysregulation of these pathways in metabolic disorders. A combination of state-of-the-art analytical chemistry (i.e., ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry), genetic (i.e., first-of kind genetic mutant mice with conditional organ-selective knockout of endocannabinoid system components), surgical, biochemical, molecular, pharmacological, and behavioral tools are employed to achieve these goals.

Our research program investigates the molecular and neural underpinnings of obesity and hedonic eating, which are suggested to share characteristics with addictive and compulsive behaviors.  Moreover, the DiPatrizio lab investigates the impact of cannabis exposure on endocannabinoid system function in health and disease. Collectively, our work supports the discovery and development of novel therapeutic strategies to safely treat metabolic and related disorders.