Arthur Riegel, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine – Tucson

Arthur Riegel, PhD, is a tenured associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, with joint appointments in optical sciences and neuroscience. He is a member of the University of Arizona's Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction and serves as the vice chair of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in neuroscience.

Dr. Riegel's laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms driving chronic pain and substance use disorders. A core emphasis of his work involves utilizing behavioral models of drug self-administration and relapse to investigate how the brain adapts to addictive substances, with a specific interest in fentanyl addiction. He also employs sophisticated techniques, including patch-clamp electrophysiology and viral-mediated gene expression, to identify and target the neural pathways that contribute to compulsive drug-seeking. The ultimate goal of his research is to translate these mechanistic discoveries into effective clinical treatments. His laboratory's innovative research is supported by continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Riegel completed his doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology and a Master of Science in Pharmacology at the University of Arizona, following Bachelor of Arts degrees in biochemistry and chemistry from the University of Kansas. His extensive postdoctoral training included fellowships at the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Vollum Institute for Biomedical Studies at Oregon Health and Science University. Prior to rejoining the University of Arizona in 2019, he was an associate professor of neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina.