Researcher profile

Professor H. Valerie Curran

Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre

Areas of expertise: psychopharmacology; addiction; mental health; cannabis; cannabinoids; ketamine; alcohol; MDMA

ORCID ID:  0000-0001-6011-6978

Email: val.curran@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Melbourne Campus

Val Curran is a Professorial Fellow in the Neuroscience of Addiction and Mental Health Program in ACU’s Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre. She is also Emeritus Professor of Psychopharmacology at University College London (UCL) where she established the UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit in 1996. She is a founding member of the charity DrugScience and an advisor to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform.

Her research focuses on the short- and long-term effects of psychoactive drugs on mental health, cognition, memory and the brain. It spans drugs used in medical treatments, drugs used recreationally and several drugs (e.g. cannabinoids, ketamine, opiates) used in both contexts. Currently she is running a project exploring whether adolescents differ in their response to THC and CBD in cannabis, both acutely in a lab study and chronically in a longitudinal study spanning 15 months. She is also researching potential medical uses of cannabinoids, including leading an RCT on how CBD combined with psychological therapy may aid the treatment of cannabis use disorder. 

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Recent publications in refereed journals (2020-2022)

• Freeman, T. P., Hindocha, C., Baio, G., Shaban, N. D. C., Thomas, E. M., Astbury, D., . . . Curran, H. V. (2020). Cannabidiol for the treatment of cannabis use disorder: a phase 2a, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, adaptive Bayesian trial. The Lancet Psychiatry. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30290-X
• Freeman, T. P., Hindocha, C., Baio, G., & Curran, H. V. (2020). Cannabidiol for cannabis use disorder: too high hopes? Reply. LANCET PSYCHIATRY, 7(10), 840.
  Grabski, M., Borissova, A., Marsh, B., Morgan, C. J. A., & Curran, H. V. (2020). Ketamine as a mental health treatment: Are acute psychoactive effects associated with outcomes? A systematic review. Behavioral Brain Research, 112629. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112629
• Bloomfield, M. A. P., Green, S. F., Hindocha, C., Yamamori, Y., Yim, J. L. L., Jones, A. P. M., . . . Freeman, T. P. (2020). The effects of acute cannabidiol on cerebral blood flow and its relationship to memory: An arterial spin labelling magnetic resonance imaging study. J Psychopharmacol, 269881120936419. doi:10.1177/0269881120936419
• Lawn, W., Hill, J., Hindocha, C., Yim, J., Yamamori, Y., Jones, G., . . . Curran HV, Freeman TP, Bloomfield, M. A. P. (2020). The acute effects of cannabidiol on the neural correlates of reward anticipation and feedback in healthy volunteers. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 026988112094414. doi:10.1177/0269881120944148
• Waldron, J., Grabski, M., Freeman, T. P., Mokrysz, C., Hindocha, C., Measham, F., . . . Curran, H. V. (2020). “How do online and offline sampling compare in a multinational study of drug use and nightlife behaviour?”. International Journal of Drug Policy, 82. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102812
• Lawn, W., Mitchener, L., Freeman, T. P., Benattayallah, A., Bisby, J. A., Wall, M. B., . . . Morgan, C. J. A. (2020). Value-based decision-making of cigarette and nondrug rewards in dependent and occasional cigarette smokers: An FMRI study.. Addiction Biology, e12802. doi:10.1111/adb.12802
• Borissova, A., Ferguson, B., Wall, M. B., Morgan, C. J., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., . . . Curran H.V. & Lawn, W. (2020). Acute effects of MDMA on trust, cooperative behaviour and empathy: A double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment.. J Psychopharmacol, 269881120926673. doi:10.1177/0269881120926673
• Das, R. K., Gale, G., Walsh, K., Hennessy, V. E., Iskandar, G., Mordecai, L. A., . . . Curran, H.V & Kamboj, S. K. (2020). Ketamine can reduce harmful drinking by pharmacologically rewriting drinking memories (vol 52, pg 631). NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 11(1), 1 page. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16762-z
• Schlag, A. K., Baldwin, D. S., Barnes, M., Bazire, S., Coathup, R., Curran, H. V., . . . Nutt, D. J. (2020). Medical cannabis in the UK: From principle to practice. J Psychopharmacol, doi:10.1177/0269881120926677
• Hindocha, C., Quattrone, D., Freeman, T. P., Murray, R. M., Mondelli, V., Breen, G., . . . Curran H.V., Di Forti, M. (2020). Do AKT1, COMT and FAAH influence reports of acute cannabis intoxication experiences in patients with first episode psychosis, controls and young adult cannabis users?. Translational Psychiatry, 10(1), 143. doi:10.1038/s41398-020-0823-9
• Hindocha, C., Freeman, T. P., Schafer, G., Gardner, C., Bloomfield, M. A. P., Bramon, E., . . . Curran, H. V. (2020). Acute effects of cannabinoids on addiction endophenotypes are moderated by genes encoding the CB1 receptor and FAAH enzyme. Addiction Biology, e12762. doi:10.1111/adb.12762
• Mokrysz, C., Shaban, N. D. C., Freeman, T. P., Lawn, W., Pope, R. A., Hindocha, C., . . . Curran, H. V. (2020). Acute effects of cannabis on speech illusions and psychotic-like symptoms: two studies testing the moderating effects of cannabidiol and adolescence. Psychological Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291720001038
• Smyth, B. P., Cannon, M., Molodynski, A., Curran, H. V., Eastwood, N., & Winstock, A. R. (2020). Would decriminalising personal use of cannabis lead to higher rates of mental illness?. BMJ, 368, l6975. doi:10.1136/bmj.l6975
• Grabski, M., Curran, H. V., Nutt, D. J., Husbands, S. M., Ferguson, S. G., & Munafò, M. R. (2020). The development and validation of a human screening model of tobacco abstinence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 206, 107720. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107720
• Elliott, M., Terrett, G., Curran, H. V., De Bono, N., Rendell, P. G., & Henry, J. D. (2021). Prospective memory deficits following acute alcohol consumption. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 35(11), 1386-1397. doi:10.1177/02698811211056195
• Lorenzetti, V., Hindocha, C., Petrilli, K., Griffiths, P., Brown, J., Castillo-Carniglia, Á., …Curran HV & Freeman, T. P. (2021). The International Cannabis Toolkit (iCannToolkit): a multidisciplinary expert consensus on minimum standards for measuring cannabis use. Addiction. 117(9):2558-2560 doi:10.1111/add.15702
• Skumlien M, Langley C, Lawn W, Voon V, Curran HV, Roiser JP, Sahakian BJ (2021) The acute and non-acute effects of cannabis on reward processing: A systematic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 130:512-528 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.008.
• Daedelow LS, Banaschewski T, Berning M, Bokde ALW, Brühl R, Burke Quinlan E, Curran HV, Desrivières S, Flor H, Grigis A, et al. (2021) Are psychotic-like experiences related to a discontinuation of cannabis consumption in young adults? Schizophrenia Research 228:271-279
• Grabski M, Waldron J, Freeman T, P, Mokrysz C, van Beek R, J….. van Laar M, Curran H, V (2021) Drug Use Changes at the Individual Level: Results from a Longitudinal, Multisite Survey in Young Europeans Frequenting the Nightlife Scene. Eur Addict Res 2021. doi: 10.1159/000520118
• Fischer, B., Robinson, T., Bullen, C., Curran, H.V., Jutras-Aswad, D., Medina-Mora, M. E., . . . Hall, W. (2021). Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG) for reducing health harms from non-medical cannabis use: A comprehensive evidence and recommendations update.. Int J Drug Policy, 103381. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103381
• Kotoula, V., Stringaris, A., Mackes, N., Mazibuko, N., Hawkins, P. C. T., Furey, M., . . .Curran H.V. & Mehta, M. A. (2021). Ketamine Modulates the Neural Correlates of Reward Processing in Unmedicated Patients in Remission From Depression.. Biol Psychiatry: Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.05.009
• Bloomfield, M. A. P., Petrilli, K., Lees, R., Hindocha, C., Beck, K., Turner, R. J., Curran, H.V.. . . Freeman, T. P. (2021). The Effects of Acute Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Striatal Glutamatergic Function: A Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 6(6), 660-667. doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.04.013
• Feltmann, K., Elgán, T. H., Strandberg, A. K., Kvillemo, P., Jayaram-Lindström, N., Grabski, M., Curran H.V.. . . Gripenberg, J. (2021). Illicit Drug Use and Associated Problems in the Nightlife Scene: A Potential Setting for Prevention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), 4789. doi:10.3390/ijerph18094789
• Nutt, D. J., Phillips, L. D., Barnes, M. P., Brander, B., Curran, H. V., Fayaz, A., . . . Schlag, A. K. (2021). A Multicriteria Decision Analysis Comparing Pharmacotherapy for Chronic Neuropathic Pain, Including Cannabinoids and Cannabis-Based Medical Products. CANNABIS AND CANNABINOID RESEARCH, doi:10.1089/can.2020.0129
  Schlag, A. K., Hindocha, C., Zafar, R., Nutt, D. J., & Curran, H. V. (2021). Cannabis based medicines and cannabis dependence: A critical review of issues and evidence. Journal of Psychopharmacology. doi:10.1177/0269881120986393
• Daedelow, L. S., Banaschewski, T., Berning, M., Bokde, A. L. W., Brühl, R., Burke Quinlan, E., . . . Curran H.V. & Heinz, A. (2021). Are psychotic-like experiences related to a discontinuation of cannabis consumption in young adults? Schizophrenia Research, 228, 271-279. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2021.01.002
• Freeman, A. M., Mokrysz, C., Hindocha, C., Lawn, W., Morgan, C. J., Freeman, T. P., . . . Curran, H. V. (2021). Does variation in trait schizotypy and frequency of cannabis use influence the acute subjective, cognitive and psychotomimetic effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol? A mega-analysis. J Psychopharmacol, 269881120959601. doi:10.1177/0269881120959601
• Sessa, B, Aday JS, O’Brien S, Curran HV, Measham F, Higbed L & Nutt DJ (2021) Debunking the myth of ‘Blue Mondays’: No evidence of affect drop after taking clinical MDMA. Journal of Psychopharmacology https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811211055809
• Grabski M, Waldron J, …..van Havere T, van Laar M, Curran H, V (2021) Drug Use Changes at the Individual Level: Results from a Longitudinal, Multisite Survey in Young Europeans Frequenting the Nightlife Scene. Eur Addict Res 2021. https://doi.org: 10.1159/000520118
• Meryem Grabski, Jon Waldron, Tom P. Freeman, Margriet van Laar, H. Valerie Curran (2022) Is approving esketamine as an antidepressant for treatment resistant depression associated with recreational use and risk perception of ketamine? Results from a longitudinal and cross-sectional survey in nightlife attendees.  International Journal of Drug Policy https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103612
• Fischer, B; Robinson, T; Bullen, C; Curran, V; Jutras-Aswad, D; Medina-Mora, ME; et al (2022) Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG) for reducing health harms from non-medical cannabis use: A comprehensive evidence and recommendations update. International Journal of Drug Policy doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103381.
• D'Souza DC, Curran HV (2022) PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY 239(5):1143 45, 22 Mar 2 http://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-022-06110-y
• Charles M, Akram H, Rogalewski M, Mokrysz C, Wood N, Curran HV (2022) An exploration of the nature and prevalence of substance use in a forensic population and an evaluation of its role in recall to hospital. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. doi:10.1007/s11469-022-00809-x
• Wall, M, Freeman TP, Hindocha, C, …..Curran HV, and Bloomfield MAP (2022) Individual and combined effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on striato-cortical connectivity in the human brain. J of Psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811221092506
• Jon Waldron1, Meryem Grabski1, Tom P Freeman1,2, Margriet van Laar3, H Valerie Curran (2022) Impact of the introduction of medical cannabis in the UK on risk perception and recreational use of cannabis: a longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis. Drug Science, Policy and Law.
• Meryem Grabski, Amy McAndrew, Will Lawn, Beth Marsh, …. , O Merve Mollaahmetoglu, H Valerie Curran, Brigitta Brandner, Anne Lingford-Hughes, Celia J A Morgan (2022) Adjunctive Ketamine With Relapse Prevention-Based Psychological Therapy in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 179(2):152-162. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21030277
• Skumlien, M., Mokrysz, C., Freeman, T. P., Valton, V., Wall, M. B., Bloomfield, M., . . .Curran HV, Lawn, W. (2022). Anhedonia, apathy, pleasure, and effort-based decision-making in adult and adolescent cannabis users and controls.. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyac056
• Lawn, W., Fernandez-Vinson, N., Mokrysz, C., Hogg, G., Lees, R., Trinci, K., … Curran, H.V. (2022) The CannTeen Study: Verbal Episodic Memory, Spatial Working Memory, and Response Inhibition in Adolescent and Adult Cannabis Users and Age-Matched Controls. Psychopharmacology, 239(7), 2371. doi:10.1007/s00213-022-06169-7
• Lawn, W., Mokrysz, C., Lees, R., Trinci, K., Petrilli, K., Skumlien, M., . . . Curran, H. V. (2022). The CannTeen Study: Cannabis use disorder, depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like symptoms in adolescent and adult cannabis users and age-matched controls. Journal of Psychopharmacology. doi:10.1177/02698811221108956
• Morgan Elliott, Gill Terrett, H. Valerie Curran, Natalie De Bono, Peter G. Rendell, Julie D. Henry (2022) Deficits in episodic future thinking following acute alcohol consumption. Psychopharmacology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-022-06136-2
• Bloomfield, M. A. P., Yamamori, Y., Hindocha, C., Jones, A. P. M., Yim, J. L. L., Walker, H. R., Curran HV. . . Freeman, T. P. (2022). The acute effects of cannabidiol on emotional processing and anxiety: a neurocognitive imaging study. Psychopharmacology. doi:10.1007/s00213-022-06070-3
• Skumlien, M., Mokrysz, C., Freeman, T. P., Wall, M. B., Bloomfield, M., Lees, R., Curran HV, Lawn, W. (2022). Neural responses to reward anticipation and feedback in adult and adolescent cannabis users and controls. Neuropsychopharmacology. doi:10.1038/s41386-022-01316-2
• A Borissova, S Soni, E R Aston, R Lees, K Petrilli, MB Wall, 8, MAP Bloomfield, E Mertzani, A Paksina, TP Freeman, C Mokrysz, W Lawn, HV Curran (2022) Age differences in the behavioural economics of cannabis use: do adolescents and adults differ on demand for cannabis and discounting of future reward? Drug and Alcohol Dependence: 238, [109531]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109531
• Martine Skumlien, Tom P. Freeman …….Barbara J. Sahakian, H Valerie Curran, Will Lawn (2022) The effects of acute cannabis with and without cannabidiol on neural reward anticipation in adults and adolescents. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.10.004
  

Projects

• Curran HV, Viding E & Freeman TP: ‘How does cannabis use affect teenagers' brains, cognitive functions and psychological well-being? (CANN-TEEN)’ Medical Research Council MR/P012728/1. April 2017-April 2022 £1,588,438 (FEC £1,985,548)
• Curran H.V. & Freeman T. P. Understanding the dynamics and consequences of young adult substance use pathways: a longitudinal and momentary analysis in the European nightclub scene (ALAMA) (Sept 2016-Dec 2021). National Institute for Health Research. £413,205
• Schumann, G., Curran H.V., & Freeman T. P., Jia, T., Xu, B. ‘Understanding the Interplay between Cultural, Biological and Subjective Factors in Drug Use Pathways: Imagen Pathways’ (Jan 2017-May 2021). UK Department of Health UCL £148,096 (total £309,255)
• Bloomfield M. A. P., Freeman T. P., Curran H. V., Stone, J., Howes O. D., Morgan, C. J. A., Lewis, G. ‘Developing an endocannabinoid clinical model of schizophrenia: a multimodal pharmacological imaging study’ (2015). British Medical Association Margaret Temple Grant £50,000.
• Kamboj SK, Curran HV, Otten LJ, Kindt M Medical Research Council funded: Reconsolidation and memory interference toolkit (REMIT): identifying how to destabilise and overwrite maladaptive alcohol memories. Jan 2015-Dec 2018 £477,509
• Morgan CJ, Curran HV, Lingford-Hughes A & Pertrides K Medical Research Council funded: Reducing relapse in alcohol dependence with the NMDA receptor antagonist, ketamine. June 2015-Feb 2018 £812,405 (FEC £1.04M)
• Curran HV, Stringaris A & Mehta M UCL-Business & Jannsen Pharma (PI) Rumination as a mechanism of ketamine’s antidepressant action: a placebo controlled acute dose fMRI study in patients. £180,000 Jan. 2015-Dec 2018
• Curran HV & Morgan CJ Medical Research Council funded (PI), Cannabidiol: a novel treatment for cannabis dependence? £1,216,212 (FEC £1.4 M). January 2013 – December 2017

Accolades and awards

• July 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award, British Association of Psychopharmacology
• 2015 ‘Drugs Live: Cannabis’ (A 50 minute television documentary about my cannabis research by Channel 4) won first prize as Best Specialist Programme of the Year from the Association of International Broadcasters.
• 2013 - 2014 Co-opted member, UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, Home Office.
• 2014 1st prize, UCL Brains on Film (March 27th 2014) A cartoon about cannabis made for 11-16 year old school children
• 2011- present Fellow, Royal Society of Biology (Elected)
• 2009-2014 Elected Member of Council, British Association of Psychopharmacology
• 2009- present Founder member: The Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (now Drug Science)
• 2006- present Fellow, Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
• 2004 Awarded the Organon Journal Prize
• 2001-present Elected member of the Memory Disorders Research Society (MDRS) (an international society of the world’s top memory researchers).
• 1993 Winston Churchill Fellowship

Appointments and affiliations

• Professorial Fellow (0.4 FTE) ACU, Melbourne, AUS
• Emeritus Professor of Psychopharmacology, UCL, UK

Editorial roles

• 2003 - 2022 Principal Editor, Psychopharmacology. Publisher: Springer-Nature
• 2011 - present Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Drug Science, Policy and Law. Publisher: SAGE

Also reviewer for >20 other international journals.

Grant agency review panel

• 2014-2017 Board member, MRC Cross-Board Cohort Advisory Group, Medical Research Council, UK
• 2014 - 2017 Board member, Population & Health Sciences Board, Medical Research Council, UK
• 2013 - 2017 Board member, Neuroscience and Mental Health Board, Medical Research Council, UK

Public engagement

Television documentaries

• Drugs Live: The Cannabis Trial (Channel 4, 2015) won best specialist programme of the year from the Association for International Broadcasters. This was a 50 minute documentary about our cannabis research, including a brain imaging study of different cannabinoids funded by Channel 4 & filmed by them.
• Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial (Channel 4, 2012) was also a 50 minute documentary about our Ecstasy (MDMA) research, including a brain imaging study of different cannabinoids funded by Channel 4 & filmed by them.