Rate My Professor Scott Bowen

Scott E. Bowen is Professor of Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University. He earned a B.A. in Psychology in 1988, an M.A. in Psychology in 1991, and a Ph.D. in Psychology (Psychopharmacology) in 1993 from the University of Mississippi. Bowen completed NIDA postdoctoral fellowships in Pharmacology and Toxicology at Virginia Commonwealth University (1993-1997) and a postdoctoral fellowship in Psychopharmacology at Wayne State University (1997-2001). He joined Wayne State as Assistant Professor-Research in the Department of Psychology in 2001, advancing to Assistant Professor (2003-2007), Associate Professor (tenured 2007; 2007-2018), Professor (2018-present), Interim Chair (2018-2019), and Department Chair (2019-present). He also holds concurrent positions as Graduate Faculty (2002-present) and Translational Neuroscience Program Graduate Faculty member (2007-present).

Bowen's research focuses on behavioral pharmacology, behavioral toxicology, and neurobehavioral teratology, particularly the effects of abused inhalants such as toluene on behavior in gestational, adolescent, and adult models. He has served as Principal Investigator on multiple National Institute on Drug Abuse grants, including two R01s (1R01DA15095, 1R01DA15951), an R21 (1R21DA019151), and others. Select publications include book chapters “Inhalants: Addiction and toxic effects in the human” (2014) and “Inhalant use disorders” (2017), and articles such as “Abstinence Following Toluene Exposure Increases Anxiety-Like Behavior in Mice” (Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2018), “Gestational buprenorphine exposure: Effects on pregnancy, development, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, and behavior in a translational rodent model” (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2019), “Repeated Toluene Exposure Leads to Neuroadaptation in Dopamine Release Mechanisms within the Nucleus Accumbens Core” (Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2020), and “The last two decades on preclinical and clinical research on inhalant effects” (Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 2021). Major honors include Fellow status in American Psychological Association Division 28 (2009), WSU President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2018), WSU CLAS Award for Excellence in Teaching (2011), and Psi Chi Faculty Advisor Research Grants. Bowen was on the Editorial Board of Neurotoxicology and Teratology (2006-2011), Psi Chi Faculty Advisor (2007-present), and participated in several APA accreditation site visits.