William Stoops

Dr. William Stoops, Dr. William R. Willard Professor in Behavioral Science, is a faculty member in the Departments of Behavioral Science, Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Kentucky. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Davidson College in Davidson, NC and his Master’s degree and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Kentucky. His research, continuously funded by NIH since 2008, evaluates the behavioral and pharmacological factors that contribute to drug use disorders, focusing primarily on stimulant drugs. He recently completed a clinical trial evaluating non-abstinence outcomes in cocaine use disorder. He is also leading human laboratory studies determining the role of various neurotransmitter systems (e.g., serotonin, glutamate, orexin) in the behavioral pharmacology of a range of drugs of abuse from stimulants to opioids to alcohol. Dr. Stoops received a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association in 2021 for his contributions to the field and was named the Researcher of the Year by the Kentucky Psychological Association in 2024. Dr. Stoops directs the Clinical Research Support Office at the University of Kentucky and is Associate Director for Clinical Research of the University of Kentucky Substance Use Priority Research Area. He is Treasurer of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence and the Association for Clinical and Translational Science and chairs the NIDA-K study section.