Prof Colin Davidson

Experts / Prof Colin Davidson

Prof Colin Davidson

Professor of Neuropharmacology, University of Central Lancashire

Colin Davidson is a neuropharmacologist and neurochemist. His main research interest is in drug abuse, and he has studied many of the new psychoactive substances or ‘legal highs’. He is particularly interested in their pharmacology and their effects on transmitter release. Previously, while an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Duke University, he tested novel pharmacotherapies for stimulant abuse. He has also published in the field of Stroke where he has an interest in pre-ischaemic conditioning. His PhD was in the field of antidepressants and 5-HT efflux.

Colin was Head of School in the School of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire (2017-23). Previously Colin held faculty positions at St George’s University of London, University of Leicester and Duke University Medical Centre. Colin has a BSc in Biology & Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, a PhD from Queen Mary’s, University of London and was a postdoc at the University of St Andrews.

Nitazenes: synthetic opioids more deadly than fentanyl are starting to turn up in overdose cases

The synthetic opioid fentanyl is well known for the many lives it has claimed – mainly in the US, but elsewhere too. Now, a less well-known class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes is starting to crop up in overdose cases, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Nitazenes: synthetic opioids more deadly than fentanyl are starting to turn up in overdose cases

The synthetic opioid fentanyl is well known for the many lives it has claimed – mainly in the US, but elsewhere too. Now, a less well-known class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes is starting to crop up in overdose cases, on both sides of the Atlantic.

By Prof Colin Davidson