Anna Lembke, born on November 27, 1967, is an American psychiatrist specializing in addiction medicine. She is the chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University. Lembke is a leading expert on the opioid epidemic in the United States and is known for her work on understanding and treating addiction and compulsive behaviors. She earned a B.A. in Humanities from Yale University and an M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine.
Lembke is the author of "Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It's So Hard to Stop," which explores the role of physicians in the opioid crisis. Her book, "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence," released in August 2021, became a New York Times bestseller and delves into the impact of readily available pleasure on mental health and well-being. Lembke has published over a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries. She has testified before the United States House of Representatives and Senate and served as an expert witness in opioid litigation. She also appeared in the 2020 Netflix documentary, "The Social Dilemma".
