Cooper Headshot

Ziva Cooper, Ph.D.

Director, UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Professor-in-Residence and Vice Chair for Research, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Member, Brain Research Institute Neuroscience GPB Home Area

0000-0001-8001-2332

 

Dr. Ziva Cooper is a Professor and the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. She also serves as Director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, a cross-disciplinary hub for research and education, spanning preclinical, clinical, public health, and policy domains.

Dr. Cooper received her B.S. in Biopsychology and Anthropology and her Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan, followed by postdoctoral training in human behavioral pharmacology at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. A leader in translational neuropsychopharmacology, Dr. Cooper’s research integrates controlled human drug-administration studies, observational designs, and preclinical models to better understand the therapeutic and adverse effects of psychoactive substances, with particular attention to cannabis and cannabinoids, opioids, and their intersection. Her research has been continuously funded by the NIH and state agencies and has contributed to key advances in sex-dependent pharmacology, public health policy, and the science of substance use disorders.

Ziva served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on the Health Effects of Cannabis that published a comprehensive report of the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids in 2017. She also served on the 2024 NASEM Committee on the public health consequences of changes in the cannabis policy landscape. She is the immediate past president of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, a past Board Director for the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, an Associate Editor of Neuropsychopharmacology and is on several Editorial Boards of journals including Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.


Faculty Member

Selected Publications

Lake Stephanie, Walsh Zach, Kerr Thomas, Cooper Ziva D, Buxton Jane, Wood Evan, Ware Mark A, Milloy M J   Frequency of cannabis and illicit opioid use among people who use drugs and report chronic pain: A longitudinal analysis PLoS medicine, 2019; 16(11): e1002967.
Bedi Gillinder, Hao Xuejun, Van Dam Nicholas T, Cooper Ziva D, Rubin Eric, Vadhan Nehal P, Marino Leslie, Haney Margaret   Social motivational processing and interpersonal function in aging cocaine smokers Addiction biology, 2019; 24(5): 1044-1055.
Adinoff Bryon, Cooper Ziva D   Cannabis legalization: progress in harm reduction approaches for substance use and misuse The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 2019; 45(6): 707-712.
Chao Thomas, Haney Margaret, Cooper Ziva D, Vadhan Nehal P, Van Dam Nicholas T, Van Snellenberg Jared, Bedi Gillinder   Cognitive function in aging cocaine smokers Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2019; 33(7): 801-810.
Haney Margaret, Cooper Ziva D, Bedi Gillinder, Herrmann Evan, Comer Sandra D, Reed Stephanie Collins, Foltin Richard W, Levin Frances R   Guanfacine decreases symptoms of cannabis withdrawal in daily cannabis smokers Addiction biology, 2019; 24(4): 707-716.
Cooper Ziva D, Adinoff Bryon   Necessity of addressing motivations for cannabis use to guide research The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 2019; 45(6): 547-550.
Herrmann Evan S, Cooper Ziva D, Bedi Gillinder, Ramesh Divya, Reed Stephanie Collins, Comer Sandra D, Foltin Richard W, Haney Margaret   Varenicline and nabilone in tobacco and cannabis co-users: effects on tobacco abstinence, withdrawal and a laboratory model of cannabis relapse Addiction biology, 2019; 24(4): 765-776.
Cooper Ziva D, Bedi Gillinder, Ramesh Divya, Balter Rebecca, Comer Sandra D, Haney Margaret   Impact of co-administration of oxycodone and smoked cannabis on analgesia and abuse liability Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2018; 43(10): 2046-2055.
Piomelli Daniele, Weiss Susan, Boyd Graham, Pacula Rosalie Liccardo, Cooper Ziva   Cannabis and the Opioid Crisis Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 2018; 3(1): 108-116.
Cooper Ziva D, Poklis Justin L, Liu Fei   Methodology for controlled administration of smoked synthetic cannabinoids JWH-018 and JWH-073 Neuropharmacology, 2018; 134(Pt A): 92-100.
Cooper Ziva D, Craft Rebecca M   Sex-Dependent Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Translational Perspective Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2018; 43(1): 34-51.
Piomelli Daniele, Cooper Ziva, Abrams Donald, Grant Igor, Patel Sachin   A Guide to the National Academy of Science Report on Cannabis: An Exclusive Discussion with Panel Members Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 2017; 2(1): 155-159.
Cooper Ziva D, Haney Margaret   Sex-dependent effects of cannabis-induced analgesia Drug and alcohol dependence, 2016; 167(1): 112-20.
Herrmann Evan S, Cooper Ziva D, Bedi Gillinder, Ramesh Divya, Reed Stephanie C, Comer Sandra D, Foltin Richard W, Haney Margaret   Effects of zolpidem alone and in combination with nabilone on cannabis withdrawal and a laboratory model of relapse in cannabis users Psychopharmacology, 2016; 233(13): 2469-78.
Haney Margaret, Malcolm Robert J, Babalonis Shanna, Nuzzo Paul A, Cooper Ziva D, Bedi Gillinder, Gray Kevin M, McRae-Clark Aimee, Lofwall Michelle R, Sparenborg Steven, Walsh Sharon L   Oral Cannabidiol does not Alter the Subjective, Reinforcing or Cardiovascular Effects of Smoked Cannabis Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2016; 41(8): 1974-82.
Cooper Ziva D, Johnson Kirk W, Pavlicova Martina, Glass Andrew, Vosburg Suzanne K, Sullivan Maria A, Manubay Jeanne M, Martinez Diana M, Jones Jermaine D, Saccone Phillip A, Comer Sandra D   The effects of ibudilast, a glial activation inhibitor, on opioid withdrawal symptoms in opioid-dependent volunteers Addiction biology, 2016; 21(4): 895-903.
Cooper Ziva D   Adverse Effects of Synthetic Cannabinoids: Management of Acute Toxicity and Withdrawal Current psychiatry reports, 2016; 18(5): 52.
Haney Margaret, Ramesh Divya, Glass Andrew, Pavlicova Martina, Bedi Gillinder, Cooper Ziva D   Naltrexone Maintenance Decreases Cannabis Self-Administration and Subjective Effects in Daily Cannabis Smokers Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2015; 40(11): 2489-98.
Balter Rebecca E, Cooper Ziva D, Haney Margaret   Novel Pharmacologic Approaches to Treating Cannabis Use Disorder Current addiction reports, 2014; 1(2): 137-143.