Andrew Huberman

{{Use American English|date=October 2025}} {{Short description|American neuroscientist and podcaster (born 1975)}} {{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Andrew Huberman | image = Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D..jpg | birth_place = Palo Alto, California, U.S. | caption = Huberman in 2016 | birth_name = Andrew David Huberman | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|9|26}}<ref>{{cite twitter profile|hubermanlab|Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D.}}</ref> | website = {{URL|https://hubermanlab.com}} | fields = Neuroscience | workplaces = Stanford University University of California, San Diego | education = University of California, Santa Barbara (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MA) University of California, Davis (PhD) | thesis_title = Neural activity and axon guidance cue regulation of eye-specific retinogeniculate development | thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/cc72689848d3fb33558b96005a089d3f/1 | thesis_year = 2004 | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = Ben Barres (Stanford) Barbara Chapman (UCD) | doctoral_students = | known_for =''Huberman Lab'' podcast Visual system regeneration research | awards = Cogan Award (2017) Pew Biomedical Scholar (2013–2017) McKnight Scholar (2013–2016) Allan G. Marr Prize (2005) | father = Bernardo Huberman }} '''Andrew David Huberman''' (born September 26, 1975) is an American neuroscientist and podcaster. He is an associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has been the host of the popular health and science focused podcast ''Huberman Lab'' since 2021, and has a Google H-index of 45 with over 14,742 citations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Andrew Huberman|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CoADxCwAAAAJ&hl=en |access-date=25 April 2026 |website=scholar.google.com}}</ref> Huberman has drawn criticism from scientists for promoting dietary supplements and for making poorly evidenced health claims.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="love" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name="Time" /><ref name="Stone">{{Cite web |last=Klee |first=Miles |date=2024-05-09 |title='Word Salad': Andrew Huberman's Cannabis Claims Slammed by Experts |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/andrew-huberman-cannabis-misinformation-slammed-by-experts-1235016613/ |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

Huberman is the son of Argentine physicist Bernardo Huberman. He earned a B.A. in psychology from UC Santa Barbara in 1998, an M.A. in psychology from UC Berkeley in 2000, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UC Davis in 2004. Huberman conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford under Ben Barres, focusing on the visual system, and held faculty positions at UC San Diego and later Stanford, where his lab studies vision regeneration, stress mitigation, and non-pharmacological interventions for anxiety.

== Early life and education == Huberman was born in 1975 at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California. His father, Bernardo Huberman, is an Argentine physicist and Stanford professor and his mother is a children's book author.<ref name="Béchard2023" /><ref name="Black2023">{{cite news |date=June 27, 2023 |title= How a Stanford professor became one of the world's top podcasters|url=https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/stanford-professor-andrew-huberman-top-podcaster-18171700.php |author=Lester Black |work= SFgate.com |access-date=June 27, 2023}}</ref> As a child, he was involved in athletics, including soccer and swimming.<ref name="Béchard2023"/> He received his early education from Gunn High School.<ref name=":3" />

His parents divorced when he was 12 years old.<ref name="Béchard2023"/> After his parents' divorce, he disengaged from traditional academics and had an interest in skateboarding. He also briefly considered a firefighting career.<ref name="Béchard2023"/> After a break from formal education and a reassessment of his interests influenced by therapy and an interest in biopsychology, Huberman resumed his studies and attended Foothill College.<ref name="Béchard2023"/>

Huberman graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1998 with a B.A. in psychology. He then earned an M.A. in psychology in 2000 from the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Huberman approached Carla J. Shatz to serve as his doctoral advisor; however, she declined the offer, concerned that he had a limited background in cellular molecular biology and that she would be moving her lab to Harvard. She encouraged Huberman to transfer to the University of California, Davis, and work under Dr. Barbara Chapman.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2021 |title=HawkeTalk: The Power of Focus and Passion with Andrew Huberman |url=https://csq.com/2021/10/hawketalk-the-power-of-focus-and-passion-with-andrew-huberman/ |access-date= |work=CSQ}}</ref> Huberman obtained a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UC Davis in 2004.<ref name="Béchard2023">{{Cite web |last=Béchard |first=Deni Ellis |date=July 2023 |title=The Huberman Effect |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-huberman-effect |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=Stanford Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Wiseman2023">{{Cite journal |last=Wiseman |first=Shari |date=2023 |title=In conversation with Andrew Huberman |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01395-4.epdf?sharing_token=cNCVm4kThCR6RGFoyN58B9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O7MnTD2X3gcV2E_sJnQ6EUWSh-uzTGiE7bCckJ4KuK-c8Urauf_8fXSSYaf7BE8y73aTnPhuSliCDEhVGqhxWPj08v_uFcEHqFhEK8VruvbW2k0uO2Wg6WgyuascGWO7o%3D |journal=Nature Neuroscience |language=en |volume=26 |issue=8 |pages=1312–1315 |doi=10.1038/s41593-023-01395-4 |pmid=37429915 |s2cid=259657196 |issn=1546-1726|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Academic career == Huberman spent five years at Stanford University as a postdoc under Ben Barres between 2006 and 2011.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barres |first=Ben |url=https://www.sfn.org/about/history-of-neuroscience/autobiographical-chapters#volume10 |title=The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-916110-10-9 |editor-last=Albright |editor-first=Tom |volume=10 |page=62 |chapter=Ben A. Barres |publisher=Society for Neuroscience |author-link=Ben Barres |editor-last2=R. Squire |editor-first2=Larry |chapter-url=https://www.sfn.org/-/media/SfN/Documents/About/History-of-Neuroscience/Volume-10/HON-V10_Ben_A_Barres.pdf}}</ref><ref name="stanfordprofile">{{Cite web |title=Andrew D. Huberman {{!}} Stanford Medicine |url=https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/andrew-huberman |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=CAP Profiles |language=sm}}</ref> From 2006 to 2009, he was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow.<ref name="stanfordprofile" /> During his postdoctoral work at Stanford, Huberman developed genetic tools to study the visual system and contributed to ''Thrasher''.<ref name="Béchard2023" />

From 2011 to 2015, Huberman was an assistant professor of neurobiology and neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. Huberman became associate professor of neurobiology at the Stanford School of Medicine in 2016.<ref name="Béchard2023" /> Huberman's lab, established at UCSD and transferred with his move to Stanford, continued work on mapping the visual system.<ref name="Béchard2023" />

The lab gained attention in 2016 for using virtual reality (VR) to stimulate retinal neuron regrowth.<ref name="Béchard2023" /><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Neural activity promotes long-distance, target-specific regeneration of adult retinal axons|first1=Jung-Hwan A.|last1=Lim|first2=Benjamin K.|last2=Stafford|first3=Phong L.|last3=Nguyen|first4=Brian V.|last4=Lien|first5=Chen|last5=Wang|first6=Katherine|last6=Zukor|first7=Zhigang|last7=He|first8=Andrew D.|last8=Huberman|date=August 12, 2016|journal=Nature Neuroscience|volume=19|issue=8|pages=1073–1084|doi=10.1038/nn.4340|pmid=27399843|pmc=5708130}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/07/qa-dr-andrew-huberman-virtual-reality-research|title=Dr. Andrew Huberman on Virtual Reality Research|date=June 26, 2019|website=NIH News in Health}}</ref> The lab also researched non-pharmacological interventions for anxiety disorders, including VR exposure to controlled stressors and breathing techniques.<ref name="Béchard2023" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/02/glaucoma-virtual-reality-stanford-neuroscientist/|title=A daredevil researcher's latest quest: to restore sight lost to glaucoma using virtual reality|first=Rebecca|last=Robbins|date=July 2, 2018|website=STAT}}</ref>

In 2023, Huberman's lab, with David Spiegel, published a research paper on stress mitigation and carried out research on cortisol.<ref name="Béchard2023" /><ref name="Wiseman2023" /> The lab also released a study on the regeneration of the visual system, contributing to the understanding of stress management techniques and the potential for visual system recovery.<ref name="Béchard2023" />

Huberman has also led work investigating the regeneration of eye tissue in mice, which may have a future application in studying optical nerve regeneration in humans.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Weintraub |first=Karen |date=11 July 2016 |title=Regrown Brain Cells Give Blind Mice a New View |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/regrown-brain-cells-give-blind-mice-a-new-view/ |journal=Scientific American}}</ref>{{Sfn|Barres|2018|p=45}}

In 2024, ''New York Magazine'' stated that Huberman's lab at Stanford "barely exists", with only a single postdoctoral researcher working there and the lab having been scaled back significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. A spokesperson for Huberman said that the lab was still operational.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Howley |first=Kerry |date=2024-03-25 |title=Andrew Huberman's Mechanisms of Control |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/andrew-huberman-podcast-stanford-joe-rogan.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Intelligencer |language=en}}</ref>

== Podcasts == Huberman was introduced to Robert Mohr in 2019, a New York-based health and fitness publicist who produced "The Fight with Teddy Atlas," a boxing podcast. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, Huberman grew dissatisfied with what he viewed as health authorities' narrow focus on the virus without providing guidance for improving public health. Mohr facilitated Huberman's appearances on major podcasts, including those hosted by Joe Rogan and Rich Roll. These appearances helped increase his social media following. By the end of 2020, Huberman had appeared on Lex Fridman's technology podcast. Fridman encouraged him to start his own podcast.<ref name="Béchard2023"/>

In 2021, Huberman launched the ''Huberman Lab'' podcast.<ref name="Wiseman2023" /> In the same year, Huberman and Mohr co-founded Scicomm Media to produce science-related content.<ref name="Béchard2023"/> As of 2023, the podcast had become the third most popular podcast in the US on Spotify platforms and the most followed show on Apple Podcasts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Ariel |date=2023-11-29 |title=Apple and Spotify have revealed their top podcasts of 2023. Here is what they do — and don't — tell us. |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/29/23981468/apple-replay-spotify-wrapped-podcasts-rogan-crime-junkie-alex-cooper |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple shares the most popular podcasts of 2023 |url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/11/apple-shares-the-most-popular-podcasts-of-2023/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=Apple Newsroom |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2023, ''GQ'' magazine called it "one of the most listened to shows in the world."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Gayomali |first=Chris |date=2023-03-02 |title=The Real-Life Diet of Andrew Huberman, Who Switches to Red Party Lights After Dark |url=https://www.gq.com/story/real-life-diet-andrew-huberman |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=GQ |language=en-US}}</ref> His YouTube channel has 6.71 million subscribers and his Instagram account has 7.4 million.<ref name="Time">{{Cite magazine |last=Ducharme |first=Jamie |date=2023-06-28 |title=How Andrew Huberman Got America to Care About Science |url=https://time.com/6290594/andrew-hubman-lab-podcast-interview/ |magazine=Time |language=en |access-date=2023-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Spotify |title=Podcast Charts |url=https://podcastcharts.byspotify.com/us |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=Podcast Charts |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple Podcasts : United States of America : All Podcasts Podcast Charts - Top |url=https://chartable.com/charts/itunes/us-all-podcasts-podcasts |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=chartable.com}}</ref> In 2025, The Huberman Lab podcast won the 'Best Wellness & Fitness Podcast' award at the iHeartPodcast Awards.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=harmonyapiuser |date=2025-03-11 |title=iHeartRadio Podcast Awards 2025 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/event-video/iheartradio-podcast-awards-2025/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Huston |first=Caitlin |date=2025-03-11 |title='Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang' Wins Podcast of the Year at iHeartPodcast Awards |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/las-culturistas-podcast-of-the-year-iheartpodcast-awards-1236161064/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

Jonathan Jarry from the Office for Science and Society has questioned Huberman's promotion of "poorly regulated" dietary supplements. According to Jarry, The Huberman Lab podcast has been sponsored by "companies offering questionable products from the perspective of science-based medicine".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Jarry |first=Jonathan |date=7 April 2023 |title=Andrew Huberman Has Supplements on the Brain |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/andrew-huberman-has-bad-case-supplement-brain |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=McGill University Office for Science and Society |language=en}}</ref> Joseph Zundell, a cancer biologist, trusts Huberman's expertise in neuroscience but also criticized him for extrapolating animal research for human use without appropriate scientific justification and straying from his area of expertise.<ref name="Time" /> These criticisms were echoed by ''New York Magazine,'' which also stated that Huberman often "posits certainty where there is ambiguity".<ref name=":3" /> Neuroscientist David Berson, who has known Huberman since his postdoctoral research and has been a guest on his podcast, says that Huberman's research is respected among neuroscientists and described his podcast as "a fabulous service for the world" and a way to "open the doors" to the world of science.<ref name="Time" /> However, Berson also noted that the research community did not always approve of Huberman's monetization of his podcast through sponsors and partnerships. His promotion of unregulated health supplements has been particularly controversial, as these products often have little scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness.<ref name="Time" /> In an op-ed article, biomedical scientist Andrea Love criticized Huberman’s podcast, contending that he “often makes claims that appear scientific but lack evidence, plausibility, and validity." <ref name="love">{{cite web |last=Love |first=Andrea |date=27 March 2024 |title=So, Should You Trust Andrew Huberman? |url=https://slate.com/technology/2024/03/andrew-huberman-huberman-lab-health-advice-podcast-debunk.html |publisher=Slate }}</ref>

According to an article in ''Coda'', Huberman stated on his podcast that he was "... as scared of sunscreen as I am of melanoma" and discussed concerns about certain sunscreen ingredients, including claims that molecules from some formulations could persist in the body for years.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Beres |first=Derek |date=October 3, 2023 |title=The dangerous myths sold by the conspiritualists |url=https://www.codastory.com/waronscience/the-dangerous-myths-sold-by-the-conspiritualists/ |website=Coda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reiss |first=Sami |date=2023 |title=What's Behind the Rise of the Sunscreen Truther? |url=https://www.gq.com/story/sunscreen-truthers |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=GQ |language=en-US}}</ref> In a subsequent appearance on the Sara Grynberg Podcast, Huberman said his earlier remarks had been taken out of context and clarified that he supports sunscreen use to prevent skin cancer, stating: “There is definitely a case for sunscreen … You don’t want skin cancer. You don’t want to burn … So I use sunscreen.” <ref>{{cite web |title=Sara Grynberg Podcast – Andrew Huberman interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZm-tU2ob4c&t=58s |access-date=February 10, 2026 |quote=I want to go on record … there is definitely a case for sunscreen …}}</ref>Huberman has also expressed skepticism towards fluoridation.<ref name="love" /> He has talked about flu vaccination reducing the risk of contracting flu, but he stated that he personally avoids getting flu vaccinations, as he feels he doesn’t interact with enough people daily that would warrant it.<ref name="love" /><ref name="Flu">{{cite web |last1=Huberman |first1=Andrew |title=How to Prevent & Treat Colds & Flu |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtChcxeaukQ&t=1301s |website=YouTube |date=8 January 2024 |access-date=3 March 2025}}</ref>

== Awards and grants== * Cogan Award for Contributions to Vision Science and Ophthalmology (2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arvo.org/awards-grants-and-fellowships/arvo-achievement-awards/arvo-awards-recipients-chronological/|title=The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology- ARVO Awards Recipients: Chronological|website=www.arvo.org}}</ref> * Pew Biomedical Scholar Award (2013–2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/directory-of-pew-scholars/2013/andrew-huberman|title=Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. The Pew Charitable Trusts|website=www.pewtrusts.org}}</ref> * McKnight Neuroscience Scholar Award (2013–2016)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biology.ucsd.edu/about/news/article_052813.html|title=Andrew Huberman named 2013 McKnight Scholar}}</ref> * Allan G. Marr Prize (2005)<ref name="stanfordprofile"/>

== Selected publications == {{refbegin}} *{{cite journal |vauthors=Lim JH, Stafford BK, Nguyen PL, Lien BV, Wang C, Zukor K, He Z, Huberman AD |title=Neural activity promotes long-distance, target-specific regeneration of adult retinal axons |journal=Nat Neurosci |volume=19 |issue=8 |pages=1073–84 |date=August 2016 |pmid=27399843 |pmc=5708130 |doi=10.1038/nn.4340 |type=Research article}} *{{cite journal |vauthors=Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, Weed L, Nouriani B, Jo B, Holl G, Zeitzer JM, Spiegel D, Huberman AD |title=Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal |journal=Cell Rep Med |volume=4 |issue=1 |article-number=100895 |date=January 2023 |pmid=36630953 |pmc=9873947 |doi=10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895 |type=Randomized controlled trial}} {{refend}}

== See also == * Joe Rogan

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == {{Wikiquote}} * {{Official website}} * [https://hubermanlab.com/ Huberman Lab Podcast] * [https://profiles.stanford.edu/andrew-huberman Andrew D. Huberman] at Stanford Profiles

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huberman, Andrew}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Scientists from Palo Alto, California Category:American neuroscientists Category:American health and wellness podcasters Category:American people of Argentine descent Category:Foothill College alumni Category:Gunn High School alumni Category:University of California, Davis alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:Stanford University School of Medicine faculty Category:University of California, San Diego faculty