# Deborah Mash
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{{short description|American pharmacologist}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Deborah Carmen Mash
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = 1952
| birth_place =
| occupation = Professor
| known_for = [Ibogaine](/source/Ibogaine) research
| boards =
| awards =
| website = http://uhealthsystem.com/researchers/profile/2675
| education =
| alma_mater = [Miller School of Medicine](/source/Miller_School_of_Medicine), [University of Miami](/source/University_of_Miami)
| influences = {{unbulleted list|Karen Berkley|Marsel Mesulam[{{cite interview |last=Mash |first=Deborah |title=Interesting People: Dr. Deborah Mash |url=http://www.hwhfoundation.org/people/dr-deborah-mash/ |publisher=The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation |access-date=2017-11-23}}]}}
| discipline = {{hlist|[Neurology](/source/Neurology)|[Pharmacology](/source/Pharmacology)}}
| sub_discipline = molecular and cellular pharmacology
| workplaces = Miller School of Medicine
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| main_interests = {{hlist|[neurochemistry](/source/neurochemistry)|[genetics](/source/genetics)|[aging](/source/aging)|[drug development](/source/drug_development)}}
}}
'''Deborah Carmen Mash''' is an American professor of [neurology](/source/neurology) and of [molecular](/source/molecular) and [cellular](/source/Cell_biology) [pharmacology](/source/pharmacology) at the [Miller School of Medicine](/source/Miller_School_of_Medicine) and director of the Brain Endowment Bank at the [University of Miami](/source/University_of_Miami).[{{cite web |url=http://uhealthsystem.com/researchers/profile/2675 |title=Deborah Mash |website=uhealthsystem.com |publisher=University of Miami Health System |access-date=2017-11-23}}][{{Cite web|last=Price|first=Stephanie|date=2020-06-12|title=Could ibogaine offer a revolutionary long-term solution to addiction?|url=https://www.healtheuropa.eu/could-ibogaine-offer-a-revolutionary-long-term-solution-to-addiction/100635/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629222227/https://www.healtheuropa.eu/could-ibogaine-offer-a-revolutionary-long-term-solution-to-addiction/100635/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 29, 2020|access-date=2021-03-11|website=Health Europa|language=en-GB}}]
==Early research==
Mash became fascinated with the [human brain](/source/human_brain) while she was an undergraduate student at [Florida State University](/source/Florida_State_University).[{{cite interview |url=http://pdr.autono.net/mash.htm |title=Uncovering Ibogaine: The Deborah Mash Interview |interviewer=Paul De Rienzo |work=Let Them Talk |location=New York |date=July 1996 |access-date=2017-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311012525/http://pdr.autono.net/mash.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2016 |url-status=dead }}]
==Ibogaine==
In 1994, the [Food and Drug Administration](/source/Food_and_Drug_Administration) of the United States granted Mash an [Investigational New Drug](/source/Investigational_New_Drug) license, to permit her to research the addiction-stopping capabilities of [ibogaine](/source/ibogaine) (an [oneirogen](/source/oneirogen) that occurs in some plants).[{{cite journal |title=Ibogaine: Treatment Outcomes and Observations |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=16 |date=2003 |publisher=[Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies](/source/Multidisciplinary_Association_for_Psychedelic_Studies) |url=http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v13n2/v13n2_16-21.pdf |access-date=2017-11-23}}][{{cite book |title=Practical Skills and Clinical Management of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction |last=Obembe |first=Samuel B. |year=2012 |publisher=[Elsevier](/source/Elsevier) |page=90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VP-vKwAUJ_QC&pg=PA90 |isbn=978-0-12-398518-7 |access-date=2017-11-23}}] A lack of funding and other barriers prevented the research from proceeding.[{{cite interview |last=Mash |first=Deborah |interviewer=Jan Irvin |title=Clean, Ibogaine Clean |url=https://www.gnosticmedia.com/dr-deborah-mash-interview-clean-ibogaine-clean-076/ |publisher=Gnostic Media |date=May 3, 2010 |work=The Gnostic Media Podcast}}] Mash and her colleagues had previously discovered that ibogaine is a [prodrug](/source/prodrug) that metabolizes into a [psychoactive](/source/psychoactive) called 12-hydroxyibogamine (or, [noribogaine](/source/noribogaine)).[{{cite book |title=Heroin: Its History, Pharmacology & Treatment |last1=Humberto |first1=Fernandez |last2=Libby |first2=Therissa A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEXXDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT157 |isbn=978-1-59285-990-0 |access-date=2017-11-23|date=May 17, 2011 |publisher=Simon and Schuster }}]
==TASER International==
{{see|Excited delirium}}
On eight occasions between 2005 and 2009, she served as an [expert witness](/source/expert_witness) for the defense in [wrongful death claim](/source/wrongful_death_claim)s filed against [electroshock weapon](/source/electroshock_weapon) manufacturer [TASER International](/source/TASER_International). Mash was paid by the company to testify on its behalf, prompting some criticism of a conflict of interest.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-taser-experts/ |title=How Taser inserts itself into investigations involving its own weapons |last1=Szep |first1=Jason |last2=Reid |first2=Tim |last3=Eisler |first3=Peter |date=August 24, 2017 |website=Reuters Investigates |publisher=[Reuters](/source/Reuters) |access-date=2017-11-23}}] The company's official position was that the [cause of death](/source/cause_of_death) in [Taser](/source/Taser) fatalities was [excited delirium](/source/excited_delirium).[{{cite book |title=An Introduction to the Work of a Medical Examiner: From Death Scene to Autopsy Suite |last1=Miletich |first1=John J. |last2=Lindstrom |first2=Tia Laura |page=32 |publisher=Praeger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_l_9peGFRz0C&pg=PA32 |access-date=2017-11-23|isbn=9780275995089 |year=2010 }}] Excited delirium, a syndrome not recognized by many medical associations including [World Health Organization](/source/World_Health_Organization), [American Psychiatric Association](/source/American_Psychiatric_Association), and [American Medical Association](/source/American_Medical_Association) is not included in the [International Classification of Diseases](/source/International_Classification_of_Diseases) or the [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders](/source/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders).[{{cite report |title=Position Statement on Concerns About Use of the Term "Excited Delirium" and Appropriate Medical Management in Out-of-Hospital Contexts. |publisher=American Psychiatric Association. |url=https://www.psychiatry.org/File%20Library/About-APA/Organization-Documents-Policies/Policies/Position-Use-of-Term-Excited-Delirium.pdf |access-date=2021-12-28|date=November 2020}}][{{cite book| vauthors = Vilke GM, Payne-James JJ |title=Current Practice in Forensic Medicine |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |isbn=9781118456026 |pages=97–117 |doi=10.1002/9781118456026.ch6 |year=2016}}] Mash performed [post-mortem examination](/source/post-mortem_examination)s of the brains of people who were allegedly victims of excited delirium, and reported that most of them showed signs of [drug abuse](/source/drug_abuse)—most frequently [cocaine](/source/cocaine) or [amphetamine](/source/amphetamine).