To start off this academic year, we are featuring Dr. Lara Hwa from the Psychology and Neuroscience department. Check out our blog post to find out more about her alcohol use disorder research.
What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
I’ve always had an interest in biology and animal behavior, but it wasn’t until an Intro to Psychology course where I learned about psychopharmacology, how substances like food and drugs can affect our brain and behavior.After volunteering in a research laboratory studying alcohol and social behavior, I learned that I enjoy pursuing answers to my scientific questions.
How would you describe your work to the public?
What makes us drink a lot of alcohol? Some environmental factors, such as the availability of alcohol or social pressures, influence our drinking habits. This can be modeled in mice, so that we can see how neurons in the brain change after heavy alcohol drinking. This neuroscience research informs us how we can better tailor behavioral and pharmaceutical treatments for alcohol use disorder.
What do you enjoy doing the most? In the lab, I enjoy being able to share the process of experimental design with undergraduate researchers and show what it’s like to be a part of an academic research team. Hobby-wise, I love to travel. So I am very happy when I can present our work at scientific conferences. You can’t beat catching up with science friends and learning what’s new in the field over great food.
Share an accomplishment that a younger you would have thought unachievable.
Being able to give a scientific presentation to an audience of internationally-recognized researchers.
If you could give a piece of advice to the younger generation, what would it be?
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” A high school mentor gave me a paperweight with this quote, and it has guided me throughout my professional and personal life. Practically, for early researchers,don’t be afraid to apply for those programs, grants, and awards that may seem out of reach.People tend to undersell themselves, so be bold in your journey.
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