Alcohol addiction doesn't just affect the brain's reward system, it fundamentally alters how our bodies handle stress. We've known for years that the stress hormone system goes haywire during alcohol dependence, but finding safe, effective medications to target this system has remained elusive. In collaboration with the Vendruscolo and Mason labs, we set out to test whether a new class of drugs that modulate stress hormone receptors could reduce alcohol consumption. The Resea

When I study addiction, I often encounter a significant challenge: most research relies on genetically similar lab rats. This approach fails to capture the diversity present in human populations. It's akin to trying to understand a disease's impact by examining only one family. I realized we needed a more effective strategy. The Research Question My goal was to create comprehensive resources that would aid researchers in understanding why some individuals become addicted whil

We've all heard that addiction affects people differently. But why do some individuals spiral into severe addiction while others can take or leave drugs? We investigated this question using an innovative approach with genetically diverse rats, and what we found challenges some common assumptions about addiction. The Research Question We wanted to understand whether individual differences in addiction-like behaviors predict how much a rat will choose drugs over other rewarding