Principal Investigator

Dr. Hwa completed her Ph.D. in Psychology at Tufts University with Drs. Klaus Miczek and Joe DeBold focusing on the neuropeptides that underlie how stress increases alcohol drinking using mouse models. During her graduate career, she was awarded an NRSA F31 predoctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Dissertation Research Award from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Hwa next sought postdoctoral training at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Kash. There, she learned how to examine synaptic function with slice electrophysiology and circuit neuroscience techniques, training that led her to receive a Pathway to Independence K99/R00 Award from the NIAAA. In addition to research accolades, Dr. Hwa has also been formally recognized for her mentorship of undergraduate students during her graduate and postdoctoral training environments. Dr. Hwa joined the faculty of Baylor Psychology & Neuroscience to start her laboratory in January, 2021.

Email: lara_hwa@baylor.edu