Amy W. Lasek, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
BIRCWH Mentor
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About
Dr. Lasek’s laboratory studies the molecular and cellular neurobiology of drug and alcohol addiction, using mice and rats as model organisms. One of the main research projects in the laboratory is to understand mechanisms by which the hormone estrogen increases the vulnerability of females to become addicted to drugs and alcohol. Our research over the past several years has determined that specific estrogen receptors in the brain contribute to the increased sensitivity of females to the rewarding properties of alcohol and cocaine. Dr. Lasek has trained five female Ph.D. students in her laboratory since opening her lab at UIC in 2012.