Internship

About the Internship

My focus within the Lukkes lab is on adverse experiences during childhood and adolescence and how that impacts the development of alcohol use disorders, or AUDs. The NIAAA defines AUDs as "Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences". This is especially prevalent in adolescent social isolation or disrupted peer interactions, which are a major risk factor in the later development of AUDs. 

Despite the fact that adverse experiences during vulnerable periods of development heighten risk for alcohol use disorders, the neural mechanisms through which adolescent social isolation increases the risk to develop pathological drinking remain poorly understood. This is what the Lukkes lab and its collaborators aim to understand.