UCLA Addictions Lab

Dr. Lara Ray was interviewed by the KCRW radio station about a recently-approved law designed to decrease addiction to social media in young people. She discusses how current research suggests similarities between substance-seeking and social media-seeking behaviors.

Listen to the radio segment here.

Dr. Lara Ray was recently interviewed on ABC 7 about new research examining the relationship between cancer and alcohol use. The news clip and associated article is titled “Moderate drinking could increase cancer risk, new research shows.”

Read and watch the full segment here.

PURC 2026

Congratulations to our undergraduate research assistants who participated in UCLA’s Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference (PURC)! 

Ella Liu presented a data blitz titled “Probing Inflammation as a Link Between Chronic Pain, Alcohol Use, and Alcohol Craving.” Also presented poster at Semel Institute Undergraduate Research Conference.

Sachi Ashtikar presented a data blitz titled “Clinical Differences and Associations in Adults with Alcohol Use Disorder with and without Withdrawal Symptoms.” Also presented poster at Semel Institute Undergraduate Research Conference.

Katrina Menshutkina presented a poster titled “A Longitudinal Study of Depression Symptoms and Alcohol Use in Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder and Matched Controls.” Also presented poster at Semel Institute Undergraduate Research Conference.

Kaitlyn Cerwinski presented a poster titled “Why are Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation Medications Underused? A Survey of Psychological Factors.”

Lauren Frisancho presented a poster titled “Associations Between Early Life Stress and Alcohol Use Motives.”

Celine Tsai, Cayla Younger, Gabriela Aragon, and Jocelyn Chok presented a poster titled “Assessing the Relationship Between Clinical and Laboratory Measures of Craving in Alcohol Use Disorder.”

Thank you for representing our lab well with your efforts in research!

Dr. Erica Grodin was recently quoted in a PsyPost article titled “Stress triggers different brain responses in women and men with alcohol use disorder” (Dolan, 2024). The article discusses her recent publication, “Sex differences in neural response to an acute stressor in individuals with an alcohol use disorder,” which found that women exhibited greater neural activation in the amygdala following the acute stress task compared to men. 

Read the full article here.

Dr. Lara Ray was interviewed in The International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism’s March bulletin. (Published March, 2024). In the interview, Dr. Lara Ray explains the development of her interest in alcohol research, offers advice for young investigators, and explores fascinating discoveries from her research on the role of the immune system in Alcohol Use Disorder. 

Read the full interview here.

The UCLA Addictions Lab was featured on CNN’s This is Life with Lisa Ling titled “We have a drinking problem.” (Aired December 18th, 2022). In the episode, Lisa explores America’s epidemic of heavy alcohol use, and how its upsurge through the pandemic is having a shocking impact on the health of approximately 15 million people. She visits the UCLA Addictions Lab to speak with Dr. Lara Ray about her cutting edge research being conducted on novel treatment options for Alcohol Use Disorder. 

Find out more about the episode here.

STATEMENT ABOUT ALCOHOL USE DURING COVID PANDEMIC

ABOUT

At the UCLA Addictions lab we are interested in understanding the clinical neuroscience of drug and alcohol addiction. To do so we utilize a variety of laboratory techniques including experimental psychopathology, behavioral genetics, and pharmacology to better understand the causes and correlates of substance use disorders and to identify promising interventions for drug and alcohol dependence. More recently, we have begun using neuroimaging methods to complement our research program.

FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN ONE OF OUR RESEARCH STUDIES: