Astrid earned her doctorate in Psychology (Behavioral and Cellular Neuroscience) from Texas A&M University. Her graduate work investigated how adolescent exposure to the benzodiazepine alprazolam alters reward sensitivity, stress responsiveness, and opioid signaling, identifying long-lasting dysregulation in mesolimbic dopamine and opioid systems that heighten vulnerability to stress and substance use.

As a postdoctoral researcher in the Natividad Lab, Astrid is studying how alcohol dependence alters opioid and glutamatergic signaling in the prefrontal cortex to impair cognitive flexibility. Astrid’s current project focuses on establishing a model of alcohol self-administration to investigate how escalation of alcohol intake and alcohol-induced cognitive inflexibility contribute to relapse vulnerability during protracted abstinence. She is particularly interested in identifying the molecular pathways that underlie these behavioral changes and plans to employ proteomic approaches to examine overlapping mechanisms linking excessive alcohol consumption, cognitive dysfunction, and relapse susceptibility.

Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Misty, reading books, and watching reality TV.

Maya graduated from Wichita State University with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. Afterward, she joined the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a Research Technologist in the Department of OB/GYN, where she also served as a lab manager. Her primary research focused on understanding the effects of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin on the ovary. Later she returned to Wichita State University to pursue a Master’s degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry. During her time there she focused on understanding the activation of tyrosine hydroxylase under extracellular H+ signaling and its relationship to Parkinson’s disease.

In Natividad Lab, Maya is exploring how signaling pathways involving receptors such as CaMKIIα and the Mu-Opioid receptor (MOR) are altered during alcohol exposure. She uses biochemical and cell culture based assays to investigate receptor activity and molecular interactions underlying these adaptations. Her work also incorporates behavioral paradigms to link molecular changes to functional outcomes relevant to alcohol-related behaviors. In addition, she utilizes peptide based tools such as TATCN21 to probe CaMKII dependent signaling mechanisms and their role in synaptic and receptor level plasticity during alcohol exposure.

In her free time, Maya enjoys discovering new coffee shops and going on hikes.

David graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. As an undergraduate researcher at the Scripps Research Institute in the Stowers Lab, he studied how the estrous cycle influences behavioral responses to external stimuli and used in vivo fluorescence microscopy to investigate activity in the vomeronasal olfactory system.

In the Natividad Lab, David is learning to use in vivo microdialysis and mass spectrometry for examining how alcohol dependence and abstinence alter neurotransmitter and neuropeptide signaling in the medial prefrontal cortex. His research interests center on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying substance use disorders and related psychiatric conditions.

Outside the lab, David enjoys roller skating, playing video games, and spending time with friends and family.