Let’s introduce the team!
In our ‘Meet the team’ posts you will learn more about the NOFA lab members. Always wanted to know more about our projects, research interests, background, or hobbies? Keep reading!
What is your name? Lauren Kuhns
Can you tell something about yourself? I am originally from the UnitedStates, and I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology at YaleUniversity in 2014. I moved to the Netherlands 5 years ago to do myMasters in psychology at the University of Amsterdam, and havecontinued on because it is a great environment for doing research.
What is your role at the NOFA lab? I am a second year PhD Candidate inthe lab. I spend about half of my time working on the Joint Study which isan ongoing cross-cultural neuroimaging study of Cannabis Use Disorder. Inaddition, I supervise bachelor and master’s student internships and thesisprojects and help teach a psychobiology course on addiction.
What is your main research interest/topic? I am mostly interested in therole of individual differences on the underlying neuromechanisms ofaddiction. In other words, does an addicted brain always look the same?And if not, what does that mean for our theoretical models of addiction?Most of my research centers around how factors such as age(adolescents vs. adults), culture (NL vs US) and co-use of other drugs(e.g. cigarettes/tobacco products) may influence motivational circuits inthe brain in the context of problematic cannabis and alcohol use.
Is there anything else we should know about you? I have a miniaturepoodle named Ralph Ravioli Cucumber.