ABOUT DR. NIKKI CROWLEY
Nikki Crowley, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology (Fall 2020)
Assistant Research Professor, Department of Biobehavioral Health
Penn State University
Office: 354F Health & Human Development Building
Office Number: 814-863-5802
Lab: 145 Health & Human Development Building
EDUCATION
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Penn State University 2016-2017
PhD in Neurobiology University of North Carolina 2011-2015
MA in Psychology UNC Wilmington 2008-2011
BS in Psychology (minor: Statistics) James Madison University 2005-2008
I am an Assistant Research Professor (March 2018) at Pennsylvania State University. I work at the intersection of ex vivo electrophysiology, systems neuroscience and behavioral health. Broadly, I study the cellular basis of alcohol addiction and it’s comorbidity with neuropsychiatric disorders—between sexes and across the lifespan. My research agenda is motivated by a desire to understand how unique neurological insults may underlie alcohol addiction, and how age- and sex- specific treatments may be developed.
Before coming to Penn State, I received my Bachelors in Psychology and Statistics, my Masters in Psychology, and I was an Intramural Research Training Award Fellow at the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse. I then went on to receive my Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, in Neurobiology. I completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Bernhard Luscher in the Biology Department at PSU before joining the Department of Biobehavioral Health.
I am passionate about science education, outreach, and diversity in the lab. In my free time I enjoy yoga, cycling, and exploring central PA with my husband Max and our toddler Harrison.
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