Rabea Pfaff, B.S.

Research Interests

Rabea Pfaff joined Dr. Lorenzo Leggio’s CPN laboratory in August of 2023. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a Second Major in Hispanic Linguistics, and a minor in Health and Society. At UNC, under Dr. Todd Thiele, she studied the effect of binge-like ethanol drinking behavior on neuropeptide (i.e., orexin and NPY) mRNA expression in the reward pathway using mouse models. During her undergraduate career, she completed a Senior Thesis entitled “The Effect of Binge-like Ethanol Consumption on Orexin Receptors’ mRNA production in the Lateral Hypothalamus and Amygdala of Male and Female C57BL/6J Mice” and was rewarded with a distinction of Honors. Additionally, she conducted separate research in the UNC School of Education and contributed to the development of STEM-education virtual simulations for Spanish-speaking ESL students with the goal of bridging the learning gap between native and non-native English-speaking students. This education technology was implemented in the North Carolina Public School System in 2022. Her current research interests lie in translational research investigating the link between alcohol and substance use disorders and neuroendocrine systems. At the CPN lab, Rabea supports clinical laboratory studies and will specially support clinical studies assist aimed at identifying new medications for people with addictive disorders.