Helen Kames, Ph.D.

Lab Director

Helen M. Kamens earned her Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience from Oregon Health & Science University in 2007 where she focused on the genetics of initial drug sensitivity. She completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and the Institute for Behavioral Genetics before joining the Department of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State as assistant professor in the fall of 2013. Dr. Kamens has received numerous awards including the International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award, the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Young Investigator Award, and the Research Society on Alcoholism Enoch Gordis Research Recognition Award.

 

 

Bailey McLaughlin

Undergraduate Research Assistant

I am a second-year student majoring in Biobehavioral Health, with minors in Biology and Neuroscience. I joined Dr. Kamens’ lab in the spring of 2022 as a participant of the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Undergraduate Research Program. The experience I have had in the lab so far has been invaluable and I look forward to furthering my knowledge on how genetic factors influence behavior and addiction. Outside of the lab I am involved in the Scientific Journal Club and the Lively Tunes Project. After graduation, I plan on attending medical school to pursue a career in pediatrics. In my free time, I enjoy playing the guitar and spending time with friends and family.

 

 

 

 

Loren Nicole Foster

Undergraduate Research Assistant

I am a rising senior student majoring in General Biology and minoring in Global Health. I became a part of Dr. Kamen’s lab in spring of 2023 in conjunction with NASA’s Pennsylvania Space Grant Undergraduate Research Program. Thus far, I have worked on research to examine the impact of alcohol consumption on the brain and I am currently extracting mRNA to look at gene expression. Outside of the lab, I am the president of the Millennium Society student organization and am a Spanish translator for Hispanic medical patients. Post-graduation, I plan on applying for the Fulbright Scholarship and will hopefully be doing research abroad. Afterwards, I would like to attend medical school either in the U.S. or Mexico.