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Emma Childs PhD

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Emma Childs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Director of The Human Addiction Psychopharmacology laboratory. Dr Childs’ research is dedicated to improving our understanding of addictive disorders. One of her primary areas of interest is studying how powerful associations are formed between abused drugs and cues (i.e., the people, places and paraphernalia) surrounding drug use.

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Emma Childs

Leah Alava

  • Undergraduate Research Volunteer, HAPPY Lab

Leah Alava is a second year undergraduate student at UIC planning to graduate in May 2026. She is majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Kinesiology. She is a member of Dr. Emma Childs’ laboratory within the Psychiatry Department at UIC working under the HAPPY LAB.

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Leah Alava

Shawn Lam BS

  • Research Specialist/Clinical Research Coordinator, McMurray Lab and HAPPY Lab Research
Shawn graduated from Knox College, Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Experimental Psychology and a minor in Biology. He has gained experience working in clinical research investigating transdiagnostic factors in anxiety-related disorders, obsessive-compulsive-and-its-related-disorders (OCRDs) as well as human sex research (sexual arousal and sexual disgust).

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Shawn Lam

Karen Lee

  • Undergraduate Research Volunteer, HAPPY Lab

Karen is currently a second year undergraduate student. She is on the pre-med track, pursuing a major in the biological sciences as well as a minor in psychology. She is interested in studying towards psychiatry, and recently became a student volunteer in Dr. Child’s research regarding substance abuse and addiction processes.

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Karen Lee

Tory Eisenlohr-Moul PhD

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology
  • Associate Director of Translational Research in Women’s Mental Health
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UIC, and holds an additional courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized fellowship training in the pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of hormone-related psychiatric disorders-- particularly premenstrual disorders.

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Tory Eisenlohr-Moul

Pauline Maki PhD

  • Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Director of Women’s Mental Health Research Program
  • Senior Director of Research, Center for Research on Women and Gender
For over 20 years, Dr. Pauline M. Maki has led a program of NIH-funded research focused on the role of sex steroid hormones on cognition, mood, brain function (neuroimaging) and stress responsivity in women. Women’s cognitive abilities, mood, and response to stress can be affected by changes in sex hormones, like estrogen, including changes that occur during the menopausal transition, during pregnancy, and across the menstrual cycle. In particular, the goal of her work is to improve the lives of women by identifying factors that alter their risk of cognitive decline and affective disorders.

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Pauline Maki