Meet Professor Lacy!
Professor Spotlight: We asked a few of the newest psychology professors to tell us a little bit about themselves!
What sparked your interest in psychology?
I had no clue what psychology was about until I took it randomly my freshman year. I was immediately fascinated by it and was lucky to have my Intro. Psych professor become by advisor. At that point, I started working with my mentor doing memory research in rats and became interested in drugs of abuse which lead me to graduate school. Fast forward 8 years and now I'm here at F&M!
What are your research interests?
My research is focused on discovering and investigating factors that influence drug abuse liability. My lab uses a paradigm called drug self-administration which allows animals to administer drugs to themselves (modeling drug taking behavior in humans). This procedure is used to determine if a particular manipulation increases or decreases how reinforcing drugs are. For example, if we give half the rats in a study access to a running wheel and the other half no access, does that alter their drug taking behavior? Research I (and other labs) have published suggests that exercise does reduce the amount of drug taken by animals compared to their non-exercising counterparts. My lab is also interested in how social interactions and sex differences play a role in drug abuse.
What class do you teach?
I teach:
PSY 100 Lab
PSY 310: Conditioning and Learning
PSY 302: Biopsychology
And a course in Drugs and Behavior (no # yet)
What was your dream job as a child?
I thought I would be a pilot when I was young but I still have a fascination with planes and spacecraft.
