Bryan Cruz is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Marisa Roberto’s Lab. He is from Riverside, California and got his undergraduate degree at Cal State San Bernardino. It was there that he first worked in a lab studying stress & depression and became interested in research. He then moved to the University of Texas at El Paso to do graduate work in the lab of Dr. Laura O’Dell (a Scripps Research alumna!). In his PhD work, Bryan studied the neurochemical mechanisms that promote nicotine reward in animal models of diabetes. After receiving his PhD in 2020, he moved back to Southern California to Scripps Research for his first Post-Doc experience. Bryan is interested in studying the brain systems underlying the motivational processes involved in stress and addiction using validated animal models.

 

A highlight of Bryan’s career occurred while he was walking on the stage to receive his master’s degree. Just as he was shaking hands with the presenter, he felt his phone buzz. When he got back to his seat, he looked and had gotten an e-mail with an acceptance letter for his 1st first author paper! What an awesome day!

 

When Bryan is not in the lab he is probably on his motorcycle, touring around Southern California and visiting his family. His friendly nature and cleverness are a great asset to our Alcohol Research Center!