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Dawn M. Richard, Ph.D.

Dr. Dougherty

Assistant Professor

Department of Psychiatry
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

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Biographical Sketch

Dr. Richard is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse within the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA).  She received her doctoral degree in human behavioral neuroscience at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.  During her graduate training, Dr. Richard studied models of cognition, functional magnetic resonance imaging of human memory processes, and focused on the effects of psychopharmacological manipulations on laboratory-measured impulsivity and aggression.  She received national recognition from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for her work on "Biological Relationships to Alcohol-Induced Aggression in Women."  Dr. Richard has been a member of the Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory and Clinic for the past 11 years, during which time she completed a NIAAA-sponsored postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at Wake Forest University Health Sciences, in Winston-Salem, NC.  In 2007, Dr. Richard joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at UTHSCSA.

Dr. Richard's research interests include understanding the biological basis of individual differences in alcohol-induced impulsive and aggressive behaviors, with emphasis on examining the role of the neurotransmitter serotonin.  As a behavioral neuroscientist, much of her current work involves changing an individual's biological state (manipulating brain serotonin using L-tryptophan depletion and loading procedures) and then examining how these acute changes in biological state modify behavioral responses observed after alcohol administration.  Dr. Richard is also interested in examining individual differences in platelet and genetic markers of serotonin function in both adults and adolescents who have problems with alcohol-induced impulsive and aggressive behaviors and binge drinking.  Other interests include designing software and methods to measure cognition and behavior in the laboratory that can be used for translational research examining a variety of behaviors.

Research Interests

  • Understanding the Underlying Mechanisms Responsible for Binge Drinking Behaviors
  • Determining the Effects of Alcohol on Impulsive and Aggressive Behaviors
  • L-tryptophan Depletion and Serotonin Platelet Function in Populations with Impulsive and Aggressive Behaviors and/or Binge Drinking
  • Determining how Gene/Environment Interactions are Related to Alcohol and Other Addictive Behaviors
  • Determining Gender Differences in Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Behavioral Responses

Education

1997 B.S. Psychology/Chemistry

University of Wisconsin -  
Oshkosh

2004  Ph.D.  Behavioral Neuroscience 

UTHSC-Houston Graduate  
School of Biomedical Science

2007 Fellowship Alcohol Use/Abuse

Wake Forest University
Medical School

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