Jessica Richards Email: jrichards@psyc.umd.edu Work Address: 2103 Cole Field House Curriculum Vitae

Background Information:

I graduated from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2006 with a B.S. in Psychology, a concentration in Biopsychology, and a certificate in Women’s Studies. During my undergraduate years I interned in the Behavioral Biology department at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) studying the effects of sleep deprivation and psychostimulants on sleep architecture and executive functioning in healthy volunteers. After graduating, I continued working full time at WRAIR for one year as a study manager on a sleep deprivation study. My work with psychostimulants at WRAIR, combined with undergraduate coursework in biopsychology and neuropsychopharmacology, sparked my interest in studying addiction.

Research Interests:

My current research interests revolve around the biological mechanisms underlying addiction and relapse. I am currently aiding in protocol development for an fMRI study examining neurological mechanisms and genetic polymorphisms associated with distress tolerance in inner city substance users and healthy controls. In addition, my master's thesis which will examine changes in cortisol reactivity to psychological stressors in inner city substance users over the course of residential drug treatment.