Bethany Stangl, Ph.D.

Dr. Stangl joined the Section as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2010. She earned her undergraduate degree at Dickinson College and her PhD in cognitive neuroscience at The George Washington University. She became a Research Fellow in the Section in November 2015 and Research Scientist in October 2018. Her research uses the Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) protocol that uses this IV alcohol method to assess alcohol-seeking and consumption behavior that is driven primarily by the pharmacological effects of alcohol. To better characterize the motivation for alcohol, she extended this model to develop a novel progressive-ratio paradigm. Most recently her interest in the effects of stress and alcohol cues on alcohol-seeking behavior led her to develop a new method combining CASE with acute stress exposure using personalized guided imagery scripts.  Other interests include studying the relationship between childhood trauma, early life stress, genetics, and risk for substance use disorders in humans.