Welcome to the Avena Lab

Dr. Nicole Avena received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Psychology from Princeton University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at The Rockefeller University in New York City. Dr. Avena has published over 70 scholarly journal articles, as well as several book chapters and books, on topics related to food, addiction, obesity and eating disorders. Furthermore, Dr. Avena has edited the books, “Animal Models of Eating Disorders” (2012) and “Hedonic Eating” (2015), coauthored the popular book of food and addiction called “Why Diets Fail” (Ten Speed Press), and recently finished her new book, “What to Eat When You’re Pregnant.” Dr. Avena’s research achievements have been honored by awards from several groups including the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Eating Disorders Association, as well as pharmaceutical partners.