Karla Kaun

Karla Kaun is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University. She is a behavioral neurogeneticist fascinated with the genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory and addiction. Her team investigates how alcohol and drugs of abuse influence the molecular mechanisms underlying memory formation to induce cravings by combining behavior with in vivo imaging, genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry and bioinformatics in Drosophila. Dr. Kaun is currently President for the International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society and an Associate Editor for the Genetics Society of America peer-reviewed journal Genetics. She is the 2023 recipient of the National Association of Biology teaching Genetics Education Award and is an advocate for innovative teaching methods to decolonize STEM.