Beatriz Luna, PhD

Dr. Luna’s studies characterize normative changes in brain function, connectivity, and neurochemistry that support cognitive development through the adolescent period. Her studies have a special focus on the adolescent period of development given that this is a time of increased vulnerabilities to the emergence of mental illness and there is increase mortality due to heightened risk-taking behaviors. Her research uses multimodal neuroimaging methods including functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalography (EEG), and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) to delineate age changes in brain function, structure, connectivity, and chemistry. The findings from her studies have led to influential models of development indicating that prefrontal executive systems reach a critical threshold of maturation in adolescence but in the context of elevated subcortical motivational processes demarcating its phenotype. Her current work using in-vivo human MRSI and PET neuroimaging investigates age-related (10-30-year-olds) changes in the neurotransmitters GABA, glutamate, and dopamine and their effects on cognitive development using behavioral tasks, fMRI and EEG. These approaches aim to construct a normative template for development, critical for discerning impaired development and mental illness and importantly how trajectories may be corrected. Dr. Luna has published over a hundred peer-reviewed articles in addition to chapters and theoretical papers as well as being the recipient of Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering. Dr. Luna, who won the Mentor Award in her department, is committed to having a vibrant laboratory environment that supports creativity and collaboration amongst graduate students, medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty with a commitment to supporting the development of emerging scientists.