Our Spring 2026 Alward lab photo!
Top, left to right: Siri Robinson, Mark Lewis, Lauren Saenz, Alexandra Tabacu, Beau Alward, Maddy Barron, Omar Abdelhadi
Bottom, left to right: Mika Holtz, Reva Diwan, Destiny Mendoza, Rebeca Fuquen
We are currently looking for graduate students! If you are interested, please reach out to Beau Alward directly (balward@ucla.edu).
Beau Alward, PhD
Principal Investigator of the Neuroendocrinology and Behavior Lab
Beau went to American River Community College before transferring to UC Davis, where he earned his BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. He got his PhD from Johns Hopkins University and was an Arnold O. Beckman Fellow at Stanford University. He was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston from 2019-2024. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA. He is interested in how our brains process social information and generate appropriate physiological and behavioral responses.
Destiny Mendoza, B.S.
Lab Manager
Alexandra Tabacu, B.S.
Research Technician
Alexandra received her BS in Human Biology & Society from UCLA, where she was an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Alward lab for 2 years. Driven by the intersection of science and social change, Alexandra investigates the role of oxytocin in early-life social cohesion, with the aim of understanding the mechanistic bases of cooperation and fragmentation. Her work rec She plans to pursue a career as a physician-scientist.
Maddy Barron, B.S.
Masters Student, UCLA IBP
Melanie Dussenne, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Lauren Saenz, BS
Research Technician
Lauren earned a BS in Psychology with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Houston. She is interested in the mechanisms of social behavior and her attention is toward learning how neural, molecular, and behavioral elements are interconnected. She is working at the Alward Lab as a Research Technician to broaden her understanding of social behavior and neuroscience before beginning a graduate program.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Reva Diwan
Omar Abdelhadi
Siri Robinson
Spring 2023 Alward lab
Top, left to right: Sarah Gawlik, Maxximus Ramsaroop, Mariana Lopez, Lillian Jackson, Melanie Dussenne, Sarina Momin.
Bottom, left to right: Megan Howard, Jacqueline Bahrami, Andrew Hoadley, Beau Alward, Kat Munley, Amy Hoang.
Not present: Mariam Dumitrascu
Lab Alumni
Lauren Saenz (Now: PhD student at the Florida State University’s Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences department)
Kat Munley, PhD (Now: PI of The Seasonal and Social Neuroendocrinology Lab at the University of Alberta)
Mariana Lopez, PhD
Lillian Jackson, PhD
Jacqueline Bahrami
Amy Hoang
Sarina Momin
Sarah Gawlik
Mariam Dumitrascu (Now: Medical Student at Baylor College of Medicine)
Andrew Hoadley (Now: University of Chicago, Animal Care Operations Specialist)
Megan Howard (Now: Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Master’s program at Gothe University in Frankfurt)
Maxximus Ramsaroop (Now: UT Austin Ecology and Evolutionary Biology PhD program)
Villa Matovu (Now: Mindfulness, Well-Being, and Spirituality Lab at the University of Houston)
Mark Mathews (Now: Medical Student at University of Houston College of Medicine)
Megan Lean (Now: Medical Student at UT Southwestern Medical School)
Kamille Hernandez (Now: Undergraduate at University of Pennsylvania)
Sara Loetzerich (Now: UH Biology and Biochemistry Graduate Program)
Richanda Berry (Now: UT San Antonio Clinical and Mental Health Counseling Masters Program)
Uchenna Inoma (Now: Lonza Bioscience)
Humayd Mirza (Now: Kosten Addiction Lab at UH)
Rohail Siddiqi (Now: Kosten Addiction Lab at UH)