Welcome to the Kash Lab!
The Kash Lab is in the Department of Pharmacology and the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Our research is focused on understanding the molecular and physiological events that underlie pathological behavior such as alcoholism, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Learn more about who we are and what we do.
News and Updates
April 2026: New grad student alert! Welcome Grace Stys! Learn more about Grace at our Lab Members page. Also, a huge congratulations is in order for Jess, who started her SPIRE fellowship this month! She is really looking forward to expanding her teaching experience while continuing to conduct rigorous research in the lab. We are so excited to see her grow in this new position! Finally, two of our accomplished grad students, Kalynn and Sarah, each received funding from the 2026 RSA Student Merit and Junior Investigator grant! They will be using these funds to travel and present their research at this year’s RSA conference in Texas.
February 2026: Our incredible post-doc, Lisa Taxier, accepted a job offer from Stony Brook University! She will be heading to NY in the fall to start her own lab. We cannot wait to see all that she accomplishes. Go Lisa!
June 2025: The Kash lab takes on New Orleans for the 2025 Research Society on Alcohol Conference. This was the first conference that Lili and Maya have ever attended and presented a poster at! Alison, Bri, Jobe, Kalynn, Lisa, and Tom were also in attendance.
April 2025: Bri George won an RSA Nadia Choudhri Rising Scholar Award! We are so proud of her!!
January 2025: Lili and Maya were both awarded a School of Medicine Professional Development grant to fund their travels to this year’s Research Society on Alcohol conference. Woohoo!!
September 2024: Jessica Wojick joins the Kash lab after completing her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania! Welcome Jesicca!! Learn more about Jessica by visiting our Lab Members page.
July 2024: The Kash lab welcomes two new research technicians, Lili and Maya! Learn more about our new techs at the Lab Members page. In other good news, our very own Lisa Taxier won an ACNP travel award! Congratulations Lisa!! And still more amazing news - Sarah Chong, one of our wonderful grad students, was selected for appointment to the Pharmacological Sciences T32 Training Program! Woohoo!!
March 2023: Updates in rough reverse order: Meg was awarded a new K99 from NIAAA! Sofia Neira defends her PhD and joins the lab as a postdoc to follow up on some of her exciting findings!! Olivia Hon defends her PhD, and then moves to sunny San Diego to work at Neurophotometrics!! Hernan Mendez joins Kash lab! Lisa Taxier joins the lab as a postdoc! Carol Gianessi became a AAAS policy fellow at NIH!!
February 2021: Well, it has been a while. Updates we missed because Tom is bad at updating, in roughly reverse order: Melanie awarded K99 from NIAAA!! Waylin defends PhD!!! Sofia awarded a Gilliam Fellowship from HHMI!!! Christina starts grad school at Duke!!! Andrew starts faculty position at UAB!!! Dan Bloodgood defends PhD!!! Andrew awarded K01 from NIDDK!!!
March 2019: Pardon the slow updates, several new lab members to welcome: Dr. Carol Gianessi, Dr. Meghan Flanigan have joined the good ship Kash lab as postdocs, and Christina Stanhope has joined as a research technician!
April 2018: Kash lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Catherine Marcinkiewcz starts her own lab at the University of Iowa. Good luck Catherine! Also, the Kash lab welcomes two new graduate students Sofia Neira and Olivia Hon!
January 2018: Kash lab graduate student Dan Bloodgood presents his work on kappa opioid receptor contributions to alcohol drinking at the Winter Conference for Brain Research. Great job Dan!
September 2017: Kash lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Melanie Pina and graduate student Dan Bloodgood are awarded F32 and F31 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Congrats Melanie! Congrats Dan! Also, welcome 1st year BBSP student Sofia Neira for the fall rotation.
August 2017: Kash lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Andrew Hardaway presents his work at the Amygdala Gordon Research Seminar
June 2017: Kristi Boyt joins the lab as lab manager. Welcome Kristi!
May 2017: Kash lab graduate student Dan Bloodgood receives a travel fellowship from the UNC Graduate School. Congrats!!
May 8th, 2017: Welcome to the world Raphael Frederick Kash.
April 2017: Kash lab undergraduate Jennifer Jensen defends her honors thesis. Congrats Jennifer!
February 2017: Kash lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Andrew Hardaway wins honorable mention for his poster presentation at Winter Conference for Brain Research in Big Sky, MT. Well done Dr. Hardaway!
January 2017: Kash lab graduate student Chris Mazzone successfully defends his thesis. Congrats Dr. Mazzone!
November 2016: Kash lab research associate Dr. Catherine Marcinkiewcz receives UNC's Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence. Congrats Catherine!
May 2016: Kash lab research associate Dr. Kristen Pleil is moving up to Weill Cornell Medical College to start her own lab. Best of luck to Dr. Pleil!
May 2016: Kash lab has two new members -- we welcome postdoctoral fellow Melanie Pina and graduate student Waylin Yu. Learn more about Melanie and Waylin at the Lab Members page.
February 2016: A new postdoctoral fellow, Dipa Pati, has joined the Kash lab! Learn more about Dipa at the Lab Members page.
February 2016: Graduate student Chris Mazzone won an award for best poster at the 2016 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Alcohol and the Nervous System. Congrats to Chris!
November 2015: Graduate student Nicole Crowley successfully defended her dissertation, "Kappa Opioid Receptor Modulation of Neurotransmission in the Amygdala". Congratulations to Dr. Crowley!