Caitlin Orsini

Caitlin Orsini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on neuroendocrinology, decision-making mechanisms, substance use disorders, and the long-term effects of stress on neural circuits.

Orsini’s education includes a B.S. in Psychology with a Behavioral Neuroscience concentration from Washington College, followed by graduate studies in Biopsychology at the University of Michigan. Her work employs animal models to investigate how neural circuits (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex) mediate adaptive decision-making under stress, addiction, and psychiatric conditions. She explores hormonal influences on decision-making, particularly sex differences in response to risk and reward.

Current courses include Psychopharmacology (taught since 2020) and behavioral neuroscience topics. She actively recruits undergraduate researchers through her lab, emphasizing hands-on neuroscience training. Her lab’s website provides further details on ongoing projects and opportunities.

No scientific awards are explicitly listed in the provided texts. Her research grants and advisory roles are not detailed here, but her lab’s focus on neural mechanisms and translational psychiatric research underscores her contributions to understanding decision-making deficits in clinical contexts.