Laura Straus

Laura Straus, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a clinical science researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Her work focuses on sleep disturbance, emotional processes, and trauma-related disorders.

• Education: PhD in Clinical Psychology (2017) and MS in Clinical Psychology (2014) from the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program, BA in Psychology (2008) from UC Berkeley.
• Research: Investigates sleep disruption as a mechanism in trauma and stressor-related disorders, emphasizing its effects on emotion regulation, fear extinction, and daytime cognition.
• Grants: NIH IK2CX002032 (2020-2024) as Principal Investigator, NIH F31MH106209 (2015-2016) as Principal Investigator.
• Publications: Over 25 peer-reviewed articles in journals like Sleep, JAMA Psychiatry, and Neurobiology of Stress, with recent work on wearable sleep tracking, CBT for insomnia, and inflammatory biomarkers in PTSD.

Key Trends: Her research spans sleep medicine, PTSD, clinical psychology, and behavioral neuroscience, with a focus on veterans' mental health and circadian rhythms. Articles highlight sleep's role in emotional learning, trauma recovery, and comorbid conditions.

Scientific Awards:

• NIH IK2CX002032 Grant
• NIH F31MH106209 Grant