Laurel M. Pritchard, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives & Data
Biography
Laurel Pritchard is UNLV's Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives and Data. She works in collaboration with the Office of Decision Support to provide timely data in support of the work of the Academic Affairs division and to build a more data-informed campus culture. Previously, she served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (2016-2023), Assisant Director of General Education (2015-2016), and Assistant Professor of Psychology (2007-2015). Pritchard holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.
Research Interests
Laurel Pritchard conducts research in the areas of behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology. Her research uses rodent models of child neglect to investigate the effects of adverse early life experience on vulnerability to substance abuse. She also has ongoing interests in the neural bases of individual differences in reactivity to novel stimuli and stimulant drugs, and hormonal influences on behavioral responses to stimulants. She teaches courses in neural development, physiological psychology and psychopharmacology.
Pritchard's 2004 Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati investigated the role of the D3 dopamine receptor in rodent behavioral responses to novelty and psychostimulants.