Dr. Schwarz received her B.A. in Psychology at Boston College and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Her laboratory examines how the immune and endocrine systems influence the brain and behavior, particularly throughout development, and how these systems can be disrupted by events that occur early in development. She has a long-standing interest in examining sex differences in physiology and behavior and how being male or female impacts the risk of neuropsychiatric diseases. During her training, Dr. Schwarz received a predoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA) to examine how sex differences in neural circuits are established during critical periods of development. She subsequently received a postdoctoral NRSA to examine sex differences in the immune system as it responds to drugs of abuse. Her current research combines these two areas of expertise to examine sex differences neuroimmunology and behavior across development.
