Neuroscience and Behavior graduate student Andrea Silva-Gotay was awarded the NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award. She was one of eleven awardees picked from a nationwide pool of applicants. This grant will support the completion of Silva-Gotay’s doctoral dissertation in the Richardson lab for up to 2 years as well as the transition to a neuroscience postdoctoral research position for up to 4 years. Her project titled “Protective effects of ovarian hormones: sex-specific differences in tlr4expression after adolescent alcohol” investigates sex differences in neuroinflammatory mechanisms that could exacerbate alcohol-induced myelin damage during adolescence. This award will also provide career development opportunities relevant to her long-term career goal of becoming an independent neuroscience researcher investigating the contribution of neuroimmune cells to neuroadaptations induced by alcohol exposure during adolescence and how these changes may be driving risk for alcohol use disorder later in life. Congratulations to Andrea!