Associate Professor of Neuroscience & Psychology
Biography
*** Dr. Dennis is on Sabbatical until August 2025 ***
Dr. Torry Dennis is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
He earned a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Business from Texas A&M University. It was during this time that he first became fascinated with the field of neuroscience. Acting on this fascination, he enrolled in graduate school at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he later earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with a research emphasis in addiction neuroscience.
Before coming to SMCM, he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina. During this time, he studied frontal mechanisms involved in cocaine and heroin consumption and seeking, as well as translational approaches to attenuate relapse.
His current and future research interests include exploring sex differences in addiction, the relationship between drug reward and drug aversion, and environmental factors that contribute to drug misuse (diet, exercise, stress, etc.). He enjoys teaching and mentoring students both in the classroom and in the laboratory and strives to create a learning environment that emphasizes critical thinking and fosters curiosity.
Outside of SMCM, Torry enjoys spending time with his family, tinkering with computers, building things, and playing music.
Areas of Research Specialization
- Neuroscience of Addiction
- Sex/Gender Differences in Addiction
- Neuroscience of Motivated Behavior
Education
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Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology: Health & Neuroscience at University of Texas at Arlington, 2014
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M.S. in Experimental Psychology: Health & Neuroscience at University of Texas at Arlington, 2011
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B.S. in Psychology, Minors in Neuroscience and Business at Texas A & M University, 2008