BCAS postdoctoral fellow Jessica Hoffman, PhD, is one of five postdoctoral scholars in 2023 to receive the Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence (PARE), administered by the UNC Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. The PARE award recognizes outstanding research promise demonstrated by individual postdoctoral scholars. Dr. Hoffman is also a recent recipient of the prestigious K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIAAA, which provides 2 years of support for her continued postdoctoral research followed by 3 years of independent funding as she transitions to a tenure-track faculty position. Dr. Hoffman’s preclinical project, entitled “A novel mechanism of dependence-induced escalated alcohol self-administration,” is investigating the novel mechanistic role of the auxiliary protein transmembrane AMPAR regulatory protein gamma 8 (TARP γ-8) in alcohol dependence. Dr. Hoffman is mentored by Clyde Hodge, PhD, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology based at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.