The RARC Training in Addiction Research Program (TARP) welcomes Dr. Bridget Matikainen-Ankney, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University. Dr. Matikainen-Ankney’s work focuses on understanding how neural adaptations that emerge during weight gain persist over time and contribute to chronic overeating and weight fluctuation. Using molecular, circuit-, and systems-level approaches, her research investigates how obesogenic diets and environmental factors produce enduring changes in physiology and behavior, with implications for both obesity and addiction-related processes.