Christina Ruiz
Biography
Christina Ruiz, M.S., is an Assistant Specialist in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. She received her M.S. in Medical Science from Drexel University School of Medicine in 2012. As a lab manager since 2015, Ruiz conducts experiments examining the neural mechanisms underlying reward, addiction, and motivated behavior, with particular focus on ventral pallidum GABA neurons, adolescent cannabinoid exposure, and opioid vulnerability.
Ruiz has contributed to numerous research publications investigating the neurobiology of substance use and reward processing. Her work includes studies on the effects of adolescent THC exposure on brain development and behavior, the role of ventral pallidum in cocaine relapse, and the pharmacokinetics of aerosolized cannabinoids. She has co-authored papers examining chemogenetic manipulation of dopamine neurons and their effects on drug-seeking behavior, as well as research on DREADD technology applications in neuroscience.
Ruiz has presented her research at multiple Society for Neuroscience annual meetings and international conferences, including presentations on ventral pallidum GABA contributions to opioid and food reward, adolescent cannabinoid effects, and punishment-induced abstinence models. In addition to her research responsibilities, she trains and manages undergraduate researchers, maintains laboratory safety and regulatory protocols, and serves as a volunteer organizer for disability advocacy initiatives at UC Irvine.
Return to topEducation
- MS in Medical Science, Drexel University School of Medicine, 2012
- BS in Integrated Science and Technology (Biotechnology Concentration), James Madison University, 2010
Distinctions
- Presidents List, 2010
- ISAT Academic Excellence, James Madison University, 2010
- CISAT Achievement Scholar, James Madison University, 2006-2008
Areas of Expertise
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Ventral Pallidum Reward Circuitry
- Cocaine Relapse Mechanisms
- Dopamine Transporter Modulation
- Adolescent Cannabinoid Pharmacokinetics
- Opioid Vulnerability Pathways
- Chemogenetic Neural Manipulation
Recent Publications
- Ramirez E.M., Martinez M.X., Rokerya R.K., Vera V.A., Ruiz C.M., Farrell M.R., Walawalkar S.A., Ramirez-Ramirez H., Kollman G.J., Mahler S.V., “Ventral pallidum GABA neuron inhibition augments context-appropriate defensive responses to learned threat cues” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Stress, vol. 40, 2026.
- Martinez MX, Alizo Vera V, Ruiz CM, Floresco SB, Mahler SV, “Adolescent THC impacts on mPFC dopamine-mediated cognitive processes in male and female rats” (opens in new tab), Psychopharmacology (Berl), vol. 242, no. 2, pp. 309-326, 2025.
- Lawson KA, Ruiz CM, Mahler SV, “A head-to-head comparison of two DREADD agonists for suppressing operant behavior in rats via VTA dopamine neuron inhibition” (opens in new tab), Psychopharmacology (Berl), vol. 240, no. 10, pp. 2101-2110, 2023.
- Torrens A, Ruiz CM, Martinez MX, Tagne AM, Roy P, Grimes D, Ahmed F, Lallai V, Inshishian V, Bautista M, Chen YC, Huestis MA, Das A, Fowler CD, Mahler SV, Piomelli D, “Nasal accumulation and metabolism of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol following aerosol ('vaping') administration in an adolescent rat model” (opens in new tab), Pharmacological Research, vol. 187, pp. 106600, 2023.
- Lawson KA, Flores AY, Hokenson RE, Ruiz CM, Mahler SV, “Nucleus Accumbens Chemogenetic Inhibition Suppresses Amphetamine-Induced Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Male and Female Rats” (opens in new tab), Brain Sciences, vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 1255, 2021.
- Ruiz CM, Torrens A, Lallai V, Castillo E, Manca L, Martinez MX, Justeson DN, Fowler CD, Piomelli D, Mahler SV, “Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of aerosolized ("vaped") THC in adolescent male and female rats” (opens in new tab), Psychopharmacology (Berl), vol. 238, no. 12, pp. 3595-3605, 2021.
- Ruiz CM, Torrens A, Castillo E, Perrone CR, Cevallos J, Inshishian VC, Harder EV, Justeson DN, Huestis MA, Swarup V, Piomelli D, Mahler SV, “Pharmacokinetic, behavioral, and brain activity effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in adolescent male and female rats” (opens in new tab), Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 959-969, 2021.
- Brodnik ZD, Xu W, Batra A, Lewandowski SI, Ruiz CM, Mortensen OV, Kortagere S, Mahler SV, España RA, “Chemogenetic Manipulation of Dopamine Neurons Dictates Cocaine Potency at Distal Dopamine Transporters” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 40, no. 45, pp. 8767-8779, 2020.
- Bonaventura J, Eldridge MAG, Hu F, Gomez JL, Sanchez-Soto M, Abramyan AM, Lam S, Boehm MA, Ruiz CM, Farrell MR, Moreno A, Galal Faress IM, Andersen N, Lin JY, Moaddel R, Morris PJ, Shi L, Sibley DR, Mahler SV, Nabavi S, et al., “High-potency ligands for DREADD imaging and activation in rodents and monkeys” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 4627, 2019.
- Farrell MR, Ruiz CM, Castillo E, Faget L, Khanbijian C, Liu S, Schoch H, Rojas G, Huerta MY, Hnasko TS, Mahler SV, “Ventral pallidum is essential for cocaine relapse after voluntary abstinence in rats” (opens in new tab), Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 44, no. 13, pp. 2174-2185, 2019.
- Mahler SV, Brodnik ZD, Cox BM, Buchta WC, Bentzley BS, Quintanilla J, Cope ZA, Lin EC, Riedy MD, Scofield MD, Messinger J, Ruiz CM, Riegel AC, España RA, Aston-Jones G, “Chemogenetic Manipulations of Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons Reveal Multifaceted Roles in Cocaine Abuse” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 503-518, 2019.
- Bolton JL, Ruiz CM, Rismanchi N, Sanchez GA, Castillo E, Huang J, Cross C, Baram TZ, Mahler SV, “Early-life adversity facilitates acquisition of cocaine self-administration and induces persistent anhedonia” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Stress, vol. 8, pp. 57-67, 2018.
- Schoch H, Huerta MY, Ruiz CM, Farrell MR, Jung KM, Huang JJ, Campbell RR, Piomelli D, Mahler SV, “Adolescent cannabinoid exposure effects on natural reward seeking and learning in rats” (opens in new tab), Psychopharmacology (Berl), vol. 235, no. 1, pp. 121-134, 2018.
- Liu J., Yu L.-F., Eaton J.B., Caldarone B., Cavino K., Ruiz C., Terry M., Fedolak A., Wang D., Ghavami A., Lowe D.A., Brunner D., Lukas R.J., Kozikowski A.P., “Discovery of isoxazole analogues of sazetidine-A as selective α4β2-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonists for the treatment of depression” (opens in new tab), Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 54, pp. 7280-7288, 2011.
Contact Information
Email: cruiz1@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-6453
Address: 1132 McGaugh Hall
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Last updated on 4/24/2026.