Amy M. Avila PhD

Dr. Avila earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Delaware. She then received her PhD in pharmacology from Georgetown University, with a focus in neuropharmacology. Her thesis research involved the study of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and their functional regulation by nicotine and nerve growth factor. After receiving her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health. She worked in the Neurogenetics Branch studying the neuromuscular disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy and investigating possible pharmacological therapies using cell-based models and transgenic mouse models. In 2006, Dr. Avila joined the Food and Drug Administration where she is currently serving as a pharmacologist/toxicologist reviewer in the Division of Psychiatry Products in the Center for Drug Development and Research (CDER). She is an active member of the Committee for Advanced Scientific Education in CDER, was a member of the Education Subcommittee of the Pharmacology/Toxicology Coordinating Committee and has contributed to the development of a training course for new pharmacologist/toxicologist reviewers. Her areas of interest are psychopharmacology, and assessment of seizures in nonclinical drug development.