Arturo Zavala, PhD

Arturo Zavala, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He received his PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Arizona State University. Dr. Zavala’s research program focuses on the functional consequences of early exposure to psychoactive drugs and later susceptibility to drug abuse, as well as the role of serotonin and glucagon-like peptide 1 in modulating the effects of drugs of abuse. 

His laboratory combines neurochemical, molecular, and pharmacological approaches with animal behavioral models to understand the neural basis of addiction. He received the Distinguished Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (RSCA) Mentoring Award from CSULB and the National Award of Excellence in Mentorship from the National Hispanic Science Network for his involvement with undergraduate and graduate students in research.

Dr. Zavala is also the Faculty Director of the Pre-Professor Program (PREPP), housed under the Innovative Teaching & Future Faculty Programs at the Office of the Chancellor for the California State University (CSU)System. He has been the program’s co-director and director since its inception in Spring 2019. PREPP is a program that serves as a blueprint for increasing faculty representation at CSU. He joined the steering committee in 2025 and serves as a workshop co-leader and grant coach.