Dr. Torregrossa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and an Associate Director in the UB Center for Ingestive Behavior Research. She is also affiliated with the Neuroscience and the Evolution, Ecology and Behavior Programs.

Dr. Torregrossa received her masters in Conservation Biology from Columbia University in 2004, followed by her doctorate in Biology at the University of Utah in 2009. She completed postdoctoral training with Lisa Eckel and Jim Smith at Florida State University, after which she became an Assistant in Psychology at the same university. She then joined the faculty at the University at Buffalo in 2015.

Contact information: B74 Park Hall, amtorregrossa@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0354

Verenice earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Long Beach State in beautiful and sunny California. There, she was part of two ingestive behaviors/taste research labs and realized she really enjoyed learning about this area of research; therefore, she decided to move all the way across the country and away from her family to be Ann-Marie's lab manager in beautiful and snowy Buffalo. She is going to be applying to Ph.D. programs in Behavioral Neuroscience this fall while also practicing how to drive in the snow.  

Contact information: B80 Park Hall, vascenci@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229

Kim earned her Bachelor's Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. There she did some drug discrimination work with operant chambers and was part of an addiction laboratory studying alcohol. While her time in UWEC did include training Prince Mint the Third to play rat basketball, studying abroad in England, and floating down the Chippewa River, it was time to move for graduate school. 

Thus, she chose to work with Dr. Torregrossa at UB after having a great interview while also missing out on one of the biggest snow storms Wisconsin saw that winter. Kim is now a graduate student in the Psychology Department. She plans to complete a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience and learn about research involving saliva and ingestive behaviors.

Contact information: B80 Park Hall, kfjames@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229

Kamila earned her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience & Behavior at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, and her Master’s degree in Psychology from Long Island University. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Before moving across the state to Buffalo, she worked as a medical scribe/assistant alongside a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist who manages high-risk pregnancies. Kamila is now a graduate student in the Psychology Department looking to receive her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience while making tiny new rodent friends. She hopes to learn more about ingestive behaviors to help her fat cat slim down back home.  

Contact information: B80 Park Hall, kamilani@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229

Sam has lived in Western New York for the majority of her life and came to UB as a transfer student in 2019. Highly interested in Behavioral Neuroscience research, Sam joined the lab in the summer of 2021 completing a project as a McNair Scholars Summer Research Fellow. Since then she has been sucked (pun fully intended) into the world of saliva and ingestive behavior with no plan of turning back!

During the spring, Sam accepted a position as the research technician and lab manager here in the Torregrossa lab and plans to begin applying Ph.D. programs in Behavioral Neuroscience this fall. If you are looking for her you’ll probably find her reading up on random rat facts.

Contact information: B80 Park Hall, slbrooke@buffalo.edu, 716-645-0229

Kristen Kay made all Dr. Torregrossa’s dreams come true by moving from sunny Florida to chilly Buffalo to be her research manager and run her lab in 2015.

Kristen studied biological sciences at Florida State University and has spent seven years cultivating her numerous lab skills under the tutelage of various distinguished professors. Kristen left the lab to begin her graduate work at the Cleaveland Clinic in the Fall of 2019.

Laura Martin was born in Kansas City and spent 18 relatively unremarkable years there before moving to Tallahassee to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. At FSU, Laura met Dr. Torregrossa (who prefers to be called Ann-Marie) where she discovered her deep and abiding love of scientific research.

After several years working with Ann-Marie, Laura wanted to continue studying taste, so Ann-Marie asked her to move to Buffalo. Laura graduated from Psychology department in the middle of the Covid pandemic but still enjoys talking about saliva and spending time with her adorable dog. 

Laura is now a postdoctoral fellow at Oregon State University

Born and raised in Buffalo, Nico received his bachelor's degree in psychology from SUNY Buffalo State. Prior to joining Ann-Marie's family, he worked with the wonderful (albeit eccentric) Dr. Naomi McKay, examining how stress affects dietary patterns and food preference. He also spent some time working under Dr. Thanos at the C.R.I.A. His scientific interests are in toxicology and neuropharmacology.