Rate My Professor Dayna Hayes

Dr. Dayna Hayes serves as Chair and Professor in the Department of Psychology at Radford University. She earned dual B.S. degrees in Biology and Psychology from Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the same institution. Following her doctoral studies, Dr. Hayes conducted postdoctoral research in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky before joining the faculty at Radford University in 2013. In her current role, she leads the Psychology Department within the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, contributing to both administrative leadership and academic instruction.

Dr. Hayes's research interests center on the neurobiological consequences of drug abuse and stress on the brain, with a specific emphasis on alcohol consumption, addiction, and recovery processes. Her work also explores the effects of alcohol and nicotine on brain function. She teaches a variety of courses, including graduate offerings such as Psychopharmacology (PSYC 774) and Biological Foundations of Behavior (PSYC 628), and undergraduate classes like Psychopharmacology (PSYC 410), Brain and Behavior (PSYC 378), Principles of Learning (PSYC 333), Research Methods (PSYC 302), and Analysis of Psychological Data (PSYC 301). Notable publications include McClafferty, S.R., Paniagua-Ugarte, C., Hannabass, Z.M., Jackson, P.A., & Hayes, D.M. (2024). Comparing the effects of infant maternal and sibling separation on adolescent behavior in rats. PLOS ONE; Hayes, D.M., Nickell, C.G., Chen, K.Y., McClain, J.A., Heath, M.M., Deeny, M.A., & Nixon, K. (2018). Activation of neural stem cells from quiescence drives reactive hippocampal neurogenesis after alcohol dependence. Neuropharmacology, 133, 276-288; Hayes, D.M., Deeny, M.A., Shaner, C.A., & Nixon, K. (2013). Determining the threshold for alcohol-induced brain damage: New evidence with gliosis markers. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37(3), 425-434; McClain, J.A., Hayes, D.M., Morris, S.A., & Nixon, K. (2011). Adolescent binge alcohol exposure alters hippocampal progenitor cell proliferation in rats: Effects on cell cycle kinetics. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 519(13), 2697-2710; and Hayes, D.M., Knapp, D.J., Breese, G.R., & Thiele, T.E. (2005). Comparison of basal NPY and CRF levels between the high ethanol drinking C57BL/6J and low ethanol drinking DBA/2J inbred mouse strains. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 29(5), 721-729.