Cindy Lawler | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Skip Navigation Cindy Lawler Close the left navigation Add Genes, Environment, and Health Branch (GEH) Cindy P. Lawler, Ph.D. Chief, Genes, Environment, and Health Branch Tel 984-287-3280 [email protected] Cindy Lawler, Ph.D., is Chief of the Cellular, Organs, and Systems Pathobiology Branch in the Division of Extramural Research and Training. Lawler currently manages and administers a national grants program to understand environmental contributors to autism. She currently serves as the alternate NIEHS representative for the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. Her prior efforts at NIEHS include developing and managing a Centers program focused on environmental influences in neurodegenerative diseases. Lawler received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Northeastern University and received postdoctoral training in the Brain and Development Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Prior to joining NIEHS, Lawler was a faculty member in the UNC-CH Department of Psychiatry and the Program in Toxicology and held an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biostatistics. She served as a Principal Investigator on an NIH-supported research grant in behavioral neuroscience, with an emphasis on dopamine receptor pharmacology and development of novel pharmacologic agents to treat diseases and disorders related to altered dopamine neurotransmission. Programs: Autism Related Links Autism Awareness Month spotlights the next generation of researchers - Environmental Factor, May 2021 Back to Top Last Reviewed: March 19, 2026