Laura Grafe, professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, passed away unexpectedly on May 5. She was 39 years old.
Dr. Grafe joined the Bryn Mawr faculty in 2018. Over the past seven years, she taught courses on behavioral psychology, introduction to psychology, and stress neuroscience. She was a key faculty member in developing the women’s college’s Bi-Co neuroscience major and minor programs. As a scholar, Dr. Grafe studied how stress affects the brain and how this effect of stress may lead to behavioral phenotypes relevant to mental health.
In a letter to Bryn Mawr students, faculty, and staff, Provost Tim Harte stated, “This is a tremendous loss to the department, to our students, and to the Bryn Mawr community as a whole. Laura was a brilliant scholar, an outstanding teacher, and a dedicated student advisor and mentor. She will be sorely missed.”
Dr. Grafe received dual-bachelor’s degrees from the University of Maryland: one in physiology and neurobiology and another in psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience form the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining the Bryn Mawr faculty, she was a postdoctoral fellow with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.