Ram Kandasamy, PhD Faculty Profile

Photo of Ram Kandasamy

Ram  Kandasamy, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Psychology

Dr. Kandasamy joined the Department of Psychology at California State University, East Bay in August 2019. Prior to joining Cal State East Bay, he earned his undergraduate degree in neuroscience and psychology from Washington State University in Pullman, WA where he investigated sex differences in cannabinoid analgesia with Dr. Rebecca Craft. He earned his PhD from Washington State University in Vancouver, WA where he pioneered a new behavioral measure of pain and analgesia with Dr. Michael Morgan and taught courses on the biological basis of behavior. Dr. Kandasamy was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School where he studied the analgesic and abuse-related effects of opioid drugs with Dr. John Traynor. He has previously served on the Executive Committee for the Neuropharmacology division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and the North American Pain School. Dr. Kandasamy is currently the Faculty Fellow for the Center for Student Research and is the Principal Investigator of Cal State East Bay's Beckman Scholars Program.

Dr. Kandasamy teaches Research in Physiological Psychology (PSYC 491B), Physiological Psychology (PSYC 320), and Experimental Psychology (PSYC 300) and serves as a psychology major advisor. He also works with undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay to identify effective treatments for chronic pain by using a variety of techniques involving neuroscience, pharmacology, and animal behavior. Interested students should e-mail Dr. Kandasamy to inquire about research opportunities.