Now at the UW School of Pharmacy’s Barker-Haliski Lab, Robinson-Cooper has continued researching epilepsy, studying its link to Alzheimer’s disease. Though epilepsy is often associated with children, adults over 65 are actually at the greatest risk of acquiring it—and up to 87 times more likely if they have hereditary Alzheimer’s, which is caused by DNA mutations. Seizures are harder to diagnose in this population, sometimes appearing as bouts of staring or irritability. To better understand this effect, Robinson-Cooper studies the brains of mice with those same DNA mutations, exploring how the mutations cause neuronal hyperexcitability: when many neurons in the brain all send electrical signals at once, which overloads the nervous system and causes a seizure.
Research like this takes consistency over a span of years, and that requires sustained funding—which is increasingly difficult to secure. “I think the U.S. stands to lose our position as a major leader in science due to the funding cuts,” Robinson-Cooper says. “We’re already starting to see a ‘brain drain,’ where recent graduates, established professors and industry scientists are accepting positions in other countries. Philanthropy has a large part to play during these turbulent times in providing funding stability, because research to develop new medications and potential cures takes a substantial amount of time.”
In 2024, Robinson-Cooper was selected for the Washington Fellows program of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, a fellowship that engages early-career scientists in public policy work. Last month saw her third trip with the group to Washington, D.C., to meet with representatives, advocating for funding for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.
“It was eye-opening to see just how little policymakers knew about where the research funding is allocated and what the timeline looks like,” she says. “I realized just how few scientists are in government, and how that impacts policymakers’ view on science. We need to strengthen communication there.”
Equally important to her is community outreach: making science accessible to the next generation and showing kids what a career in science can look like. She’s helped revitalize the Neuroscience Community Outreach Group, a UW student organization that works to educate and excite young people about careers in neuroscience. The group’s biggest event of the year is an open house during Brain Awareness Week in late March; middle- and high-schoolers come to campus for hands-on activities and the opportunity to hear from neuroscientists about their current research. Funding for the event relies on grants that were still pending at press time.
Robinson-Cooper is passionate about translating the complexities of research for a general audience, and being the kind of role model she lacked growing up. “My interest in science communication stems from coming from such a small town,” she says, recalling those uninspiring early science classes. “I want to be the person giving students resources about the careers they can go into in science, and exposing young people to advanced topics in neurosciences and other areas.”
School of Pharmacy Associate Professor Melissa Barker- Haliski says most scientists can talk about their research—to other scientists. “There aren’t always great scientists who can understand the complexity of the work and also communicate its relevance to non-scientists. That’s one thing that’s unique about Larissa,” she says. “The educating and advocating for science she’s doing is going to really help amplify our reach and continue to make the UW shine.”
How ARCS fuels innovation
The Seattle Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation helps nurture the UW’s fertile ecosystem of scholars, donors and partners joining with a shared purpose. With more than $17.4 million in endowment funds held at the UW, ARCS has created 52 named endowments and, in 2025 alone, provided nearly $750,000 to support 111 Husky scholars. That impact is tremendous—not just for individual students, but for the world shaped by their discoveries.
“ARCS’ support of science research at the UW helps fuel innovation that can lead to lifesaving medical breakthroughs and transformative technologies,” says Margaret Breen, president of the ARCS Seattle Chapter. “Washington’s ecosystem at the crossroads of tech, health care and academia makes the UW a powerhouse for interdisciplinary research with real-world impact.”
Annie Pellicciotti contributed to this story.