Dr. Lindsay Schwarz, PhD, was named the 2026 Centralia High School Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the Centralia Rotary Club and the Distinguished Alumni Committee Oct. 20.
A 1999 graduate of Centralia High School, Schwarz is a nationally recognized neuroscientist whose groundbreaking research is shaping the future of brain science.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Washington and her PhD in neurobiology from the University of California, San Diego. She completed postdoctoral work at Stanford University through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Today, Schwarz leads her own lab, the Schwarz Lab, in the Department of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where she also serves as a faculty member at St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and is affiliated with the Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Her research focuses on understanding how specific brain circuits regulate arousal, attention and memory — and how changes in these systems can contribute to disorders such as anxiety and depression. She has been honored with numerous awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE); the 2022 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award; the 2019 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award; and the 2018 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award. The PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government to outstanding investigators at the beginning of their independent research careers.
Schwarz was also awarded a 2022 McKnight Award for her study of brain disorders. Her project was one of four chosen by the McKnight Endowment Fund for 2022 to receive $300,000.
Schwarz credits her time at Centralia High School — and particularly her advanced biology class taught by Henri Weeks — for sparking her love of science.
“We had to perform a series of experiments throughout the semester and develop an independent research project,” she said in a news release. “I really loved the hands-on aspect of it, and the camaraderie of working with my classmates in the lab. Those are still my favorite parts of being a scientist.”
Schwarz is the daughter of Larry and Carol Schwarz of Centralia. She will be honored during Centralia High School’s annual alumni recognition event Jan. 26, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the school’s Performing Art Center, where she will receive her award.
The next day, she will spend the day at the high school speaking with the senior class and touring the school. Schwarz will be recognized at halftime of the Centralia Tigers boys basketball game on Jan. 27, 2026. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Schwarz shared how growing up in a close-knit community shaped her path.
“I’m so grateful to have grown up in Centralia,” she said in the release. “My family, friends, teachers and coaches were supportive and genuinely interested in what I was doing. That encouragement made a difference.”
Back in 1998, Schwarz, then a Centralia High School junior, earned a top-five finish at the state competition for the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Seattle Pacific University and was headed to the national competition at the end of April, according to Chronicle archives. She was also a national finalist gymnast while in high school and was a member of the University of Washington women’s rowing team.
