Research Interests

Opioid narcotics account for more than half of all overdose deaths. Epidemiological trends indicate that abuse and overdose incidence of the highly addictive opioid heroin have increased more than four-fold in recent years. While roughly 75% of self-reported heroin users sought treatment in 2014, the high rate of opioid relapse and overdose long after seemingly successful rehabilitation points to a lack of effective treatment options.

My long-term goal is to improve the scope of druggable targets available for the development of pharmacotherapies to treat substance use disorder (SUD), and specifically, opioid dependence. To address this issue, my laboratory studies molecular mechanisms that sustain continued drug seeking after abstinence in rodent models of drug self-administration. We utilize a combination of both molecular biology and behavioral neuroscience to understand mechanisms within the cell that drive maladaptive behaviors.

Education, Training & Credentials

• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
• PhD, Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
• BS, Molecular and Microbiology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

Memberships

• Society for Neuroscience

Publications

NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Brain and Behavior Foundation
NIH Pathway to Independence Award K99/R00, NIDA