UMMC Graduate Program in Neuroscience

🎓 PIN Faculty Highlight ✨

Meet George Souza, PIN faculty in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics, UMMC!

🎓 PIN Student Highlight ✨

Meet Megan, a 2nd year PhD student in our Program in Neuroscience!

🌟 Mentorship, perseverance, and building a career in science 🔬✨

We are excited to highlight a new article about PIN Director, Dr. Junie "Paula" Warrington in The Physiologist Magazine! 🧠🧬

In “A Mentor’s Truths About Building a Career in Science,” Dr. Warrington shares valuable insights from her own journey as a scientist, mentor, and leader – highlighting the importance of embracing challenges, seeking guidance, building meaningful connections, and supporting the next generation of researchers. 🌱

A career in science is shaped not only by discoveries in the lab, but also by the mentors who inspire us, the communities that support us, and the resilience we develop along the way. 💡

Thank you, Dr. Warrington, for sharing your experiences and for your continued commitment to mentoring and advancing the future of science! 👏🔬

Read the article in full: https://www.physiology.org/publications/news/the-physiologist-magazine/mentoring-forum/a-mentor's-truths-about-building-a-career-in-science?SSO=Y

🚨 New Publication Alert! 📝

Check out the new first-author publication from PIN student, A’Kaychia Lowery, PIN faculty, Dr. Daniela Rüedi-Bettschen, and their research group!

Using a translational rat model of maternal methamphetamine self-administration, the study found that prenatal exposure produced persistent, s*x-specific effects that extended into late adulthood. Female offspring showed signs of elevated blood pressure and altered sensitivity to methamphetamine, while both male and female offspring displayed reduced susceptibility to methamphetamine-induced stereotypic behaviors and resistance to AngII-induced hypertension. 🐀💡

These findings highlight that the effects of prenatal drug exposure can persist across the lifespan and underscore the importance of considering biological s*x when investigating the long-term health consequences of prenatal substance exposure. 🌎🧬

🔗 Read the article in full: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1772937

🧠🍄 New research from faculty in the UMMC Program in Neuroscience is getting attention!

Congratulations to PIN faculty, Drs. Alberto Del Arco, Barbara Gisabella and Harry Pantazopoulos, and their team on their recent study exploring how psilocybin influences brain circuits involved in reward-seeking behavior. Featured in PsyPost, this work reveals that a single dose of psilocybin alters inhibitory brain cells in the prefrontal cortex, providing new insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying psychedelic effects on behavior.

We are proud to showcase the innovative neuroscience research happening at UMMC that advances our understanding of brain function and psychiatric disorders.

To read the article: https://www.psypost.org/a-single-dose-of-psilocybin-reduces-reward-seeking-behavior-by-altering-inhibitory-brain-cells/

A single dose of psilocybin reduces reward-seeking behavior by altering inhibitory brain cells A single dose of psilocybin reduces the drive to seek out rewards by increasing the activity of inhibitory brain cells. These findings help explain how psychedelics might induce long-lasting changes in brain circuits to treat substance use disorders.

🎉 Student Kudos Alert! 🎉

Congratulations to incoming PIN student, Ariel Cox on receiving a Scientific Merit Award for her outstanding research presentation at the National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE)!

Ariel was recognized for her research presentation, "Dorsal Hippocampal Kcnt1 Promotes Co***ne Seeking in Females, but Not Males, During Early Extinction." Merit Awards are selected by session organizers based on the scientific quality of submitted abstracts, highlighting the exceptional impact of her work.

Congratulations, Ariel, on this well-deserved recognition! We are proud to celebrate your dedication to advancing our understanding of the neurobiology of substance use disorders. 👏🔬

🚨 New Publication Alert! 📝

Check out the new publication from PIN student, A’Kaychia Lowery, PIN alumni, Karen Saffold and Maria Jones-Muhammad, their mentor Dr. Junie “Paula” Warrington, and their research group!

This new study shows that exposure to preeclampsia- and eclampsia-like conditions during pregnancy can have lasting effects on offspring. Using a preclinical model, they found that adult offspring exposed to a preeclampsia model exhibited:
🧩 Mild impairments in spatial learning and memory
🩸 Reduced cerebral blood flow, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and major cerebral sinuses
🧠 Changes that may contribute to long-term vulnerability to neurovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders

These findings provide new insight into how pregnancy complications may influence lifelong brain health and highlight reduced cerebral perfusion as a potential mechanism linking preeclampsia/eclampsia to later cognitive deficits.

🔗 Read the article: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00711.2025

PIN trainees and faculty attended the 2026 annual meeting of The College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) in Portland, OR, from June 13-17! 🧠✨

Presenting at the meeting were:

Trainees:
🌟 Savanna Julian (PIN student; mentor: Dr. Amy Kohtz): oral presentation “Dorsal Hippocampus to the Medial Prefrontal Cortex Projections Drive Co***ne-Seeking Persistence”
🌟 Cristiane Favoretto (postdoc fellow; supervisor: Dr. Lais Berro): oral presentation “Oxycodone Induces Sleep Impairment and Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Rats”
🌟 Patrick Davis (student in the Biomedical Sciences PhD Program/Neurobehavioral Sciences Track; mentors: Drs. Lais Berro and James Rowlett): oral presentation “Discontinuation of Chronic Methamphetamine Use Induces Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Rhesus Monkeys”
🌟 Megan Stempkovski (PIN student; mentor: Dr. Sally Huskinson): poster presentation “Self-Administration of Benzodiazepines in Drug-Naïve and Co***ne-Experienced Rhesus Monkeys: Role of Alpha Subunit-Containing GABAA Receptors”
🌟 Victor Nascimento Rocha (Exchange Student; mentor: Dr. Lais Berro): oral presentation “Sleep Deprivation Produces Sex-Specific Behavioral and Nociceptive Effects in Rats Under Long-Access Fentanyl Self-Administration”
🌟 Daniel Borgatti (5th year PIN student; mentors: Drs. Lais Berro and James Rowlett): poster presentation “Suvorexant Reverses the Acute Effects of Methamphetamine on Sleep and Cognition in Rhesus Monkeys”

PIN Faculty:
🌟 Lais Berro: oral presentation “Sleep modulates the effects of suvorexant on methamphetamine self-administration in rhesus monkeys” during the ISGIDAR satellite meeting
🌟 Daniela Rüedi-Bettschen: oral presentation “Extended-Access Fentanyl Self-Administration During Pregnancy Induces Maternal Hypertension and Placental Insufficiency”
🌟 Amy Kohtz: oral presentation “Hippocampal Kcnt1 Drives Female-Specific Co***ne Seeking on ED1: From Sex-Biased Transcriptomics to a Targetable Therapeutic Pathway”

We are proud of our trainees and faculty for showcasing PIN’s excellence! 👏

🚨 New Publication Alert! 📝

Check out the new publication from PIN faculty, Drs. Sally Huskinson and Amy Kohtz!
In a new review published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Drs. Huskinson and Kohtz examine the complex, bidirectional relationship between gonadal hormones and stimulant use, highlighting important s*x differences in responses to co***ne, amphetamine, and methamphetamine.

The review synthesizes evidence from rodent, nonhuman primate, and human studies and suggests that stimulant misuse may, in part, be viewed as an endocrine disorder—particularly in females—arising from reciprocal interactions between neural and hormonal systems. The authors emphasize the importance of considering the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis when developing individualized treatments for stimulant use disorders and understanding s*x-specific patterns of addiction.

🔗 Read the article: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2026.1778346

🎓 PIN Faculty Highlight ✨

Meet Barbara Gisabella, PIN faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, UMMC! 😎