Elizabeth A. Godin
Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies
CB# 7178, Thurston Bowles
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Tel: (919) 966-3208
Fax: (919) 966-5679
Education
Doctorate of Philosophy
Curriculum in Toxicology
Research Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Sulik
Academic Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Sulik
Date of Matriculation: August 2004
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, May 2004
Publications and Recent Abstracts
EA Myers, TA Wills, DB Dehart, SE Parnell, KK Sulik; Teratogenic Effects of Ethanol on the Cortical Hem; 139, The Toxicologist CD — An official Journal of the Society of Toxicology, Volume 90, Number S-1, March 2006
MG Narotsky, DS Best, A McDonald, EA Myers, ES Hunter III, JE Simmons; Effects of Defined Mixtures of Trihalomethanes and Haloacetic Acids on Pregnancy Maintenance and Eye Development in F344 Rats; Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 2005 May;73(5):358 [DART]
Dissertation
“Analysis of Ethanol-Induced Central Nervous System Abnormalities in Fetal Mice”
My research examines the effect of an early acute gestational exposure to alcohol in C57Bl6/J mice. This study focuses on morphological changes in the forebrain following exposure during a time equivalent to the third week of pregnancy in humans. This exposure paradigm creates a spectrum of defects in the mouse, varying from subtle to severe. The most severe defects include facial features and brain dysmorphology characteristic of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Various markers of brain development are utilized to show that an acute exposure to alcohol kills specific cell populations in the forebrain. Regions of particular interest include the hippocampus and basal ganglia. To better understand ethanol’s effect on the developing brain, state of the art imaging techniques are being utilized. This includes magnetic resonance imaging from which 3-dimensional reconstructions can be made. These reconstructions allow for the determination of subtle morphologic and volumetric defects. Another technique being used is diffusion tensor imaging which can provide analysis of neuronal fiber tracts in the developing brain. This work is expected to provide new insights into the genesis of alcohol-induced CNS abnormalities.