Author Archives: Jennie Vaughn

BCAS faculty Alison Roland was recently awarded a pilot grant from the North Carolina Diabetes Research Center (NCDRC) to investigate mechanisms underlying impaired brain glucose transport in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Changes in central glucose availability in diabetes can disrupt satiety signaling and contribute to obesity progression.  Dr. Roland’s...

BCAS faculty Laura Rupprecht, Ph.D., received two pilot grants. She and her lab were awarded the UNC Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) pilot and feasibility program award and the Center for Gastrointestinal and Bowel Disease pilot and feasibility contest award. Projects will focus on how diet and obesity impact gut-brain...

BCAS Postdoc Brooke Bender was recently profiled by UNC Research. Read more here. Dr. Bender is a member of the Besheer Lab.

Hats off to BCAS faculty Dr. Zoe McElligott! Her pioneering research was recently featured by the Sanford Burnham Prebys, highlighting her lab’s important contributions to understanding the neural circuits that drive addiction and mood disorders. Dr. McElligott’s work provides critical insight into how stress and reward pathways in the brain...

Yen-Yu Ian Shih, PhD, a faculty member UNC School of Medicine, is working to transform functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methods. Shih and his team have used their 9.4T small animal MRI scanner to develop a silent fMRI technique to advance the imaging of small animals and other sensitive study...

Dr. Zoe McElligott, BCAS faculty member and Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, was featured in a recent WRAL news segment focused on the growing popularity and public health questions surrounding THC-infused beverages. In the video titled “In Depth with Dan: Answering Viewer Questions About THC Drinks,” Dr. McElligott provides her...

BCAS Associate Director Dr. Joyce Besheer is researching the potential of Ozempic, a popular diabetes and weight loss medication, to treat alcohol and opioid addiction. Her work was cited in the news media: Ozempic may lead to decrease in drinking

Congratulations to the “Avengers” Research Team, led by BCAS faculty member Dr. Zoe McElligott! As part of the Triangle Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (Triangle CERSI), this team has made significant progress in addressing a pressing public health issue. Awarded an FDA grant, the team is studying...

BCAS faculty member Leon Coleman, MD, PhD has received the 2025  Division for Neuropharmacology Early Career Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) . The ASPET Division for Neuropharmacology established this award to recognize and honor a young independent investigator working in neuropharmacology. The award recognizes Dr. Coleman’s his...

Fulton Crews, professor of pharmacology and psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine, was quoted in an ABC Good Morning America article discussing drinking habits and the benefits of Dry January. The article was originally published in 2018 and was republished this month: Dry January: What is it and how...