Author Archives: Sue Modlin

Kang et al. present HCAD, a peripherally restricted DREADD based on HCA2, with a chemical actuator that avoids crossing the blood-brain barrier and selectively reduces pain in mice. This system will enable the study of peripheral physiology without affecting the central nervous system. Publication found here.

Harvard Neuroscientist David D. Ginty, PhD, will receive the Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize for his pivotal discoveries on the sensation of touch and how our body communicates with the brain. Original full article can be found here.

Sarah Cohen and her collaborators received a 2024 Allen Distinguished Investigator Award to develop a game-changing microscopy tool for visualizing multiple organelles in live cells. Original full article can be found here.

Aysenil Belger, PhD, professor of psychiatry, and Danielle Roubinov, PhD, director of the Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program, will lead an innovative study of the predictors of anhedonia — a common symptom of mental health conditions — in young people. Original full article can be found here.

In a UNC-Chapel Hill neuroscience lab, researchers recently monitored a mouse wearing a miniature, helmet-like device that streamed real-time data to a nearby computer. As data points on heart rate, pupil size and breathing patterns scrolled across the screen, capturing the intricate interplay between animal physiology and behavior, they realized...

The lab of Graham Diering, PhD, assistant professor of cell biology and physiology at the UNC School of Medicine, shows how sleep loss during early life impacts key aspects of brain development and how it can increase one’s risk for developing autism spectrum disorder. Original full article can be found...

As Director of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Neuroscience Microscopy Core, Michelle Itano develops state-of-the-art imaging whilst training scientists far and wide. Here’s how she became a core facility leader that is forging collaborations between researchers and data scientists to drive bioscience forward. Original article continued here.

Williams, a former KL2/K12 scholar with NC TraCS, began her career as a veterinarian—but is now studying pain in both animals and humans. Pain is a tricky thing to measure. Unlike metrics such as blood pressure, heart rate or even cancer presence—all of which can be assessed with a test—diagnosing...

The 2024 Andrew S. Rachlin UNC Neuroscience Symposium took place on Thursday, September 26 and featured talks from Dr. Kate Wassum, Dr. Julieta Lischinsky, Dr. Michael Bruchas, Dr. Kim Ritola, and Dr. Hugo Tejeda. Thank you to our neuroscience community for making it a great day!

UNC School of Medicine researchers Mohanish Deshmukh, PhD, professor of cell biology and physiology, and Praveen Sethupathy, PhD, a former professor of genetics and current chair of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University, show that a molecule called miR-29 is instrumental in driving the aging process. Original article can be found...