Category: News

On April 28th, ManHua Zhu successfully defended her PhD Thesis: “Cellular and behavioral effects of nicotine vapor exposure on mouse mesolimbic reward circuitry”. Mentor: Dr. Melissa Herman.  ManHua will be continuing her research as a post-doc at Northwestern University-Feinberg School of Medicine. Congratulations Dr. Zhu!!

Reagan Bullins received an Honorable Mention from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), for her research in the Neuroscience Curriculum.  Congratulations Reagan!!

Five UNC School of Medicine Students Among Recipients of Prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Thirty-three students at UNC-Chapel Hill have received prestigious awards from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program for their research in STEM-related fields. UNC SOM recipients are Glory Dan-Dukor, McKenzie Grundy, Nichole Margaret...

On December 16th, Maya Bluitt (Besheer Lab) successfully defended and passed her oral qualifying exam! The title of her research proposal is, “Delineating mechanisms underlying individual differences in aversion-resistant alcohol drinking in rats”. Congratulations Maya!!

On September 29th, Felix Kyere (Stein Lab) successfully defended and passed his oral qualifying exam! The title of his research proposal is, “Quantifying the Developmental Trajectory of Autism-Associated Brain Overgrowth Using Mouse Whole-Brain Imaging”. Congratulations Felix!!

On November 9th, Olivia Hon successfully defended her PhD Thesis:   “Neuromodulation in the Extended Amygdala Shapes Conditioned Fear Processes”.  Mentor:  Dr. Tom Kash.  After graduation Olivia will be a scientist for Neurophotometrics.  Congratulations Olivia!!

Janay is a graduate student in the lab of Dr. Kate Reissner and was awarded a two-year NIH F31 Research Fellowship. She received her B.S. in Biology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2017. Afterward, Janay worked as a NIH PREP post-bac in the lab of Dr....

On August 23rd, Maria Ortiz (Rodriguez-Romaguera Lab) successfully defended and passed her oral qualifying exam! The title of her research proposal is, “Encoding of social arousal in extended amygdala circuits”. Congratulations Maria!!

Congratulations to Maria Ortiz who has been named an HHMI Fellow!!  Fifty-one graduate students and their advisers are joining the thriving community supported by the HHMI Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study. Full article found here.

On June 21st, Christina Catavero successfully defended her PhD Thesis:   “Effects of Alcohol Consumption in the Transgenic Human Tau P301S Mouse Model”.  Mentor:  Dr. Zoe McElligott.  After graduation Christina will be a consultant for ClearView Healthcare Partners.  Congratulations Christina!!