{"id":8541,"date":"2019-01-17T14:13:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T19:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/?post_type=directory&#038;p=8541"},"modified":"2025-06-12T16:00:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:00:32","slug":"zoe-mcelligott-phd","status":"publish","type":"directory","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoe McElligott, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-webCR2-300x204.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-webCR2-300x204.png 300w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-webCR2-768x522.png 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/OGE-Trained-mentor-badge-webCR2-1024x696.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2>Research Interests<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Mechanisms that underlie various affective disorders including anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Research Synopsis<\/h2>\n<p>Research in the McElligott lab focuses on the circuits and plasticity that underlie the development and manifestation of psychiatric illness, specifically disorders on the affective spectrum including: alcohol use disorders, drug abuse and anxiety disorders. The lab has expertise in studying neurotransmission from the level of signaling in individual cells through behavior utilizing a variety of techniques including: whole-cell electrophysiology,\u00a0<em>in vivo<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>ex vivo<\/em>\u00a0fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, circuit manipulations (optogenetics, chemogenetics, caspase ablation), and behavioral assays.<\/p>\n<p>There are several ongoing projects in the lab. One area we are focused on explores the role of neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) that express the neuropeptide neurotensin and the role these neurons play in alcohol related phenotypes. Additionally we are interested in exploring how norepinephrine modulates neurotransmission within the brain and how the norepinephrine system itself is modulated in models of substance abuse and post-traumatic stress. Beyond these studies, we are actively engaged in several other collaborative projects with other labs at UNC, as well as around the world.<\/p>\n<h2>Publications<\/h2>\n<p><strong><a class=\"external-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/?term=mcelligott_z\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0View complete list of publications in PubMed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Research Interests Mechanisms that underlie various affective disorders including anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse Research Synopsis Research in the McElligott lab focuses on the circuits and plasticity that underlie the development and manifestation of psychiatric illness, specifically disorders on the affective spectrum including: alcohol use disorders, drug abuse and anxiety disorders. The lab has &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Zoe McElligott, PhD\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3367,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-8541","directory","type-directory","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Zoe McElligott, PhD | Pharmacology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zoe McElligott, PhD | Pharmacology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Research Interests Mechanisms that underlie various affective disorders including anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse Research Synopsis Research in the McElligott lab focuses on the circuits and plasticity that underlie the development and manifestation of psychiatric illness, specifically disorders on the affective spectrum including: alcohol use disorders, drug abuse and anxiety disorders. The lab has &hellip; Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pharmacology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNC-Pharmacology-693103474191364\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-12T20:00:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"130\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/\",\"name\":\"Zoe McElligott, PhD | Pharmacology\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-17T19:13:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-12T20:00:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg\",\"width\":130,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Zoe McElligott, PhD\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Zoe McElligott, PhD\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/\",\"name\":\"UNC Pharmacology\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UNC Department of Pharmacology\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/Pharmacology_logo_2c_rgb_v.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/Pharmacology_logo_2c_rgb_v.png\",\"width\":488,\"height\":329,\"caption\":\"UNC Department of Pharmacology\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNC-Pharmacology-693103474191364\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Zoe McElligott, PhD | Pharmacology","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Zoe McElligott, PhD | Pharmacology","og_description":"Research Interests Mechanisms that underlie various affective disorders including anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse Research Synopsis Research in the McElligott lab focuses on the circuits and plasticity that underlie the development and manifestation of psychiatric illness, specifically disorders on the affective spectrum including: alcohol use disorders, drug abuse and anxiety disorders. The lab has &hellip; Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/","og_site_name":"Pharmacology","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNC-Pharmacology-693103474191364\/","article_modified_time":"2025-06-12T20:00:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":130,"height":150,"url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/","name":"Zoe McElligott, PhD | Pharmacology","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg","datePublished":"2019-01-17T19:13:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-12T20:00:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2018\/11\/zoe-mcelligott.jpeg","width":130,"height":150,"caption":"Zoe McElligott, PhD"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/directory\/zoe-mcelligott-phd\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Zoe McElligott, PhD"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/","name":"UNC Pharmacology","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#organization","name":"UNC Department of Pharmacology","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/Pharmacology_logo_2c_rgb_v.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/930\/2019\/01\/Pharmacology_logo_2c_rgb_v.png","width":488,"height":329,"caption":"UNC Department of Pharmacology"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNC-Pharmacology-693103474191364\/"]}]}},"_upd_display_name":["Zoe McElligott, PhD"],"_upd_reverse_display_name":["McElligott, Zoe"],"_upd_last_name":["McElligott"],"_upd_first_name":["Zoe"],"_upd_sortorder_override":[],"_upd_sortorder":["1"],"_upd_gallery_summary":["<strong>Associate Professor, Psychiatry<\/strong>\r\nResearch: Mechanisms that underlie various affective disorders including anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse\r\nOffice: 5101 Thurston-Bowles\r\nPhone: <a href=\"tel:9199669835\">(919) 966-9835<\/a>\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mcelligottlab.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Lab Website<\/a>\r\n<a href=\"mailto:zoemce@email.unc.edu\">Email<\/a>"],"_upd_no_link":[],"_upd_degree1":["PhD"],"_upd_degree2":[],"_upd_email":[[{"email_text":"zoemce@email.unc.edu"}]],"_upd_phone":[[{"phone_text":"919-966-8637","phone_type":"Office Phone"}]],"_upd_address":[[{"address":{"address-1":"5101 Thurston-Bowles Bldg","address-2":"","campus-box":"CB #7178","city":"Chapel Hill","state":"NC","zip":"27599"}}]],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory\/8541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/directory"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory\/8541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25311,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory\/8541\/revisions\/25311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/pharm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}