Research/Areas of Interest:
Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) is the most widely used chemogenetically engineered proteins, using mutated human muscarinic receptors that are not activated by endogenous neurotransmitters but exclusively via clozapine N-oxide (CNO). GiDREADDs inhibit axonal release of neurotransmitters, while GsDREADDs activate neuronal activity. My work uses Aldh1l1-cre Gi-DREADD/Gs-DREADD mice with Cre recombinase-inducible astrocyte-specific expression of GiDREADD/GsDREADD to investigate the effects of astrocytic Gi-DREADD/Gs-DREADD activation on animal behavior, EEG power, neuronal excitability and the phosphorylation of astrocytic and neuronal substrates.
Education
BS, Nutrition & Biology, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC