UMMC Graduate Program in Neuroscience

🎓🔬 Inside the research portion of the Neuroscience PhD Journey!
Students in the Program in Neuroscience gain hands-on research experience through two key lab rotation courses:

🧪 Year 1: NSCI 790 – Neuroscience Laboratory Survey introduces students to multiple labs to explore diverse research and mentorship styles.
🔍 Year 2: NSCI 791 – Senior Laboratory Rotations deepen research skills, often within the student’s future dissertation area and/or lab.

💡 After passing the qualifying exam, students dive into NSCI 798 – Dissertation Research, presenting their work annually in seminars that grow in depth and length through the years.

UMMC PIN: Training tomorrow’s neuroscience leaders—one experiment at a time! 🧠💼

🎓✨ A moment years in the making!

Friday, May 22, was UMMC Commencement, and we proudly celebrated the brilliant minds graduating with their PhDs in Neuroscience. From lab work to groundbreaking discoveries, they have pushed the boundaries of what we know about the brain and nervous system. 🧠🔬

As they crossed the stage, we honored not just their academic achievements, but their resilience, curiosity, and dedication to science.

Here's to the new Doctors who will shape the next era of Neuroscience! 🥂💫

🎉 We are excited to share that Dr. Amy Kohtz and Dr. Sally Huskinson have received a new NIH/NIDA MPI R01 grant to advance research on women’s health and addiction! 🧠🔬

Their project will investigate how oxytocin may help restore reproductive hormone function and reduce co***ne demand in female rats and rhesus monkeys. 🐀🐒 By examining the neural and endocrine mechanisms underlying addiction, this work aims to address critical gaps in our understanding of substance use disorders in women — an area that has historically been understudied. ♀️💡

This highly translational research has the potential to inform new therapeutic strategies for co***ne addiction and endocrine dysfunction, advancing both women’s health and addiction science. 💊✨ Congratulations to Drs. Kohtz and Huskinson on this important achievement! 👏🎊

🚨 New Publication Alert! 📝

Check out the new publication from PIN alumna, Dr. Tanya Pareek, her mentors, Drs. Barbara Gisabella and Harry Pantazopoulos, and their research group, including collaborators from University of Limerick and University of Toledo!

Their new study examined how chronic alcohol use alters molecular signaling pathways in the hippocampus – a brain region critical for learning, memory, and context-driven behavior. Using a rhesus monkey model, researchers identified widespread changes in genes involved in synaptic signaling, neuronal development, and mitochondrial function, shedding light on potential mechanisms underlying alcohol use disorder and relapse vulnerability.

The study also highlights several promising therapeutic targets that could inform future treatments for alcohol-related brain changes. 🧠🍷

🔬 Read the full article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-51816-0