CV Resume
Summary
I'm currently a doctoral student at UC San Diego, in the Malinow Lab - Center for Neural Circuits and the Anagnostaras Molecular Cognition Lab. I'm primarily interested in the neural network properties of memory formation. Using a mixture of neurobiological and computational programming tools, I study and model learning and memory processes at the interface between behavior and synaptic plasticity.
Education
University of California, San Diego
- Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program (Ph.D.) in Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience
- Specialization: computational modeling and simulation of biological neural networks
San Diego State University
- Masters Degree in Biopsychology
- Bachelors of Science Cell & Molecular Biology
- Bachelors of Arts in Psychology
Graduate Research
Center for Neural Circuits (Malinow - PhD - current)
In the Malinow lab my focus is on computational modeling of biological neural networks, synaptic plasticity, adaptive behavior, and memory. My approach to modeling these processes involves conducting and analyzing data from molecular-level experiments to inform neural network simulations. I’m also involved in a genomics project involving the San Diego Super Computing Center, examining single nucleotide polymorphisms and rare variants asymmetries in whole genome sequencing data from control and dementia patients.
Molecular Cognition Lab (Anagnostaras - PhD - current)
In the Anagnostaras lab I am developing new techniques for assessing the internal states of live-behaving animal subjects. Here my goal is to establish novel approaches for quantifying learning and memory. I am currently working on a project that uses the latest in thermal imaging technology to detect biothermal changes in response to learned fear and other emotion-based memories.
Center for Behavioral Neurobiology (Thomas - Undergrad & Masters)
At the CBN I performed a series of translational experiments focused on developing treatments for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These projects culminated into a thesis and a series of publications. I was also a member of the Brain Developmental Imaging Lab, and performed experiments aimed at identification of neural correlates to autism spectrum disorders using fMRI and DTI technology. I was primarily involved as a programmer, scanner tech, and data analyst.
Scientific Publications
- Shuman T, Cai DJ, Monk BR, Howell KK, Claffey MP, Baumgärtel K, Mayford M, and Anagnostaras SG (2016). Dorsal striatum contains a stable neural correlate of drug-seeking behavior, eLife.
- Howell KK, Monk BR, Carmack SA, Mrowczynski OD, Clark RE, and Anagnostaras SG (2014). Inhibition of PKC disrupts addiction-related memory. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00070.
- Monk, BR, Leslie, FM, and Thomas, JD (2011). The Effects of Perinatal Choline Supplementation on Hippocampal Cholinergic Development in Rats Exposed to Alcohol During the Brain Growth Spurt. Hippocampus. doi:10.1002/hipo.22009
- Thomas, JD, Idrus, NM, Monk, BR, and Dominguez, HD (2010). Prenatal choline supplementation mitigates behavioral alterations associated with prenatal alcohol exposure in rats. Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology. 88(10), 827-837. doi:10.1002/bdra.20713.
Programming Proficiencies
- Python
- Matlab
- R
- Perl
- PHP & SQL
Academic Honors
- San Diego State University Psychology Department Student of the Year faculty selection 2006
- Cum Laude Graduate (SDSU GPA 3.93 / 4.00) 2006
- Winner of the Annual Cal State Sciences Symposium 2006
- Zeisel Travel Award to the Epigenetics Nutrition and Aging. Kannapolis, NC 2008
- RSA Travel Award by the Research Society on Alcoholism San Antonio, TX 2010
- Society for Neuroscience official science blogger selection (OneSci) 2010
- OGS Travel Grant SfN Washington DC 2011
Society Memberships
- Society for Neuroscience
- Society for Scientific Study of Consciousness
- Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society