Dr. Sandra Sanchez-Roige has been promoted to Associate Adjunct Professor. The appointment will begin on 7/1/2022.

Congratulations, Sandra!

Dr. Abraham Palmer and Dr. Oksana Polesskaya attended the 23rd Annual Genes, Brain and Behavior meeting at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, May 23-27th, 2022.

Dr. Palmer gave a talk titled “Overview of the NIDA center for genetic studies of drug abuse in outbred rats”, at the Genetic studies of drug addiction-related traits in outbred rats symposium, which was chaired by Dr. Polesskaya.

See details here!

Drs Abraham Palmer and Sandra Sanchez-Roige receives a 2022-23 pilot grant award for their research on how age will influence wisdom. This grant will fund the first genetic study of wisdom using a rating scale based on a neurobiological model of wisdom; the proposed wisdom scale (SD-WISE) will assess the genetic signature of wisdom from a population of 500,000 subjects from 23andMe.

Congratulations!

The manuscript, “Genetic characterization of outbred Sprague Dawley rats and utility for genome-wide association studies”, has been accepted for publication in PLOS Genetics. A genome wide association study (GWAS) was performed to characterize the genetic differences of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats sourced from Charles River Laboratories and Harlan Sprague Dawley Inc. Extensive population structure between and within each vendor was revealed. Current Palmer lab members, Dr. Abraham Palmer and Apurva Chitre, are authors. Former Palmer lab members, Dr. Alex Gileta, Celine St. Pierre, Elizabeth V. Joyce, Rachael Maguire, Africa McLeod,

The manuscript, “Accelerating opioid use disorders research by integrating multiple data modalities”, has been accepted for publication in Complex Psychiatry. Dr. Palmer is a co-author along with several others.

Congrats!

Karina Cerda joined the Palmer Lab in April 2022 as a Laboratory Assistant. She finished her Master’s degree in Molecular Ecology and Biotechnology at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) in Mexico. Her main research interests involves population genetics and using molecular tools. She is very committed to multidisciplinary projects. She is involved in varying fields from  Government legislation to sample genotyping. Out of the lab, Karina likes to practice martial arts, outdoor activities, and pole dances.

Welcome, Karina!

The manuscript, “Genome-wide association mapping of ethanol sensitivity in the Diversity Outbred mouse population”, has been accepted for publication in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. This study uses Diversity Outbred (DO) mice to map quantitative trait loci associated with ethanol sensitivity and identifies candidate genes from these loci for future functional validation. Drs. Abraham Palmer and Oksana Polesskaya along with several others coauthored this article. See the bioRxiv preprint here.

Congratulations!

Shae Ziegler joined the Palmer Lab in February 2022 as an information systems analyst. She graduated from UCSD in 2021 with a B.S. in Cognitive Science with specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation as well as a minor in Business. In her free time she enjoys playing lacrosse, hanging out with dogs, and playing video games.

Welcome, Shae!

The manuscript, “Leptin protects against the development and expression of cocaine addiction-like behavior in heterogeneous stock rats”, has been accepted for publication in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. This study examines the the effect differing bodyweight and blood leptin levels on the vulnerability to addiction like behavior and the impact of exogenous leptin to cocaine seeking in a large heterogenous rat population. Dr. Abraham Palmer and current Palmer lab member, Clara Ortez, are coauthors along with several others. See pre-print here.

Congrats!

The manuscript, “A mutant allele of Neuronal Membrane Glycoprotein M6-B (Gpm6b) facilitates behavioral flexibility but increases delay discounting”, has been accepted for publication in Genes, Brain and Behavior. Authors include Sandra Sanchez-Roige, Samuel Barnes, Jazlene Mallari, Rebecca Wood, Oksana Polesskaya and Abraham Palmer.

Congratulations!