The recently published article, “Multivariate analysis of 1.5 million people identifies genetic associations with traits related to self-regulation and addiction“, has been fully published on Nature Neuroscience. This study integrates a multivariate approach which uses summary statistics from GWAS data to identify genetic variants associated to externalizing phenotypes. UCSD Health has highlighted this study in its recent press release.

Dr. Palmer is a co-investigator on an NIH/HIDCD grant received by Dr. Rick Friendman, entitled “The genetics of functional decline in the aging vestibular system: A GWAS and gene expression analysis in aging mice and humans.” This project seeks to identify and study the genetic basis of age-related hearing impairment.

Clara Ortez joined the Palmer Lab in August of 2021, she recently graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S. in Cognitive Science specialization Neuroscience, during which she interned at the George Lab studying behavioral components of drug use. She’s from the Bay Area but loves San Diego weather and beaches, where you can find her reading a good book!

This program provides a rich training environment which includes several activities allowing for interaction among faculty and other students. Furthermore, fiscal support is provided from their NIGMS training grant.

Congrats, Brittany!

Dr. Polesskaya presented a poster titled “High-throughput genotyping of zebrafish enables GWAS in outbred EKW population” at the 16th International Zebrafish Conference (IZFC).  Coauthors from the Palmer lab includes Dr. Riyan Cheng, Apurva Chitre, Bonnie Lin, Khai-Minh Nguyen, and Dr. Abraham Palmer. This poster presents a cost-effective and high-throughput genotyping method that the Palmer lab has developed in support of a GWAS in zebrafish in order to study the genetic underpinning of complex traits related to anxiety behavior. This method is applied to genotyping large quantities of zebrafish which enables

The article, “Functional validation of a finding from a mouse genome-wide association study demonstrates that Azi2 influences the acute locomotor simulant response to methamphetamine”, has been accepted for publication in Genes, Brain, and Behavior. This article discusses the potential mechanisms of Azi2 and its role in methamphetamine sensitivity. Dr. Abraham Palmer, Dr. Amanda Barkley-Levenson, Xinzhu Zhou and several others co-authored this article. Congratulations!

Zeljana grew up in continental Serbia, Europe. She lived in Dubai and London, before she moved to the States for school. Mesmerized by all things brain-related, she first double majored in Neuroscience and Psychology, and then received her Master’s degree in Neurobiology – all at UC San Diego. In her spare time, she is a travel junkie, a student pilot, an avid watcher of Grey’s Anatomy, and the main resource for her kindergartener’s incessant questioning of the Universe.

Welcome, Zeljana!

Alan Lin joined the Palmer Lab in June 2021 as a REHU summer student. He is a rising senior at Williams College majoring in Biology and Statistics, and he hopes to use both fields to pursue a career in bioinformatics/biostatistics. In his free time, Alan enjoys being outdoors, playing tennis, and listening to music.

The Research Experiences for High School and Undergraduate Students (REHU) program (ratgenes.org/education/rehu/) that is funded by the NIDA Center for Genetic Studies of Drug Abuse in Outbred Rats where Dr. Palmer is the PI. REHU program provides

Sammy Myakishev-Rempel joined the Palmer Lab in June 2021 as a REHU student. Sammy graduated from UC High School with strong skills in computer science. She is hoping to gain experience from working in an academic lab and developing programming skills on multiple platforms. Her hobbies include sewing, paper-crafting, learning Japanese, and electronics.

The Research Experiences for High School and Undergraduate Students (REHU) program (ratgenes.org/education/rehu/) that is funded by the NIDA Center for Genetic Studies of Drug Abuse in Outbred Rats where Dr. Palmer is the PI. REHU program provides high

Brittany Leger joined the Palmer lab in June 2021 as a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences program at UCSD. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 with a BS in Molecular Biology, then joined Massachusetts General Hospital in the labs of Dr. Richa Saxena and Dr. James Walker. Brittany is interested in developing methods to integrate genetic data from animal model studies and human studies to reveal underlying mechanisms behind neuropsychiatric behavior. Outside of lab, Brittany enjoys hiking, figure drawing, and is currently learning to longboard.