Dr. Yu-yu Ren was selected to receive a T32 Fellowship in Biopsychiatry and Neuroscience. The fellowship is a 2-year program that is aimed at training physicians and psychologist in conducting research towards the understanding of the biological underpinnings of mental disorders. Yu-yu’s research will focus on identifying novel gene targets that influence anxiety and depression using a panel of near-isogenic mice. Congratulations, Yu-yu!

Drs. Amanda Barkley-Levenson and Sandra Sanchez-Roige have each received a Young Investigator Travel Award to attend the Genes, Brain and Behavior 2017 meeting of the International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society (IBANGS) in Madrid, Spain. The meeting took place May 15-18, 2017. Dr. Sanchez-Roige presented a Featured Talk titled ‘The genetics of delay discounting.’ Dr. Barkley-Levenson presented a poster titled ‘Glyoxalase 1 involvement in alcohol drinking and alcohol-motivated behaviors.’

Dr. Oksana Polesskaya was nominated as a 2016-17 STAR Award Recipient in recognition of and appreciation for outstanding service and enduring contribution to the advancement of UCSD Psychiatry’s teaching, research, clinical and public service missions. Congratulations and well deserved, Oksana!

Hannah Wladecki has joined the Palmer Lab. She will be the new lab manager. Hannah was recently working in the Institute for Genomic Medicine Sequencing Core for the past 2.5 years where she prepared sequencing libraries and operated the Illumina sequencers. She has an M.S. in Animal & Poultry Science from Virginia Tech and completed her undergrad at Purdue University. Welcome Hannah!

Members of the Palmer Lab and UCSD Psychiatry Department were among the 15,000+ scientists and supporters that joined the March for Science in downtown San Diego on Saturday April 22nd. The rally was part of an international effort to champion and protect science in government decision making. Read more about the San Diego event here! Read more about science advocacy and other ways to get involved here!

Drs. Abraham Palmer and Sandra Sanchez-Roige presented their research on psychiatric genetics to approximately 40 high school students on Friday April 21st. Many of the students are taking AP Psychology or AP Economics courses. They were visiting the UCSD campus from Sweetwater High School in National City, CA.

Dr. Abraham Palmer presented at the Hillcrest Biomedical and Clinical Research Seminar Series at the University of California San Diego on Wednesday April 5th, 2017. His talk was titled “Using GWAS studies in rodents for deciphering human disease”.

Celine St. Pierre will start her PhD in Human & Statistical Genetics at Washington University in St. Louis this fall. Congratulations, Celine!

The article, “Cdh13 and AdipoQ gene knockout alters instrumental and Pavlovian drug conditioning”, was accepted for publication in Genes, Brain and Behavior. Authors include current and former Palmer Lab members (Amy Hart, Celine St. Pierre, Emily Leung, Abraham Palmer) as well as collaborators Christopher King, Leah Militello, Cassandra Versaggi, Nathaniel Roberson, James Catlin, Jerry Richards, and Paul Meyer.

Dr. Abraham Palmer presented at the Institute for Genetics Seminar series at the University of California San Francisco on March 24th. His talk was titled “A Toolbox and Rationale for Performing GWAS for Behavioral Traits in Outbred Mice and Rats”.