Collaboration

The projects listed below are general examples of what is possible given the wide range of expertise and modes of behavioral research represented among the preceptors in the BBS program. This is a key value-added feature of this interdisciplinary predoctoral training program that results from its cross-program nature.

Research and corresponding training opportunities for BBS Ph.D. students can be divided into six thematic areas (A – F, circles) that are relevant to many aspects of human health and disease (center box). Research in each area crosses departments, schools, and Ph.D. programs. This creates outstanding opportunities for BBS trainees to work on collaborative, multidisciplinary projects at the interface of behavioral and biomedical research and which address important clinical and public health issues.

Thematic Area A: Neural Basis of Cognitive Function and Dementias

Potential co-mentors: Drs. Schreurs, Zhang

Potential collaborative project: Memory deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease A student working in this area may use the Alzheimer’s model developed by Dr. Schreurs, which involves the administration of copper and cholesterol to induce neurofibrillatory plaques and tangles in the brain. Behavioral assessment would use classical conditioning models in Dr. Schreurs lab and spatial memory tasks in Dr. Zhang’s.

Other BBS faculty working in Thematic Area A:

Drs. Haut, Larkin, Lattal, O’Donnell

Thematic Area B: Neurochemical, Molecular, and Physiological Basis of Behavior

Potential co-mentors: Drs. Anderson, Dino, O’Donnell

Potential collaborative project: Mechanisms and Significance of Impulsivity A student working in this area may use Dr. Anderson’s animal model of impulsivity, in collaboration with Dr. O’Donnell to identify underlying neurochemical/molecular mechanisms and assess pharmacologically induced changes. This would provide a basis for examining the role of impulsivity in risk-associated behavior such as early smoking in collaboration with Dr. Dino.

Other BBS faculty working in Thematic Area B:

Drs. Agmon, Dey, Finkel, Fiske, Frisbee, Huber, Matsumoto

Thematic Area C: Mechanisms of Sensory Processing and Pathologies

Potential co-mentors: Drs. Berrebi, Lewis, Shuman

Potential collaborative project: Auditory Processing and Impairment A student working in this area may study central auditory processing in normal subjects using fMRI in Dr. Lewis’s lab. Mechanistic work to identify and characterize auditory pathways in the brain would be conducted with Dr. Berrebi using animal models and immunocytochemical analyses. The challenge of applying such data in a real-world setting could be examined with Dr Shuman in the Center for Excellence in Disabilities.

Other BBS faculty working in Thematic Area C:

Drs. Daly, Mathers, St. Peter-Pipkin, Spirou

Thematic Area D: Risk Factors Related to Health Behaviors

Potential co-mentors: Drs. Cottrell, Frisbee, Harris

Potential collaborative project: Childhood Obesity Risk Factors A student working in this area may study parental attitudes toward lipid screening and exercise for their school-age children with Dr. Harris. The lipid screening in a West Virginia population carried out by Dr. Frisbee would provide data on the link between these measures and exercise and obesity, which could be investigated using animal models in his lab. This could be expanded to larger populations, and include genetic analyses, in collaboration with Dr. Cottrell.

Other BBS faculty working in Thematic Area D:

Drs. Carter, Coben, Dino, Ducatman, Horn, Kelley, Madhavan, Rockett, Tworek

Thematic Area E: Developmental Behavior and Psychopathologies

Potential co-mentors: Agmon, Mathers, St. Peter-Pipkin

Potential collaborative project: Sensory Processing and Autism A student working in this area may study thalamic circuitry involved in sensory-motor integration in Dr. Agmon’s lab. Behavioral repercussions of impaired circuitry can studied using mutant and transgenic mouse lines in Dr. Mather’s lab. The real-world application of this knowledge would be tested in autism patient populations studied by Dr. St. Peter-Pipkin. 

Other BBS faculty working in Thematic Area E:

Drs. Anderson, Dey, Cottrell, Goodman, Horn, Montgomery-Downs, Morris, Piedimonte

Thematic Area F: Behavioral Interventions in Physical and Intellectual Disabilities

Potential co-mentors: Jones, Rosen

Potential collaborative project: Recovery from Stroke A student working in this area may study the recovery of function after stroke using fMRI, transmagnetic stimulation, and pharmacological treatment in Dr. Buetefish’s lab. Underlying mechanisms could be investigated using a novel animal stroke model developed by Dr. Rosen. Practical behavioral issues relevant to stroke recovery in a clinical setting could be assessed in collaboration with Dr. Jones.

Other BBS faculty working in Thematic Area F:

Drs. Alway, Fiske, Goins, Larkin, Schreurs