Developmental Neuroimmunology Lab
In the Developmental Neuroimmunology Lab, we are interested in how the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems interact, and how this communication influences behavior. We use rodent models to explore the mechanisms by which an organism's early perinatal environment (e.g., social, infectious, hormonal) influences brain and immune system development, and the subsequent implications for cognitive and affective abilities throughout the remainder of the lifespan.
Students in this lab can expect to learn skills in small animal handling, injections, and surgical techniques; tissue dissection and immunohistochemistry, including confocal and stereology microscopy; cell culture techniques, including primary glial cell and neuronal cultures; enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and radioimmunoassay; quantitative real-time PCR; and complex behavioral assessments, including learning and memory, anxiety and depressive-like behaviors, and addiction and reward.
